AMD Ryzen 9 9700X spotted, Zen 5 CPU delays could've been because of a typo

AMD delayed the launch of its Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPUs, but it could've all been over something as simple as a typo: with a Ryzen 9 9700X processor spotted, which is arriving as the Ryzen 7 9700X.

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Maybe the company had some very last-minute naming changes, but a batch of Ryzen 7 9700X processors was shipped with the wrong label of "Ryzen 9 9700X". This could've been the reason for the Zen 5 desktop CPU launch delay, as AMD only explained that "during final checks, we found the initial production units that were shipped to our channel partners did not meet our full quality expectations".

AMD continued: "Out of an abundance of caution and to maintain the highest quality experiences for every Ryzen user, we are working with our channel partners to replace the initial production units with fresh units".

Ex-AnandTech staffer Dr. Ian Cutress posted on X that there was a "typo on the packaging," but it appears that it's not just the packaging, but a batch (of unknown size) of CPUs wrongly labeled "Ryzen 9 9700X," which should be Ryzen 7 9700X.

Tom's Hardware added to the story, reporting that the Ryzen 5 9600X was also mislabeled as the Ryzen 9 9600X. Oops, big oops, and could explain the delays... but brings up another question: how did this happen in the first place, and to not one, but two different Ryzen 9000 series CPUs? Interesting development, that's for sure.

If the chips themselves have the incorrect naming, we should expect that the retail packaging also had the incorrect naming, explaining the delays from AMD. AMD pulled all of its Ryzen 9000 processor units delivered to retailers and OEMs worldwide for re-screening, to make sure this issue didn't occur on day one.