In a blogpost, Hallock confirmed that Zen 3 processors will continue to use the AM4 socket, but will only be backwards compatible with AMD's X570 and B550 motherboards. the AM4 socket was announced alongside the first generation Ryzen processors in 2016.
Based on AMD's math, its Zen 3 Ryzen CPUs are also 2.4 times more efficient from a performance-per-watt perspective than its first-gen Ryzen CPUs, and approximately 24 percent more efficient than its second-gen Ryzens.
AMD Updates Roadmaps for Zen 3, 5nm, and RDNA2, the GPU Powering Xbox Series X, PS5. As expected, Zen 3 is a 7nm chip, while Zen 4 is 5nm. With a typical one-year cadence between launches and with Zen 3 expected to launch around Q4, we should, therefore, expect a late 2021 / early 2022 debut for Zen 4.
AMD's Zen roadmap stretches out to the end of 2021, which the company has confirmed means that the entire roster of Zen 3 chips will be fully in the market by the end of next year. That includes the Ryzen 4000 Vermeer desktop PC chips, Ryzen 5000 laptop chips, and EPYC Milan processors.
AMD says that the AM4 socket will continue for the foreseeable future until there is a major inflection point in the platform. A 12-core mainstream desktop CPU not withstanding, AMD also announced the 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X at E3 2019.
Either way, AMD has made good on its 2016 promise of continuing support the AM4 socket through 2020, and likely into 2021 at this point.
AMD's Robert Hallock has confirmed that the upcoming AMD Ryzen 4000 Zen 3 processors will be compatible with Socket AM4 as long as the motherboard features an X570 or B550 chipset. Zen 3 will not support older chipsets owing to lower space on the EEPROM of these motherboards.
AMD has revealed some great, if expected news for PC hardware enthusiasts as it confirmed that its next generation of desktop processors - 4th Gen Ryzen - which will use its Zen 3 architecture, will be compatible with current X570 and B550 motherboards.
Unlike Zen 2, which is compatible with just about any AM4-based motherboard, the cutoff for Zen 3 is a bit higher up the chipset stack this time. The new CPUs will work only with motherboards from the X470, B450, and later chipset generations. (That includes the new X570 and B550 boards.)
Ryzen 4000 will release in September, only 5 months away. You might as well go with the new 3100/3300X for now and save a few bucks that can be invested in a better Mobo or something… Ryzen 4000 should close the performance gap with the 10900K, so yes it's worth waiting.
AMD said Thursday that it will continue to use its AM4 processor socket straight through its next generation of Zen 3 processors, fulfilling the pledge it made to continue the socket through 2020. AMD's still focused on its current Ryzen chips, but has begun to talk about the future in the Zen 3 and Zen 4 architecture.
That also means the interconnect between the chipset and the Ryzen processor is only operating at PCIe 3.0 speed on B550, while it is the faster PCIe 4.0 on X570. Looking beyond PCI-Express speed, the B550 chipset also supports fewer total PCIe lanes and a smaller number of USB ports.
You can officially use your X570 or B550 board with upcoming AMD Ryzen 4000 processors. In a blog post today, AMD confirmed that AMD Zen 3-based processors in the Ryzen 4000 lineup will officially support X570 and B550 motherboards.
AMD's Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 series begins with the impressive 16-core 32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X that has a recommended $799 price tag.
Where and How to Buy an AMD Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 CPU
- US Ryzen 5 5600X retailers at a glance: Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center.
- US Ryzen 7 5800X retailers at a glance: Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center.
- US Ryzen 9 5900X retailers at a glance: Amazon I Newegg I B&H I Best Buy | Micro Center.
Based on AMD's slide deck to media, the B550 chipset will not support the 3000 APUs, not to be confused with Zen 3 -- we have no idea if its APUs will be supported, assuming it has any. The Athlon 3000G and Ryzen 3200G and 3400G APUs will not officially work in B550.
ASUS ROG Crosshair DARK HERO + ROG STRIX B550-XE motherboards unveiled, will work with Zen 3-based AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs. Next up we have the new ASUS ROG STRIX B550-XE Gaming Wi-Fi motherboard, which was also designed to support AMD's new Zen 3-based CPUs.
The current X570 platform is manufactured in-house, by AMD, unlike the previous 300-series and 400-series motherboards. With X670, AMD will be relying on a third-party to produce its chipset. According to MyDrivers, the B550 chipset is already being produced by ASMedia, and it will launch in February 2020.
AMD insists Ryzen 5000 shipped tons of units, even though they're sold out everywhere. Within a week of their launch, AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs are sold out wherever you look, despite the company "shipping tons of units."
Here we can see that when it comes to AMD vs Intel HEDT CPUs, AMD holds the uncontested lead with 64 cores and 128 threads in its flagship Threadripper 3990X, and the 32- and 24-core Threadripper 3970X and 3960X models cement the overwhelming lead over Intel's chips.
However, X470 is the more expensive chipset that offers SLI support, while B450 does not, so it is likely that X470 motherboards will be more expensive and may have better VRM solutions because they are competing in a higher price bracket. With that said, if you don't need SLI then a B450 board is just fine.
To confirm, thanks to AMD's reversal following considerable backlash, they eventually decided that yes, B450 motherboards will support the upcoming Ryzen 4000 CPU series ("Zen 3" architecture) by means of applying a BIOS update to B450 boards.
