AMD officially unveiled the launch plan for Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs tonight in a dedicated online showcase. Performance estimates, lineup details, specs, and pricing were all covered in due fashion. However, it does no good for one person to have so much power without a motherboard to support everything. The AMD event also detailed more on the AM5 platform and even revealed B650E as another choice for enthusiasts.
The Ryzen 7000 Series kicks off the AM5 platform generation, and there are many changes afoot. For starters, you can rest easy knowing that AMD plans to support AM5 through at least 2025. From the sound of things, there’s much more to come from AMD in the next few years in the CPU space, and you won’t need to buy a new motherboard to upgrade.
Additionally, AM5 moves to a new pin design. Just like Intel, the LGA style banishes those infamous pins that had the potential to bend if installed incorrectly. Additionally, AMD confirmed AM5 supports 1,718 pins and up to 230W for top end CPUs and enthusiast overclocking.
No looking back
As was long rumored, AMD also confirmed at the event that DDR5 will be the only memory standard for AM5. It’s a pricey thing to ask of consumers, but understandable now that DDR5 prices have fallen a good bit and present opportunities for noteworthy performance gains. Adding to this, the Ryzen 7000 Series will support up to 6400 DDR5 and introduce Expo memory technology for easy overclocking. There will be at least 15 certified kits available at launch.
Choices in motherboards
Leaving behind older technologies is certainly a theme with AM5, but the new platform does sound to cover the bases for tech enthusiasts. Fortunately, there will be some budget options as well.
Details are limited at this time, but AMD confirmed that B550 boards will start at $125 USD. What exactly that will get you is another story, but at least it sets the price of entry relatively low outside of the DDR5 system memory requirement. You’ll at least get a board with PCIe 4.0 too, which will be adequate for gaming in the foreseeable future.
(Image credit: AMD).
For those that want PCIe 5.0 and more upgraded features, we also learned there will be B650E motherboards. Until we get the full specs, we can only assume these will be cut down motherboards that focus on providing a solid core experience.
Those who want more configuration options can go with X670 and X670E, which we covered previously. These will offer a higher standard for power delivery, memory support, overclocking, IO, and general configurability. Oh, and probably quite a few models with twinkling RGB.
Now we wait
As for when we can expect all of this, mark your calendars for September 27. That is the official launch day for the Ryzen 7000 Series, X670, and X670E motherboards. Hold out till October, and you’ll be able to knab a B650 or B650E board for less cash.
With that said, we’re now on the official countdown timer to the next generation of CPUs. Intel has its 13th generation Raptor Lake CPUs nearly ready, so we should expect a response from the competition in the near future. And if you’re thinking about building a new gaming PC soon, check out our tips so you don’t break any of those fancy new parts.
