AMD is slowly preparing the launch of the latest and greatest Ryzen processor family based on the Zen 4 CPU core design. Among various things that are getting an overhaul, the Raphael processor generation is now getting revamped temperature reading and better power management circuitry. According to an Igor's Lab report, AMD has prepared a few new improvements that will make temperature reading and power management easier for PC enthusiasts. Currently, the reported CPU temperature is called Tcontrol (Tctl), which is what the cooling solution sees. If Tctl is high, the fans spin up and cool the system. If Tctl is low, the fans slow down to reduce noise.

With Raphael, the CUR_TEMP (current temperature) output part of Tctl has been upgraded to reflect a much smoother curve, and avoid jittering with fans as they are not spiking so suddenly anymore. This is helping contribute to the noise output and has made it run at a consistent fan speed in the system. Another note about Raphael is a new power management technique. AMD has designed the AM5 platform to avoid sudden power spikes, to maintain maximum efficiency over time. It is a design decision made from the very start, and the CPU will try to constrain itself in the TDP range that it is configured for. For more details about the circuitry, please head over to the Igor's Lab article.

The first desktop processors to implement AMD's "Zen 4" microarchitecture will feature integrated graphics as standard across the lineup, according to a Chips and Cheese report citing leaked AMD design documents. Currently, most of the Socket AM4 desktop processor lineup lacks integrated graphics, and specialized "G" SKUs with integrated graphics dot it. These SKUs almost always come with compromises in CPU performance or PCIe I/O. With its 5 nm "Raphael" Socket AM5 desktop processor, AMD is planning to change this, in a bid to match up to Intel on the universality of integrated graphics.

Built in the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, the "Raphael" silicon combines "Zen 4" CPU cores along with an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. This would be the first time AMD updated the SIMD architecture of its Ryzen iGPUs since 2017. The RDNA2-based iGPU will come with a more advanced DCN (Display CoreNext) component than current RDNA2-based discrete GPUs, with some SKUs even featuring DisplayPort 2.0 support, besides HDMI 2.1. By the time "Raphael" is out (2022-23), it is expected that USB4 type-C would gain popularity, and mainstream motherboards as well as pre-built desktops could ship with USB4 with DisplayPort 2.0 passthrough. AMD relies on a discrete USB4 controller with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring, for its first Socket AM5 platform.

AMD might fall behind Intel on PCI-Express Gen 5 support, say sources familiar with the recent GIGABYTE ransomware attack and ensuing leak of confidential documents. If you recall, AMD had extensively marketed the fact that it was first-to-market with PCI-Express Gen 4, over a year ahead of Intel's "Rocket Lake" processor. The platform block-diagram for Socket AM5 states that the AM5 SoC puts out a total of 28 PCI-Express Gen 4 lanes. 16 of these are allocated toward PCI-Express discrete graphics, 4 toward a CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slot, another 4 lanes toward a discrete USB4 controller, and the remaining 4 lanes as chipset-bus.

Socket AM5 SoCs appear to have an additional 4 lanes to spare than the outgoing "Matisse" and "Vermeer" SoCs, which on higher-end platforms are used up by the USB4 controller, but can be left unused for the purpose, and instead wired to an additional M.2 NVMe slot on lower-end motherboards. Thankfully, memory is one area where AMD will maintain parity with Intel, as Socket AM5 is being designed for dual-channel DDR5. The other SoC-integrated I/O, as well as I/O from the chipset, appear to be identical to "Vermeer," with minor exceptions such as support for 20 Gbps USB 3.2x2. The Socket has preparation for display I/O for APUs from the generation. Intel's upcoming "Alder Lake-S" processor implements PCI-Express Gen 5, but only for the 16-lane PEG port. The CPU-attached NVMe slot, as well as downstream PCIe connectivity, are limited to PCIe Gen 4.

AMD's upcoming desktop processor Socket AM5 could retain cooler compatibility with the outgoing Socket AM4, according to a leaked technical document related to the socket. If true, this would be the first time that two fundamentally different sockets—one a PGA, and the other an LGA—are designed for cooler cross-compatibility. The document reveals that with a processor installed, Socket AM5 would align with the retention clip and mount-hole spacing identical to that of Socket AM4. This could mean you can carry over your expensive liquid-cooling setup or pricey AIO CLC over from your current Ryzen desktop build.

New renders of Socket AM5 also reveal that the socket locking mechanism is mostly similar to that of Intel sockets, such as the LGA1200, and isn't a downscale of TR4/sTRX4 as was feared in social media. The top retention brace swings along a hinge, and held in place by pressure from a lever that locks into a hook. Depending on the model, AMD Socket AM5 processors could come in TDP values of 45 W, 65 W, 95 W, 105 W, 125 W, and 170 W.

AMD is slowly preparing to launch its next-generation processors based on the new AM5 socket. The new lineup of processors will be based on the upgraded Zen 4 architecture that is said to bring multiple microarchitecture improvements and enhancements, equaling to a possible high-performance increase. Today, according to ExecutableFix, the person who provided us with renders of AMD's upcoming AM5 socket designed for next-generation Raphael processors. As we previously reported, AM5 is doing away from PGA and switching to LGA type instead, where pins are delivered on the socket, not the CPU like we used to see with AMD processors.

The LGA-1718 socket, pictured in the renders below, looks like a simple retention mechanism, where there is one metal arm to hold the lid down under pressure. If it turns out to be true, this implementation will be a very positive upgrade over the past PGA socket found on AM4 and before. We can look forward to seeing what AMD will deliver once the launch of Raphael processors gets closer.

AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su, in the company's Q2-2021 financial results call, confirmed that the company is on-track to launch the Zen 4 CPU microarchitecture and RDNA3 graphics architecture, in 2022. Zen 4 would herald the first major desktop platform change since the original Zen architecture, with the introduction of a new CPU socket, and support for DDR5 memory. The RDNA3 graphics architecture, meanwhile, is expected to nearly triple SIMD resources over the previous generation, and introduce even more fixed-function hardware for raytracing.

In the meantime, AMD is preparing a counter to Intel's 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" processor, in the form of Zen 3 with 3D Vertical Cache, which is also being referred to as the Zen 3+ architecture. These processors feature additional last-level cache, and the company claims a 15% gaming performance uplift, which should help it close the gaming performance gap with Intel, and win on sheer core-count of its big cores. It remains to be seen if Zen 3+ remains on Socket AM4 or if it debuts AM5, as AMD will be under pressure to match "Alder Lake" in platform I/O, which includes DDR5. Dr Su also confirmed that AMD has started shipping the Instinct MI200 "Aldebaran" compute accelerator based on the CDNA2 architecture. AMD's first MCM GPU with two logic dies, "Aldebaran" takes the fight to NVIDIA's top A100 series compute accelerators, and has already scored wins with ongoing HPC/supercomputing projects.

We have recently seen several reputable rumors confirming that AMD's Zen 4 Raphael desktop processors will be limited to 16 cores with 2 compute units. There were previous rumors of a 24 core model with 3 compute units however that now seems unlikely. While the core counts won't increase some skews may see a TDP increase up to 170 W which should offer some performance uplift. AMD is expected to debut their 5 nm Zen 4 Raphael desktop processors in 2022 which will come with support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5. The processors will switch to a new AM5 LGA1718 socket and will compete with Intel's Alder Lake-S successor Raptor Lake which could feature 24 cores.

AMD Socket AM5 motherboards are set to arrive in Q2-2022, according to PJ, the editor of Uniko's Hardware. This would mean that the Zen 3 + 3D Vertical Cache chiplet AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su showed off in her Computex keynote, could very well be built in the Socket AM4 package, compatible with existing motherboards. The prototype Dr Su showed off appeared Socket AM4, too. AMD claims that the 3D Vertical Cache feature, when paired with a "Zen 3" chiplet, improves gaming performance by a significant 15 percent, helping AMD catch up with Intel's "Rocket Lake-S" processor at gaming. Elsewhere across the landscape, PJ predicts that the Z690 chipset, which goes with "Alder Lake-S" processors in the LGA1700 package, will arrive by Q4 2021, with cost-effective chipsets such as the B660 and H610 in Q1-2022.

AMD is preparing to switch things up a bit with its upcoming AM5 platform. The new platform is said to bring significant changes to the design of the socket and the CPU package, where we will see some new design choices and decisions. For starters, all of the processors made for the AM5 platform will come in a land grid array (LGA) configuration, very similar to that of Intel. Thanks to the rendering of ExecutableFix, we got to see exactly how will the new LGA design look like. And today, we get to see more details of the AMD's upcoming Raphael processor's integrated heat spreader (IHS) design.

The IHS serves the purpose of spreading the heat away from the die and dissipating it efficiently. However, IHS designs can sometimes be very interesting. According to this rendering from ExecutableFix, AMD's upcoming Raphael design, based on Zen 4 core, will feature a unique IHS design, which can be seen below.

AMD's second processor microarchitecture on the Socket AM5 platform, the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," could introduce a 20% IPC gain over its predecessor, according to a report by Moore's Law is Dead. The processor debuts the company's "Zen 4" microarchitecture, which clocks IPC gains over the rumored "Zen 3+" microarchitecture that the Ryzen 6000 "Rembrandt" processor debuts with, on Socket AM5. The upper limit of AMD's core-counts appear to remain at 16-core for the flagship part. With "Zen 4" CCDs (8-core chiplets) being built on 5 nm, the source predicts a 50% performance/Watt gain. The chips could also introduce AVX-512 support. The Ryzen "Raphael" processor is due for 2022.

A reliable source with AMD and NVIDIA leaks, ExecutableFix has shared some interesting bits of early information on AMD's next-generation Socket AM5. Apparently this will be AMD's first mainstream-desktop socket that does away with pins on the processor package, shifting them to the motherboard, in a Land Grid Array (LGA) format. This won't be AMD's first client LGA, though, as it was the Quad FX platform from 2006, which used a pair of Socket F LGAs. Socket AM5 will have a pin-count of 1,718 pins, 18 more than Intel's upcoming Socket LGA1700, on which its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" is expected to be based.

AMD will give the I/O of its client desktop platform a major update, with the introduction of DDR5 memory. Socket AM5 processors are expected to feature a dual-channel DDR5 memory interface. With Intel "Alder Lake-S" implementing DDR5, too, you now know why every major memory manufacturer is unveiling their first DDR5 U-DIMM product development. Interestingly, the PCI-Express interface on Socket AM5 will remain PCI-Express 4.0, even though PCI-Express 5.0 is being rumored for "Alder Lake-S." The switch to PCI-Express 5.0 may not be significant from a graphics cards perspective immediately, but paves the way for next-gen M.2 NVMe SSDs with double the transfer-rates of current drives that use PCI-Express 4.0. AMD is developing the new 600-series chipset to do with its next-generation Socket AM5 processors.

The rumor mill keeps crushing away; in this case, regarding AMD's plans for their next-generation Zen designs. Various users have shared pieces of the same AMD roadmap, which apparently places AMD in an APU-focused landscape come their Ryzen 7000 series. we are currently on AMD's Ryzen 5000-series; Ryzen 6000 is supposed to materialize via a Zen 3+ design, with improved performance per watt obtained from improvements to its current Zen 3 family. However, Ryzen 7000-series is expected to debut on AMD's next-gen platform (let's call it AM5), which is also expected to introduce DDR5 support for AMD's mainstream computing platform. And now, the leaked, alleged roadmaps paint a Zen 4 + Navi 2 APU series in the works for AMD's Zen 4 debut with Raphael - roadmapped for manufacturing at the 5 nm process.

The inclusion of an iGPU chip with AMD's mainstream processors may signal a move by AMD to produce chiplets for all of its products, and then integrating them in the final product. You just have to think about it in the sense that AMD could "easily" pair one of the eight-core chiplets from the current Ryzen 5800X, for example, with an I/O die (which would likely still be fabricated with Global Foundries) an an additional Navi 2 GPU chiplet. It makes sense for AMD to start fabricating GPUs as chiplets as well - AMD's research on MCM (Multi-Chip Module) GPUs is pretty well-known at this point, and is a given for future development. It means that AMD needed only to develop one CPU chiplet and one GPU chiplet which they can then scale on-package by adding in more of the svelte pieces of silicon - something that Intel still doesn't do, and which results in the company's monolithic dies.

GALAX on Facebook announced that it is developing its next generation of DDR5 memory modules targeted at overclockers. The modules are possibly made under the HOF (Hall of Fame) brand, as the announcement comes from the company's OC Lab handle that markets its HOF series products. The announcement also comes with pictures of trays of DDR5 DRAM chips made by Micron Technology. With major DIY gaming/overclocking memory brands announcing development of DDR5 memory products, one wonders where the platforms for these memory modules are. It's rumored that Intel's upcoming 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" processor in the LGA1700 package could feature a DDR5 memory interface. AMD's first client-desktop platform with DDR5 would see the transition to the new AM5 socket.

While AMD has only released a few Zen 3 processors which are still extremely hard to purchase for RRP we are already receiving leaks on their successors. Zen 3 Milan processors will likely be the final generation of AM4 processors before the switch to AM5. AMD appears to be preparing a bridging series of processors based on the Zen 3+ architecture before the release of Zen 4. Zen 3+ is expected to be AMD's first AM5 CPU design and should bring small IPC gains similar to the improvements from Zen to Zen+ in the range of 4% - 7%. The Zen 3+ processors will be manufactured on TSMC's refined N7 node with a potential announcement sometime later in 2021.

Zen 4 is expected to launch the next year in 2022 and will bring significant improvements potentially up to 40% over Zen 3 after clock boosts according to ChipsandChesse. A Zen 4 Genoa engineering sample reportedly performed 29% faster than an existing Zen 3 CPUs at the same clock speeds and core counts. The Zen 4 architecture will be manufactured on a 5 nm node and could potentially bring another core count increase. This would be one of the largest generational improvements for AMD since the launch of Ryzen if true. Take all this information with a heavy dose of skepticism as with any rumor.

AMD is always in development mode and just when they launch a new product, the company is always gearing up for the next-generation of devices. Just a few months ago, back in November, AMD has launched its Zen 3 core, and today we get to hear about the next steps that the company is taking to stay competitive and grow its product portfolio. In the AnandTech interview with Dr. Lisa Su, and The Street interview with Rick Bergman, the EVP of AMD's Computing and Graphics Business Group, we have gathered information about AMD's plans for Zen 4 core development and RDNA 3 performance target.

Starting with Zen 4, AMD plans to migrate to the AM5 platform, bringing the new DDR5 and USB 4.0 protocols. The current aim of Zen 4 is to be extremely competitive among competing products and to bring many IPC improvements. Just like Zen 3 used many small advances in cache structures, branch prediction, and pipelines, Zen 4 is aiming to achieve a similar thing with its debut. The state of x86 architecture offers little room for improvement, however, when the advancement is done in many places it adds up quite well, as we could see with 19% IPC improvement of Zen 3 over the previous generation Zen 2 core. As the new core will use TSMC's advanced 5 nm process, there is a possibility to have even more cores found inside CCX/CCD complexes. We are expecting to see Zen 4 sometime close to the end of 2021.

Several future AMD processor codenames across various computing segments surfaced courtesy of an Expreview leak that's largely aligned with information from Komachi Ensaka. It does not account for "Matisse Refresh" that's allegedly coming out in June-July as three gaming-focused Ryzen socket AM4 desktop processors; but roadmap from 2H-2020 going up to 2022 sees many codenames surface. To begin with, the second half of 2020 promises to be as action packed as last year's 7/7 mega launch. Over in the graphics business, the company is expected to debut its DirectX 12 Ultimate-compliant RDNA2 client graphics, and its first CDNA architecture-based compute accelerators. Much of the processor launch cycle is based around the new "Zen 3" microarchitecture.

The server platform debuting in the second half of 2020 is codenamed "Genesis SP3." This will be the final processor architecture for the SP3-class enterprise sockets, as it has DDR4 and PCI-Express gen 4.0 I/O. The EPYC server processor is codenamed "Milan," and combines "Zen 3" chiplets along with an sIOD. EPYC Embedded (FP6 package) processors are codenamed "Grey Hawk."

With the AM5 case series, Sharkoon introduces a new Midi tower with a front panel finished with a glossy metallic car paint and available in two versions: The Sharkoon AM5 Silent offers pre-installed damping mats; the AM5 Window comes without damping mats, but with an acrylic side panel. Both versions are available with front panels painted in a mirror finish in the colors red, blue or titanium.

Airflow is possible thanks to the numerous air vents on both sides of the front panel, behind which is also a removable dust filter. The Silent version has two pre-installed 140 mm fans in the front, while the Window version comes with one pre-installed 140 mm fan. Additional pre-drilled holes for more fans are also available. Alternatively, a 280 mm or 360 mm radiator with a total height of up to 5.5 cm, including fan, can be installed. Microphone and headphone audio ports as well as two USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports are all located on the top panel.

At5 Computex 2017, Sharkoon took the opportunity to set customer's eyes on their AM5 case, which features a modular front panel that can be swapped at will (provided you acquire the other options.) One of the most interesting characteristics of this case is that it will be sold in two options with differing materials for the side panels: one with an acrylic sheet, which is already a well-known material for those who want to gorge their eyes on their hardware; or with soundproof panels, which make sure not a whisper from your system's cooling can escape the confines of your case (at least from this particular side.)

Other characteristics are as usual, with a maximum 40 cm length for the graphics card, 16.7 cm for the CPU cooler, 20.5 cm for the power supply, support for 2x 140 mm fans on the front panel (pre-installed) or one of those 240 mm radiators; 1x 120 mm fan support on the back of the chassis; and up to 3x 120 mm fans or 2x 140 mm on the top of the case (we posit 280 mm AIOs can also be fit there).