Must be because Alder Lake forced its hand. AMD will reportedly be launching AMD Ryzen 5500, 5600, and 5700X CPUs in the very near future, ahead of its 5800X3D and Zen 4 launch later this year. Despite a demand for more modest AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs existing since their launch in 2020, AMD has reportedly only just decided that it will have to accommodate it.
These CPUs will plug the gaps in AMD's current CPU lineup, combating the likes of Intel's stellar low-level chips, like the 12600, 12400F, and 12100.
The 5700X will have eight cores and a more modest clock speed than the existing 5800X, the 5600 will have six cores, but a lower clock speed than the 5600X, and the 5500, a more modest clock speed again, and may drop simultaneous multithreading, making it a six core six thread CPU, rather than the six core 12 thread of its 5600 and 5600X counterparts. Prices will reportedly be lower too, with TDPs that are more efficient than existing options.
The 5600 is likely to be the most important addition here, as it'll target Intel's fantastic 12400 -- a CPU that closes in on 5600X performance, at a much lower price, even after AMD's recent price cuts.
All of these CPUs will continue to be extremely relevant throughout the year, as even with the launch of high-end gaming 5800X3D, and Zen 4 CPUs, these chips will make up the budget-end of AMD's processor lineup until well in 2023 and even beyond, if the Zen 3 generation is anything to go by.