This is like a car manufacturer producing a car with such and such performance numbers (0-60, 1/4 mile times etc) and then putting a redline on the tachometer a tad higher than the rev-limiter normally kicks in...but sometimes, when the oil temps are below a certain point, and the engine load is within certain parameters, the engine will actually rev all the way to the red-line marked on the dash.
I would expect such a manufacturer to get called-out for the optimistic red-line, but I wouldn't expect the masses to grab their torches and pitch-forks *unless* the car's actual performance suffered.
I.e. if it failed to get through the quarter mile in x.xx seconds, *then* I would expect people to get angry.
As it stands for me and my 3800x, I'm benchmarking higher than any of the reviews I have seen.
So my car is actually faster than I thought it would be. Even if the motor doesn't consistently rev as high as the stated redline, it still *performs* better than I expected.
To me, both clock speed and RPM's are "a means to an end", not an end unto itself.
If the end is performance, AMD is *actually* delivering.
I'm glad AMD is getting called-out for shady marketing, but I think some people are either conflating clock speed with performance, or just want something to rage about.