Unexpected as it may seem, the new AMD Ryzen "Matisse Refresh" processors are almost confirmed: two chips, the Ryzen 7 3800XT and Ryzen 9 3900XT, were spotted in the 3DMark database by serial leaker TUM_APISAK, heavily suggest a full complement of Ryzen "XT" branded processors.

Details on the components and processor status are not yet known; the Ryzen 7 3800XT's 3DMark Fire Strike physics score of 25,135 is not that different from the Ryzen 7 3800X, which averages 24,190. [Both the 3800XT and 3900XT are a bit behind the rumored specs, with only a 100 MHz clock speed increase reported.

Perhaps there is more to this story; perhaps Ryzen's boost algorithm has been improved or the peak clock speed of the XT chip has been increased over the previous model. [But it is also possible that these are simply comparable replacements for the current Zen 2 names: Ryzen 9 3900X, Ryzen 7 3800X, and Ryzen 5 3600X.

If so, these chips are attempting to compete with the current rather loose pricing of AMD Ryzen, with the Ryzen 9 3900X selling for just $420 today and the Ryzen 5 3600X for $205, both significant MSRP This is a discount.

The new XT-branded chips are rumored to be announced on June 16, but we have yet to hear anything from AMD regarding a refresh.

AMD's true next-generation architecture, AMD Zen 3, is still due later this year, and that is where they will be focusing their time and efforts. But if that doesn't dampen the prospects for a mid-year refresh in any way, .......

With some of the best CPUs for gaming cheaper than ever, performance marginally faster, and the AMD Zen 3 just around the corner, one wonders how much incentive customers have to throw cash at the Matisse Refresh. Let's hope there is still something to come out of this.