Zen 5 leak tips double-digit performance improvements thanks to new 105 W TDP firmware patch for Ryzen 7 9700X and Ryzen 5 9600X

AMD appears to want to mitigate some of the negative performance reviews of its recent Ryzen 9000 CPUs, if a recent leak from @g01d3nm4ng0 on X is to be believed. According to the prolific PC hardware leaker, AMD plans to release AGESA 1.2.0.1a Patch A with changes to the CPU TDPs for both the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X (read our 9600X review here) and Ryzen 7 9700X. 

This change would supposedly increase the TDP of both parts from 65 W to 105 W ­— a 40 W or 61% increase in TDP — and likely result in performance improvements for the six- and eight-core CPUs. Several reviews of the Ryzen 7 9700X have pointed out that the CPU was hamstrung by power limits, with der8auer on YouTube even managing to gain a massive 21% performance uplift in Cinebench R23 simply by unlocking the power limits and enabling PBO. 

At launch, the new Ryzen 9000 CPUs disappointed somewhat with a mere 5–7% performance increase, with outlets like Gamers Nexus finding middling efficiency improvements in a recent in-depth analysis. Of course, the aforementioned leak claimed that AMD would increase the TDP to 105 W, while der8auer completely unlocked the CPU, pushing the 9700X to draw over 160 W, according to HWINFO 64 where it reported less than 90 W before. 

This all indicates that even increasing the CPU TDP to 105 W may not generate the same performance uplift seen by the likes of der8auer. Curiously, a previous leak from another source claimed that AMD would launch the Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X with 105 W TDPs. That pre-launch TDP bump obviously didn't materialise before launch, since both CPUs launched with 65 W default TDP limits. 

Grab the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X for $359 on Amazon, or opt for a last-gen Ryzen 9 7900X for $358.52 while it is discounted at Amazon by 35%.