GIGABYTE today showed off its upcoming AMD X670E and X670 chipset-based Socket AM5 motherboard lineup for the Ryzen 7000-series "Zen 4" desktop processors due to launch in September. Given AMD's push for PCI-Express Gen 5 connectivity beyond just the PEG slot, the new X670E chipset, with multiple Gen 5 M.2 slots, covers the upper end of the GIGABYTE AORUS motherboard series, with the X670E AORUS Xtreme and the X670E AORUS Master. The lower-end of the lineup is based on the X670, with the AORUS Pro and AORUS Elite tiers.

Both the X670E and X670 offer at least one PCI-Express 5.0 x16 slot (which can be further split into two x8 Gen 5 slots); and at least one PCI-Express 5.0 x4 M.2 NVMe slot wired to the AM5 processor. The X670E is differentiated in having an additional Gen 5 M.2 slot that is wired to the SoC, besides downstream Gen 5 PCIe connectivity from the chipset. The AORUS Xtreme leads the pack with a monstrous 18-phase VRM that uses 105 A DrMOS, an 8-layer PCB, four Gen 5 M.2 slots, the highest-grade onboard audio with ESS-made headphones DAC, AQuantia 10 GbE, WiFi 6E, and a plethora of overclocker-friendly features.

It's pretty clear that we're getting very close to the launch of AMD's AM5 platform and the Ryzen 7000-series CPUs, with spec details and even pricing brackets tipping up online. Wccftech has posted what the publication believes will be the lineup we can expect to launch in just over a month's time, if rumours are to be believed. The base model is said to be the Ryzen 5 7600X, which the site claims will have a base clock of 4.7 GHz and a boost clock of 5.3 GHz. There's no change in processor core or thread count compared to the current Ryzen 5 5600X, but the L2 cache appears to have doubled, for a total of 38 MB of cache. This is followed by the Ryzen 7 7700X, which starts out a tad slower with a base clock of 4.5 GHz, but it has a slightly higher boost clock of 5.4 GHz. Likewise here, the core and thread count remains unchanged, while the L2 cache also gets a bump here for a total of 40 MB cache. Both these models are said to have a 105 W TDP.

The Ryzen 9 7900X is said to have a 4.7 GHz base clock and a 5.6 GHz boost clock, so a 200 MHz jump up from the Ryzen 7 7700X. This CPU has a total of 76 MB of cache. Finally the Ryzen 9 7950X is said to have the same base clock of 4.5 GHz as the Ryzen 7 7700X, but it has the highest boost clock of all the expected models at 5.7 GHz, while having a total of 80 MB cache. These two SKUs are both said to have a 170 W TDP. Price wise, from top to bottom, we might be looking at somewhere around US$700, US$600, US$300 and US$200, so it seems like AMD has adjusted its pricing downwards by around $100 on the low-end, with the Ryzen 7 part fitting the same price bracket as the Ryzen 7 5700X. The Ryzen 9 7900X seems to have had its price adjusted upwards slightly, while the Ryzen 9 7950X seems to be expected to be priced lower than its predecessors. Take these things with the right helping of scepticism for now, as things can still change before the launch.

With AMD making it clear in investor-communications that its next-generation Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" desktop processors will launch before October 2022; the countdown to their launch started. Wccftech got hold of a possible set of key dates. Apparently, August 28 is the big date on which AMD will formally announce its Ryzen 7000 Socket AM5 desktop processor lineup.

Following the August 28 announcement, the review NDA—the date on which you can read the first reviews of the retail products—is reportedly set at September 13. Market availability follows two days later, starting September 15. This is when you can actually buy the processor and compatible motherboards off the shelves. There's no word on a pre-order date; but it's always advisable to catch reviews before committing to purchase something that ships before launch date. These dates align with a mid-June leak of the launch date by AMD in a retailer promotion meeting held in China.

AMD in its Q2-2022 financial results call with analysts, confirmed that the company's next-generation Ryzen 7000 desktop processors based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture will debut this quarter (i.e. Q3-2022, or before October 2022). CEO Dr Lisa Su stated "Looking ahead, we're on track to launch our all-new 5 nm Ryzen 7000 desktop processors and AM5 platforms later this quarter with leadership performance in gaming and content creation."

The company also stated that its next-generation Radeon 7000 series GPUs based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture are on-track for launch "later this year," without specifying whether it meant this quarter, which could mean launch any time before January 2023. AMD is also on course to beating Intel to the next-generation of server processors with DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5 support, with its EPYC "Genoa" 96-core processor slated for later this year, as Intel struggles with a Q1-2023 general availability timeline for its Xeon Scalable "Sapphire Rapids" processor.

A possible PCB layout diagram of the ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E APEX motherboard was leaked to the web. We could tell it's the APEX, looking at its 1DPC (one DIMM per channel) memory layout. The ROG APEX line of motherboards are geared toward extreme overclocking, with 1DPC being the best possible memory topology. We could make out several features from this diagram. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, two 8-pin EPS, and a 6-pin PCIe. A mammoth 26-phase VRM powers the CPU. The board appears to have its power connectors and onboard buttons angled sideways, making it most suitable for bench rigs.

The AMD Socket AM5 is wired to two DDR5 DIMM slots (one DIMM per channel, with two sub-channels, each); and a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 slot. This splits to a second slot in x8 mode. The third slot is electrical x8, and wired to the X670E chipset. While there are three M.2 slots onboard, this is likely Gen 4 x4. The board's main Gen 5 M.2 slots are located on an included DIMM.2 daughterboard that inserts into a proprietary slot next to the DIMM slots. It's likely that the board offers USB4 connectivity, besides SupremeFX HD audio, Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5 GbE, and an abundance of USB 3.x connectivity in various forms.

An alleged AMD Ryzen 7000 pre-release sample was shown running DDR5-6400 memory speed, which is already a 23 percent memory overclock on top of the DDR5-5200 native memory clock speed support. We've known since April that the Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors are being designed with a focus on good memory overclocking headroom, and this is the first instance of an enthusiast-class memory speed on this platform. The feat was pulled off by Toppc, a professional overclocker affiliated with MSI.

The most interesting aspect of this feat is the density. The machine is shown featuring 64 GB of memory—something currently only doable with 32 GB quad-rank (double-sided) DIMMs; or by populating all four slots on the motherboard with 16 GB dual-rank (single-sided) DIMMs, or a 2DPC setup, which would make this feat all the more impressive. The CPU-Z screenshot by Toppc reveals a DRAM clock of 3202 MHz (DDR5-6404), and timings of 32-38-38-96. The Socket AM5 Ryzen 7000 desktop processors only support DDR5 memory type (no backwards-compatibility with DDR4), and AMD states that since it is betting solely on DDR5 (with no DDR4 sidewheels), enthusiasts can expect a good memory overclocking experience.

Akasa, a leading provider of active cooling solutions, has released their latest AIO watercoolers under the SOHO range. These coolers come with addressable RGB lighting and premium SOHO AR fans to light up your PC and accentuate its best features. The cooler is compatible with the latest LGA 1700 processors from Intel (e.g. Intel Core i9 12900K) and AMD's AM4 processors (e.g. AMD Ryzen 9 5900X).

Create your unique aesthetic using the Dusk Black or Dawn White editions of Akasa's SOHO 240 AIO watercooler. The sleek, clean design provides a great base for a stealthy build, or use the high-performance SOHO AR12 fans (included) to add splashes of colour and highlights. With over 16 million combinations of colours, the aRGB can bring your build to life; the lights are compatible with all major RGB software such as Gigabyte RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light, ASUS AURA, ASRock Polychrome and Razer Chroma RGB. A convenient controller is included in the package, which can be used to sync the lighting effects together.

An AMD engineering sample CPU with the model name 100-000000593-20_Y has appeared in a couple of graphics rendering tests, paired with an NVIDIA RTX A4000 GPU. The CPU appears to be a 6-core Ryzen 7000-series chip that was fitted to a Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master motherboard. Based on the leaked information that was dug up by @TUM_APISAK, it has a clock speed of 4.4 GHz, but little else is known about the CPU. Basemark might not be the most widely used test out there and both the tests that were run, were GPU rendering tests. However, courtesy of @harukaze5719, we have some graphs comparing the alleged Ryzen 7000-series CPU with a Ryzen 9 5950X which is using the same GPU.

The first test is an OpenGL test where the 6-core CPU beats the 16-core CPU by a not insignificant 9.5 percent overall, but by more than 11 percent when it comes to the minimum frame rate in the benchmark. This is a significant performance lead, although in the Vulcan test, the difference is somewhat smaller with a 7 percent lead for the 6-core CPU. It's unclear how well these tests scale with more CPU cores, so we wouldn't read too much into either of these benchmark results, but it seems like AMD's Zen 4 architecture will deliver on what AMD has promised based on these early tests. We've independently verified that the numbers are in the ballpark of the engineering samples that AMD's partners have today, which means that these numbers haven't been faked in any way. Keep in mind that AMD is still working on its AM5 platform and it's still early days. We understand that AMD has recently fixed a few platform bugs that would've been showstoppers if AMD had launched the AM5 platform with them still present.

Although AMD has not as yet announced its B650E chipset, rumour about such a chipset started before Computex. To date, no specific motherboard models have been mentioned by model name, but courtesy of Videocardz, we now have a list of several upcoming models from ASRock. The company has already announced its X670E range of motherboards, which consists of five models, of which four can already be seen on the ASRock website. ASRock appears to be planning five B650E boards, plus another six B650 SKU's. The company also appears to be the OEM for NZXT's second AMD motherboard, which appears to be called the N7-B65XT, which might also be a B650E based board.

Unfortunately we don't know any of the technical details about the upcoming B650/B650E boards from ASRock, but the model names give away that two of the five B650E boards will be Mini-ITX boards. It doesn't look like ASRock will be offering a high-end B650E model, but at least there will be an upper mid-range Steel Legend board. ASRock will also have a couple of mATX B650 boards, one should be a more gaming focused mid-range model, with the other being what appears to be a fairly basic model. One peculiar addition is a B650 SKU with the prefix LiveMixer, which is a new series from ASRock as far as we're aware. ASRock doesn't appear to be offering any X670 motherboards at all, at least not based on the current information.

DeepCool, a global brand in designing and manufacturing high-performance computer components for enthusiasts worldwide, announces an all-in-one (AIO), liquid CPU coolers to gamers, enthusiasts and visual content creators who are looking for extreme cooling performance and low noise level for their builds, delectable RGB lighting effects and a customizable face-plate on the water pump of the cooler.

The DeepCool LS Series All-In-One Liquid CPU Coolers deliver outstanding cooling performance and spectacular A-RGB lighting visuals to give any gaming PC setup a premium upgrade. Our new 4th Gen pump design maximizes efficiency with increased power while maintaining low operational noise.

Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation desktop platform codenamed Rocket Lake-S. According to the presentation held by Intel today in Shenzen, China, we have official information regarding some of the platform features that Raptor Lake is bringing. Starting with memory support, Raptor Lake is still carrying the transitional DDR4 and DDR5 support, as the full swing towards DDR5 is still in progress. Unlike the previous generation Alder Lake, which brought DDR5-4800 support, Raptor Lake's integrated memory controller can drive DDR5 modules with a 5600 MT/s configuration. As DDR4 support remains, it is limited to 3200 MT/s speed.

Interesting information from the leaked slide points out that support for CPU-attached NVMe storage remains PCIe Gen4. While AMD will provide an AM5 socket with CPU-attached NMVe storage on PCIe Gen5 protocol, Intel is taking a step back and holding on to Gen4. The CPU is outputting 16 PCIe Gen5 lanes on its own. Motherboard vendors for the upcoming 700-series boards for Raptor Lake can still provide a PCIe Gen5 NVMe slot; however, it will have to subtract eight Gen5 lanes from the PCI Express Graphics (PEG) slot and route them to NVMe storage. As our testing shows, this will affect GPU's performance by a few percent. AMD's upcoming AM5 platform has no such issues, as the CPU provides both the PEG and CPU-attached NVMe storage with sufficient PCIe Gen5 bandwidth.

Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, is constantly pushing limits to provide high- performance cooling solutions for all tech fans, PC builders, PC enthusiasts, and modders. This time, with no exception, introducing two all-new high-performance CPU water blocks, the Pacific W8 CPU Water Block with a full copper design and the Pacific W9 CPU Water Block with an acrylic design, are in stock for purchase now. Built with high-quality materials, the Pacific W8 and W9 CPU Water Blocks aim to suffice even the most demanding users seeking top-tier CPU water blocks.

Pacific W8 CPU Water Block features a copper top and base with anti-corrosive nickel plating; this provides a stunning mirror finishing and prevents material corruption while extending overall durability. On the other hand, the Pacific W9 CPU Water Block also has an anti-corrosive nickel plating copper base, but it comes with an acrylic top cover for a crystal clear inside view, allowing users to showcase colorful coolant passing through the Pacific W8 and the W9 CPU Water Blocks. Pacific W8 and W9 both feature a central inlet design with a jet plate in the middle of the water block, restricting the water flow for even coolant distribution through the optimized 0.2 mm micro-channels. By doing so, the copper plate can quickly transfer heat from the CPU into the coolant, ensuring better cooling efficiency and the best heat dissipation from the CPU.

MSI today introduced the MAG CoreLiquid B line of entry-level all-in-one liquid CPU coolers. Models in the lineup include the MAG CoreLiquid B120 and B240, with radiator sizes of 120 mm x 120 mm and 240 mm x 120 mm, respectively. These coolers feature a simple, puck-shaped water-block, with an illuminated MSI Gaming logo that can be rotated to suit the orientation of your setup. The pump is integrated with the radiator, and features a 6-pole motor. The included fans feature three fixed-color LEDs (one each of red, blue, and green), turn at speeds between 500 to 2,000 RPM, pushing 21.63 to 78.73 CFM airflow. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1700, LGA1200, LGA115x, AM5, and AM4. The company didn't reveal pricing.

It would appear that we're slowly getting closer to the launch of AMD's AM5 platform, as ASRock just put up its first X670E motherboard on its website. The page still has very limited information and there's only a single picture of the motherboard, which is the same one that the company shared at Computex. However, we now get a few more details with regards to what to expect in terms of additional features. For starters, ASRock has gone for a 26-phase SPS Dr.MOS power design, which should be plenty even for the most avid overclocker. The board has a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots that operate in dual x8 mode when both slots are used. In addition to this there are four M.2 slots, where ASRock has decided to call the CPU connected slot for Blazing, as it's PCIe 5.0, whereas the three PCIe 4.0 slots are using the Hyper name the company has used so far.

The board also has eight SATA ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which apparently are USB4 certified as well and a header for a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) case mounted port. Furthermore the board has five rear USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) USB-A ports around the back, plus three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports and a further four via headers, as well as a single HDMI port of unknown version. ASRock has gone for an Intel Killer E3100G 2.5 Gbps Ethernet controller and an Intel Killer AX1675X WiFi 6E and Bluetooth card, with the combo having Killer DoubleShot Pro support. Finally audio is via a Realtek ALC4082 USB connected audio codec and an ESS Sabre 9218 DAC. Overall this looks like a pretty kitted out board without too much excessive bling and will hopefully be priced accordingly.

15th September, 2022, is when AMD will debut its Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" desktop processors. The launch strategy of these chips looks similar to that of the Ryzen 5000 series. The company is preparing a lean launch lineup with just four SKUs—the Ryzen 9 7950X, the Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7800X, and the Ryzen 5 7600X. These SKUs succeed the 5950X, 5900X, 5800X, and 5600X, which made up the previous launch lineup. AMD in its recent interview with us, made it clear that 16-core/32-thread is the maximum core-count for the 7000 series, which would make the 7950X such a chip. The core-counts of the other SKUs are not known. All these models are built in the Socket AM5 package, featuring PCI-Express Gen 5 and DDR5 interfaces. But wait, there's more.

Although AMD led us to believe that it's going all-in with DDR5, we're hearing a spectacular rumor that suggests otherwise. Apparently, the company is designing Socket AM4 processors with "Zen 4" chiplets, possibly paired with the existing cIOD that supports PCI-Express Gen 4 and DDR4 interfaces. The rumor surfaced among sources lower down the supply-chain (resellers). It seems like AMD isn't convinced it could target the lower-end of the market with AM5 just yet, and isn't 100% confident that affordable DDR5 memory will come through in time. The "Zen 4" + AM4 processors would compete with Intel 600-series chipset motherboards that have DDR4 and PCIe Gen 4 connectivity. Trouble is, you can upgrade your Intel LGA1700 motherboard to one that has DDR5+PCIe Gen5 while keeping your processor; but you can't do so with an AM4 Zen 4 processor (you're stuck on AM4). AMD still gets to sell some processors, and those with AM4 platforms can rejoice.

AMD in its 2022 Financial Analyst Day presentation announced the codename for the second generation of Ryzen desktop processors for Socket AM5, which is "Granite Ridge." A successor to the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," the next-generation "Granite Ridge" processor will incorporate the "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture, with its CPU complex dies (CCDs) built on the 4 nm silicon fabrication node. "Zen 5" will feature several core-level designs as detailed in our older article, including a redesigned front-end with greater parallelism, which should indicate a much large execution stage. The architecture could also incorporate AI/ML performance enhancements as AMD taps into Xilinx IP to add more fixed-function hardware backing the AI/ML capabilities of its processors.

The "Zen 5" microarchitecture makes its client debut with Ryzen "Granite Ridge," and server debut with EPYC "Turin." It's being speculated that AMD could give "Turin" a round of CPU core-count increases, while retaining the same SP5 infrastructure; which means we could see either smaller CCDs, or higher core-count per CCD with "Zen 5." Much like "Raphael," the next-gen "Granite Ridge" will be a series of high core-count desktop processors that will feature a functional iGPU that's good enough for desktop/productivity, though not gaming. AMD confirmed that it doesn't see "Raphael" as an APU, and that its definition of an "APU" is a processor with a large iGPU that's capable of gaming. The company's next such APU will be "Phoenix Point."

ASUS today announced that a selection of its all-in-one (AIO) liquid coolers will be fully compatible with the AM5 (LGA 1718) socket designed for next-gen AMD CPUs. ROG Ryujin, Ryuo and Strix LC coolers will fit via an AM5 mounting kit, while TUF Gaming LC coolers will fit using the existing kits. A list of compatible ASUS coolers is provided in the table below.

DDR5 memory pricing has been declining faster than expected, with average pricing for modules based on the latest standard dropping by as much as 20% in a month's time. As reported by ComputerBase, pricing for 1 GB of DDR5 has fallen from around €15 by the end of 2021 down to around €5/GB at time of writing. At current pricing, an entry-level, 32 GB DDR5 kit DDR5-4800 memory (JEDEC standard) has fallen from a high of €430 down to a much more palatable €154.

The price decline comes as good news for anyone aiming to upgrade their PC in wake of AMD's Socket AM5 launch for its Zen 4 architecture, which the company has already confirmed will only support the latest RAM standard. AMD itself must be riding the sea of relief, as high DDR5 pricing could significantly shape the company's next-gen platform's value compared to arch-rival Intel, which already offers DDR4 and DDR5 support with its Alder Lake chips. Expectations place the same memory support for the next-gen Raptor Lake platform. Prices for DDR4 memory seem to have hit a bottom, however, as pricing hasn't significantly moved in around six months. Like with all new technologies, expect the price difference to eventually change in favor of DDR5 memory, as manufacturers adjust their outputs towards adoption.

The mention of "170 W" in one of the slides of AMD's Computex 2022 reveal of the upcoming Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" desktop processors, caused quite some confusion as to what that figure meant. AMD issued a structured clarification on the matter, laying to rest the terminology associated with it. Apparently, there will be certain SKUs of Socket AM5 processors with TDP of 170 W. This would be the same classical definition of TDP that AMD has been consistently using. The package-power tracking (PPT), a figure that translates as power limit for the socket, is 230 W.

This does not necessarily mean that there will be a Ryzen 7000-series SKU with 170 W TDP. AMD plans to give AM5 a similar life-cycle to AM4, which is now spanning five generations of Ryzen processors, and the 170 W TDP and 230 W PPT figures only denote design goals for the socket. AMD, in a statement, explained why it needed to make AM5 capable of delivering much higher power than AM4 could—to enable higher CPU core-counts in the future, more on-package hardware, and for new capabilities like power-hungry instruction-sets (think AVX-512). AMD has been calculating PPT as 1.35 times TDP, since the very first generation of Ryzen chips. For a 105 W TDP processor, this means 140 W PPT, and the same formula continues with Ryzen 7000 series (230 W is 1.35x 170 W).The AMD statement follows.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions today announced all AIO liquid coolers lineup and tower fans for multi-platform are attached with brackets for Socket AM5 to support the new coming AMD motherboards, which provides users the optimal CPU heat dissipation and hands-down system upgrade without changing coolers.

Considering the inconvenience of upgrade CPU fans along with platforms, GIGABYTE always takes into account of the platform variation in the initial design stage of Cooler and tower fan. After confirmed the continuity of AM4 brackets on the Socket AM5 platform, GIGABTYE proved that all AIO liquid coolers lineup and tower fans can provide the optimal thermal performance to the new platform through rigorous tests. For users who has bought GIGABYTE coolers or tower fans designed for multi platforms, no change or adjustment will be needed to suffice the new platform.

Phanteks introduces 3 new chassis; the new Eclipse P500A matte white, Eclipse G360A, Eclipse G500A, a new LCD screen module for the Evolv Shift XT and LGA1700/AM5 support for the Glacier One MP AIO coolers. The Eclipse P500A is a premium mid-tower case that combines high airflow performance with style. It features the Ultra-fine Performance mesh front panel for optimal airflow with dust filtration. The P500A will now be available in Matte White and replaces the original white color option.

Launching on June 8th, the G360A will feature a new design front mesh panel with increased air intake thanks to the enlarged mesh surface area. The case will also support up to 400 mm long GPUs, a new removable fan bracket, and pre-equipped 3x PWM DRGB fans. The G360A will be available in Satin Black and Matte White color options. Following the G360A, the G500A will have new features that include a better innovative design to the front and top for easy fan/radiator installation with a new look for the front mesh panel. The G500A will be available at the end of the summer and have the option of Satin Black or Matte White colors.

Computex 2022 is what's being referred to as a hybrid show and although most of the motherboard manufacturers chose not to exhibit this year, Gigabyte was at the show and we got to take a closer look at its new AM5 motherboards. Gigabyte was only showing four models, but on the plus side, the staff at the booth was more than happy to share details about the boards with us. The four boards on display were the X670E Aorus Xtreme, the X670E Aorus Master, the X670E Aero D and the X670 Aorus Pro AX. Note that these were early board revision and the E is missing in the model name from three of the models, which suggests that AMD hadn't informed the board makers about this distinction between its chipsets until earlier this month when rumours about it started to appear online.

Gigabyte will have a full lineup of boards coming later this year when AMD launches its AM5 platform, although based on the information we were given, the majority of its boards will be based on the B650 chipset. We should point out that there will be high-end B650 motherboards that will be priced similar to lower-end X670 models, which means that buying AM5 motherboards will be highly dependent on what features you favour. Unfortunately no B650 motherboards were on display and we won't be sharing any details of these models at this time. As for the X670E versus X670 chipsets, as there are of course two per board, it seems like the difference comes down to PCIe 5.0 or PCIe 4.0 for the x16 PCIe slot as the major differentiator between Gigabyte's different SKUs.

AMD today unveiled its next-generation Ryzen 7000 desktop processors, based on the Socket AM5 desktop platform. The new Ryzen 7000 series processors introduce the new "Zen 4" microarchitecture, with the company claiming a 15% single-threaded uplift over "Zen 3" (16-core/32-thread Zen 4 processor prototype compared to a Ryzen 9 5950X). Other key specs about the architecture put out by AMD include a doubling in per-core L2 cache to 1 MB, up from 512 KB on all older versions of "Zen." The Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs will boost to frequencies above 5.5 GHz. Based on the way AMD has worded their claims, it seems that the "+15%" number includes IPC gains, plus gains from higher clocks, plus what the DDR4 to DDR5 transition achieves. With Zen 4, AMD is introducing a new instruction set for AI compute acceleration. The transition to the LGA1718 Socket AM5 allows AMD to use next-generation I/O, including DDR5 memory, and PCI-Express Gen 5, both for the graphics card, and the M.2 NVMe slot attached to the CPU socket.

Much like Ryzen 3000 "Matisse," and Ryzen 5000 "Vermeer," the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" desktop processor is a multi-chip module with up to two "Zen 4" CCDs (CPU core dies), and one I/O controller die. The CCDs are built on the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, while the I/O die is built on the 6 nm process, a significant upgrade from previous-generation I/O dies that were built on 12 nm. The leap to 5 nm for the CCD enables AMD to cram up to 16 "Zen 4" cores per socket, all of which are "performance" cores. The "Zen 4" CPU core is larger, on account of more number-crunching machinery to achieve the IPC increase and new instruction-sets, as well as the larger per-core L2 cache. The cIOD packs a pleasant surprise—an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture! Now most Ryzen 7000 processors will pack integrated graphics, just like Intel Core desktop processors.

As Computex 2022 is largely an online event, MSI announced its upcoming AMD X670 and X670E boards shortly after AMD's keynote earlier today. Although the official press release didn't go into too many details, VideoCardz got their hands on more detailed information from MSI, which also brings some additional clarity to the platform as a whole. The most interesting slide is the one that lists the AM5 CPU's as having 28 PCIe 5.0 lanes, rather than the 24 PCIe lanes AMD mentioned in its presentation. This makes sense based on the fact that some X670/E boards have multiple PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for NVMe drives. MSI's X670E Godlike and X670E Ace even feature three PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, although it's likely that this is in a x8/x8/x4 configuration, as these boards only have a single PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot. The same slide also mentions that all Raphael based CPUs will have support for HDMI 2.1 as well as DisplayPort 2.0, which will also work over USB Type-C Alt Mode. Interestingly it seems like not all AM5 CPUs will support DisplayPort 2.0, based on a footnote from MSI.

Other interesting titbits include a minimum CMOS chip size of 32 MB, which hopefully means we won't be seeing a repeat of the issue that the AM4 platform had, where AMD ran out of space for the AGESA, which led to multiple UEFI versions depending on the CPU used with the board. As far as MSI specific features goes, at least the high-end models will be getting eight to 10 layer PCBs and MSI will offer up to 24+2 power phases with improved heatsinks. MSI is also promising 60 W USB PD support for the front USB-C header. Just like ASUS, MSI will also offer an add-in card for more M.2 NVMe drives and MSI calls it the Xpander-Z Gen5 Dual. A common feature among all four boards is that they'll feature AMD's RZ616 WiFi 6E module, which is technically a MediaTek solution.

Although AMD didn't provide too many details during its Computex 2022 keynote speech about the upcoming AM5 platform, the company did announce that there will be at least three chipsets for the platform and showed pictures of some upcoming motherboards. ASUS has kindly filled in some more details about its upcoming ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme, which will be one of its higher-end models. Sadly the pictures posted are kind of tiny and the company didn't provide a shot of the rear I/O. That said, ASUS did point out some of its new features that we can expect to find on the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme.

For starters, the board will have a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, although each slot is likely to only have eight lanes each, when both slots are in use, but ASUS doesn't mention any details here. The board has support for up to five M.2 NVMe SSDs, four of which support PCIe 5.0. Only two are onboard, with the other three being via ASUS' proprietary ROG PCIe 5.0 M.2 card and ROG GEN-Z.2 card. ASUS also promises USB4 support, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 header with Quick Charge 4+ as well as up to 60 W charging support, for cases with a front USB-C port. On top of the rear I/O is an AniMe Matrix LED display that can be user customised.