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
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.
38 Comments on AMD Ryzen "Pinnacle Ridge" Processors Launch in March
"2 USB 3.1 Gen2 (1 Type-A, 1 Type-C), 10 USB 3.1 Gen1 (4 Front, 5 Rear)"
www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4/
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...
www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/75030-ecc-memory-amds-ryzen-deep-dive.html