Thursday, January 4th 2018

AMD Ryzen "Pinnacle Ridge" Processors Launch in March

There is more clarity on when AMD plans to launch its 2nd generation Ryzen "Pinnacle Ridge" processors, along with companion 400-series chipsets. Retailers in Japan, citing upstream suppliers, expect AMD to launch Ryzen # 2000-series (or "Ryzen 2") processors in March 2018, along with two motherboard chipset models, the top-tier AMD X470, and the mid-range AMD B450. An older report pegged this launch at February. The two chipsets are differentiated from their current-generation 300-series counterparts in featuring PCI-Express gen 3.0 general purpose lanes. The "Pinnacle Ridge" processors, on the other hand, are expected to be optical-shrinks of current Ryzen "Summit Ridge" silicon to the new 12 nm silicon fabrication process, which will allow AMD to increase clock speeds with minimal impact on power-draw.

AMD Ryzen 2 "Pinnacle Ridge" processors will be built in the existing socket AM4 package, and are expected to be compatible with existing socket AM4 motherboards, subject to BIOS updates by motherboard manufacturers. AMD plans to nurture the socket AM4 ecosystem till 2020. Future motherboards based on AMD 400-series chipsets could also feature compatibility with existing "Summit Ridge" Ryzen processors. These motherboards will come with out of the box support for Ryzen "Raven Ridge" APUs, something that requires BIOS updates on current 300-series chipset motherboards.
Source: Hermitage Akihabara
Add your own comment

38 Comments on AMD Ryzen "Pinnacle Ridge" Processors Launch in March

#26
Assimilator
I think we can all agree that the people that decided on the naming scheme for USB 3.1 and up, need a few smacks upside the head.
Posted on Reply
#28
os2wiz
[XC] Oj101It won't be 800 MHz, more like 200 MHz.
That is a ridiculous assertion. The performance increase will be at least 10% or it would not be worth the effort. I expect a base clock of 4.0 GHZ on the 2800X and turbo of 4.5 GHZ. I sincerely hope a better IMC has been incorporated into this product so that people routinely can achieve the CL ratings of their dimms at the rated speeds. It would be wonderful to be able to routinely get dimms running up to 3600mhz or above if that is what your dimms are rated at.
Posted on Reply
#29
bug
IceShroomDidn't see that coming.:eek:
Yeah, well, at least the name+version is universally meaningless now.
Posted on Reply
#30
[XC] Oj101
os2wizThat is a ridiculous assertion. The performance increase will be at least 10% or it would not be worth the effort. I expect a base clock of 4.0 GHZ on the 2800X and turbo of 4.5 GHZ.
Then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Don't hate on AMD when the CPUs don't come close to your expectations (as happens with each and every release - the public over-hypes a product with their own wild speculation far in excess of what anyone promised (which is normally nothing) and is then disappointed in AMD for not living up to said expectations).
Posted on Reply
#31
notb
os2wizThat is a ridiculous assertion. The performance increase will be at least 10% or it would not be worth the effort. I expect a base clock of 4.0 GHZ on the 2800X and turbo of 4.5 GHZ. I sincerely hope a better IMC has been incorporated into this product so that people routinely can achieve the CL ratings of their dimms at the rated speeds. It would be wonderful to be able to routinely get dimms running up to 3600mhz or above if that is what your dimms are rated at.
But you know that Zen was in development for 4 years before the launch, right? So you're expecting quite a lot from the second gen, as it comes just a year later.

2 scenarios possible (and I don't think they had time and money to cover both):
1) AMD goes full gaming and they improve the consumer Ryzen lineup.
The variance of current Ryzen chips quality is very high, so I'd expect a more even product line. While the base clocks might go up by those 10%, it could be at a cost of boost or OC potential.
At this point, following AMD own statements and leaks, we shouldn't expect improved compatibility or features. It seems their core client base is OK with how Zen works at the moment - they just want it to become faster.

2) AMD solves the business lineup problems.
It's 2018 already and we're looking at almost zero enterprise/workstation utilization of Ryzen Pro, EPYC and Threadripper. It really makes you wonder if there is something wrong with these chips that we don't know yet.
This is from Ryzen PRO launch IN AUGUST:
www.amd.com/en-us/press-releases/Pages/ryzen-pro-desktop-2017aug31.aspx
It says that Dell Optiplex 5055 and Lenovo ThinkCentre M715 are "expected to ship in the coming weeks".
And these PCs exist!
You can find manuals for the Dell:
www.dell.com/support/article/uk/en/ukbsdt1/sln307866/optiplex-5055--visual-guide-to-your-computer?lang=en
but it is not available on the page (to view/customize/buy).

The Lenovo is actually available to customize (not sure about ordering), but look at this.
I said a year ago that they will have a hard time selling business PCs with IGP-less CPUs, but I've never imagined the prices!
They charge you $570 for Ryzen 7 + GT730 upgrade (base price includes a A6-9500).
GT730 is maybe $50-70, so why does the Ryzen PRO cost $500, when the retail model is $300?
Vendors usually have a big premium on these business PCs, but this is beyond reason. It doesn't look like Lenovo wants to sell these computers...
Posted on Reply
#32
mroofie
BasardIntel can make physically-better chips than AMD because the people making the chips actually work for Intel, and therefore care a lot more.
Savage... :pimp:
Posted on Reply
#33
drSeehas
AssimilatorI hope they integrate USB 3.1 gen 2 suport into these chipsets - would give a welcome advantage over Intel. ...
It is already built in the A320/B350/X370 chipsets from last year.
Posted on Reply
#35
drSeehas
EarthDog...

What is "ECC on non-ECC"?
Posted on Reply
#36
EarthDog
I believe that is a typo... "OR" should be there. In other words, it supports both ECC(what servers use) and non-ECC (what consumers normally use).
Posted on Reply
#37
R0H1T
drSeehasWhat is "ECC on non-ECC"?
Perhaps indicating that most (all?) Ryzen desktop chips support ECC memory on non ECC validated boards.
Posted on Reply
Add your own comment
Aug 17th, 2024 20:03 EDT change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts