AMD Ryzen 5 4500, 6C/12T, 3.60-4.10GHz, boxed

Finally! AMD launched a new set of Ryzen CPUs – it only took a year and a half but we finally have the new… 4th generation? Wait what? This can’t be right? Wait is this like the 1600 AF then? No? Oh.. Well this is embarrassing…

In April, AMD launched one of the most peculiar desktop processors the company's offered to upgraders and PC builders in recent years—and we don't mean the 3D V-Cache-based Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The Ryzen 5 4500 ($129) is a new CPU that uses an outdated architecture. It's also one of only two consumer-oriented desktop processors in AMD's Ryzen 4000 series. And to make the chip even more of an outlier, it's based on one of AMD's Accelerated Processing Units (APUs, chips equipped with on-chip graphics) but lacks the APU's integrated graphics. With all that taken together, the Ryzen 5 4500 is quite the oddball in AMD's product line. But if your budget is ultra-tight, if could have appeal if you already have a decent graphics card.

AMD's Ryzen 3 4100 and Ryzen 5 4500 are based on an aging design that isn't competitive with Intel's potent Core i3-12100/F, losing by large margins in gaming and other important performance criteria. You should look to more well-rounded previous-gen Ryzen alternatives or a modern Intel chip.