Although AMD has been the top CPU manufacturer for several years, the recent release of 12th Gen Intel processors has seen Intel taking the lead. However, the recent announcement of AMD’s new 7000 processors and AM5 socket have everyone wondering if this new technology will place AMD back on top.
AMD has revealed specs for the new components, and some of those numbers are an impressive improvement over Intel’s new generation. That said, AMD’s new generation will not see a total architecture overhaul like Intel. Will the new AMD hardware be better than Intel’s 12th generation? Here’s everything you need to know about AMD’s new AM5 socket.
Features
The new generation of AMD hardware will come with support for a variety of features, matching the features offered by the 12th Gen Intel hardware. PCIe 5.0, DDR5, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, and Wi-Fi 6E are the most notable features that accompany new AMD hardware.
PCIe 5.0 is the new standard for connecting PC peripherals and components to the motherboard. The new generation of PCIe should allow data transfer speeds up to 128 GB/s.
DDR5 RAM is the next generation of PC memory, following DDR4. DDR5 offers an increase to the density and bandwidth. While DDR4 RAM maxes out at 32GB, DDR5 quadruples that, with a max of 128GB per stick of RAM.
USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is an upgrade to current USB-C connectors. While current USB-C connectors use two lanes for data transfer, Gen 2x2 will instead use four lanes, doubling the data transfer speed to 20 Gbps.
Wi-Fi 6E is a significant improvement over current generation Wi-Fi, as it will include wider channels, less interference, and lower latency. Wi-Fi 6E will support more devices simultaneously, with higher speeds and more stability.
Specs
There are currently four processors announced for the AMD 7000 series. A rumored fifth CPU is being discussed online, but given that is not officially announced, it will not be included in this list.
The specs for each processor in the AMD 7000 series are as follows:
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X - 6 cores, 12 threads, 5.3 GHz max boost speed, 32 MB L3 cache, and 6 MB L2 cache
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X - 8 cores, 16 threads, 5.4 GHz max boost speed, 32 MB L3 cache, and 8 MB L2 cache
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X - 12 cores, 24 threads, 5.6 GHz max boost speed, 64 MB L3 cache, and 12 MB L2 cache
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - 16 cores, 32 threads, 5.7 GHz max boost speed, 64 MB L3 cache, and 16 MB L2 cache
Will I need new parts for the AMD AM5 7000 series CPUs?
The new generation of AMD hardware will in fact require you to purchase a new motherboard. As opposed to the 1331 slot pin grid array architecture of the AM4, the AM5 architecture will instead use a 1718 pin land grid array system. Seeing as the 7000 series will utilize a new socket type, 7000 series processors will not be compatible with previous generation motherboards. In addition, the 7000 series will only support DDR5 RAM. If you only had DDR4 in your old rig, you will have to buy new memory for it to be compatible with a new AMD processor.
However, you won’t need to completely redo your rig. The most expensive part of your system, likely the graphics card, will be completely compatible with AMD 7000 processors. In addition, companies like MSI are already coming forward to announce that their liquid cooling systems will be forward compatible.
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