Mysterious Ryzen Pro 7000G CPUs imply AMD's last-minute decision to change model numbers — Ryzen 3 Pro 7300G and Ryzen 5 Pro 7500G pose for the camera

When AMD released its Ryzen 8000G and Ryzen Pro 8000G-series processors based on the Zen 4 microarchitecture earlier this year, it surprised many observers by not using the 7000 model range, which is already known for using the same Zen 4 technology. But if pictures of AMD's Ryzen 3 Pro 7300G and Ryzen 5 Pro 7500G published at Chiphell are to be believed, the red company planned to release its current-gen APUs with these model numbers at some point.

AMD's purported Ryzen 3 Pro 7300G and Ryzen 5 Pro 7500G have the same 100-000001187 and 100-000001183 OPNs as AMD's Ryzen 3 Pro 8300G and Ryzen 5 Pro 8500G processors, which suggests that the parts have the exact specifications. It indicates that AMD changed the model numbers of its Zen 4-based APUs to the Ryzen 8000G sequence after customers had developed and sampled them.

AMD decided not to insert its codenamed Phoenix and Phoenix 2 APUs into the Ryzen 7000G family and create a brand-new Ryzen 8000G family for these parts. Perhaps the company wanted to avoid confusion among inexperienced users between the Ryzen 7000 series, codenamed Raphael, and the Ryzen 7000G series, codenamed Phoenix/Phoenix 2 processors.

It is also possible that the red company decided to show that its higher-end Phoenix-based Ryzen 7 8700G /8700F, as well as Ryzen 5 8600G , feature considerably better built-in Radeon graphics (than Ryzen 7 7700 non-G and Ryzen 5 7600 non-G) and an AI engine.

Then again, essential Phoenix 2-based Ryzen 5 8500G/8400F and Ryzen 3 8300G feature lower clocks (as they use Zen 4c cores and full-fat Zen 4 cores) than their Raphael-based counterparts and lack an AI engine, which makes them a mediocre choice compared to mainstream Ryzen 7000-series non-G parts, despite higher model numbers.

It is not uncommon for AMD to change the model numbers of its processors just before release in a bid to show that its products are ahead of those from its arch-rival Intel. Recently, the company changed the branding of its Ryzen AI 100 or 200-series 'Strix Point' processors to Ryzen AI 300-series CPUs to leapfrog Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 2-series 'Lunar Lake' products.