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AMD Shipped 553 Million GPUs Since 2013: Jon Peddie Research

When AMD scored a double hit by winning the Xbox and the PlayStation console projects the number of GPUs the company shipped from 2013 on took a jump. As their APU sales increased (partially due to the console wins) their overall sales increased even more. Likewise, as AMD introduced the Zen CPU, associated GPU sales also increased. The net result is since 2013 AMD has shipped over a half-billion GPUs either integrated or discrete.

When compared to Intel (integrated only) or NVIDIA (discrete only) both companies beat AMD in their respective classes, but overall AMD beats them both. Fun with numbers. The cumulative distribution of GPUs by platform is shown in the following chart. Next year AMD will be able to add Samsung smartphones to its list of platforms, and those numbers are going to huge.

AMD COVID-19 HPC Fund Donates 7 Petaflops of Compute Power to Researchers

AMD and technology partner Penguin Computing Inc., a division of SMART Global Holdings, Inc, today announced that New York University (NYU), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Rice University are the first universities named to receive complete AMD-powered, high-performance computing systems from the AMD HPC Fund for COVID-19 research. AMD also announced it will contribute a cloud-based system powered by AMD EPYC and AMD Radeon Instinct processors located on-site at Penguin Computing, providing remote supercomputing capabilities for selected researchers around the world. Combined, the donated systems will collectively provide researchers with more than seven petaflops of compute power that can be applied to fight COVID-19.

"High performance computing technology plays a critical role in modern viral research, deepening our understanding of how specific viruses work and ultimately accelerating the development of potential therapeutics and vaccines," said Lisa Su, president and CEO, AMD. "AMD and our technology partners are proud to provide researchers around the world with these new systems that will increase the computing capability available to fight COVID-19 and support future medical research."

AMD "Sienna Cichlid" Could be "Big Navi"

Linux kernel patches reference an AMD "Sienna Cichlid" GPU, which Phoronix believes could be the fabled "Big Navi" GPU. We know this is a GPU and not a headless CDNA scalar processor as the patches include code for VCN 3.0 video encoding capabilities (RDNA2's media engine), and DCN3 (RDNA2's display engine), which constitute bulk that AMD could get rid of on CDNA chips. The unusual internal codename could reference AMD's next generation RDNA2 architecture based flagship GPU, armed with 80 compute units (5,120 stream processors), Radeon Intersection Engines (accelerate real-time ray-tracing). The codename comes across as unusual, but AMD does tend to use wacky internal codenames to detect sources of leaks.

AMD "Ryzen C7" Smartphone SoC Specifications Listed

Last year Samsung and AMD announced their collaboration which promises to deliver smartphone chips with AMD RDNA 2 graphics at its heart. This collaboration is set to deliver first products sometime at the beginning of 2021 when Samsung will likely utilize new SoCs in their smartphones. In previous leaks, we have found that the GPU inside this processor is reportedly beating the competition form Qualcomm, where the AMD GPU was compared to Adreno 650. However, today we have obtained more information about the new SoC which is reportedly called "Ryzen C7" smartphone SoC. A new submission to a mobile phone leaks website called Slash Leaks has revealed a lot of new details to us.

The SoC looks like a beast. Manufactured on TSMC 5 nm process, it features two Gaugin Pro cores based on recently announced Arm Cortex-X1, two Gaugin cores based on Arm Cortex-A78, and four cores based on Arm Cortex-A55. This configuration represents a standard big.LITTLE CPU typical for smartphones. Two of the Cortex-X1 cores run at 3 GHz, two of Cortex-A78 run at 2.6 GHz, while four little cores are clocked at 2 GHz frequency. The GPU inside this piece of silicon is what is amazing. It features four cores of custom RDNA 2 based designs that are clocked at 700 MHz. These are reported to beat the Adreno 650 by 45% in performance measurements.

AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT, and Ryzen 5 3600XT Get Early Listing

French retailer Materiel.net listed the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT, Ryzen 7 3800XT, and Ryzen 5 3600XT desktop processors. The 3900XT is listed at 499€, the 3800XT at 459€, and the 3600XT at 319€, inclusive of VAT. These prices could be opportunistic, and set entirely by the retailer to win some attention toward pre-orders. A VideoCardz report points to the possibility of the XT series SKUs being nominally pricier than the current prices of the 3900X, 3800X, and 3600X. The 3600XT is reported as being exactly $28 pricier than the 3600X, which would put its price back at $250, given the $220-ish running rate for a 3600X. Unless AMD is beating Intel at gaming performance, the company could price the 3900XT and 3800XT competitively against the i9-10900K and i7-10700K, respectively (and not exactly match them). AMD is expected to announce its 3rd generation Ryzen "Matisse Refresh" Ryzen XT desktop processors in mid-June, with availability expected in early-July, 2020.

Intel Scores Another AMD Graphics Higher-up: Ali Ibrahim

To support its efforts to build a competitive consumer GPU lineup under the Xe brand, which Intel likes to call its "Odyssey," the company scored another higher-up from AMD, this time Ali Ibrahim. He joined Intel this month as a vice-president within the Architecture, Graphics and Software group, although the company didn't specify his responsibilities. "We are thrilled that Ali has joined Intel as Vice President, Platform Architecture and Engineering - dGPUs to be part of the exciting Intel Xe graphics journey," said an Intel spokesperson in a comment to CRN.

During his 13-year tenure at AMD, Ali Ibrahim was the chief-architect of the company's cloud gaming and console SoC businesses, which provides valuable insight into Intel's breakneck efforts to build high-end discrete GPUs (something it lacked for the past two decades). Intel is the only other company that is capable of building semi-custom chips for someone like Microsoft or Sony as the inventor of x86, provided it has a GPU that can match AMD's in the console space. Likewise, with gaming taking baby steps to the cloud as big players such as Google betting on it, Intel sees an opportunity for cloud gaming GPUs that aren't too different from its "Ponte Vecchio" scalar processors. The transfer of talent isn't one-way, as AMD recently bagged Intel's server processor lead Dan McNamara to head the EPYC brand.

AMD 5th Gen Ryzen Desktop Possibly Codenamed "Warhol"

Earlier this week, we brought you a report about codenames of AMD processors that won't launch before 2022. It referenced "Raphael" being distant 5 nm "Zen 4" based successor to today's "Matisse." At the time, the codename for the 2021 release of AMD's mainstream desktop processor wasn't known. We're now getting a pointer as to what it is - "Warhol."

Named after American artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol, this processor combines CPU chiplets based on the "Zen 3" with a cIOD that retains PCI-Express gen 4.0, just like "Vermeer," but still qualifies as a new generation (and not a refresh). What's more, "Warhol" apparently sticks to a 7 nm-class silicon fabrication process. This means that "Warhol" could see AMD innovate on other fronts, such as leveraging an even more advanced version of TSMC's 7 nm node (such as N7+), to increase core counts over the chiplet that makes it to "Vermeer, "Genesis Peak," and "Milan."

Benchmarks Surface for AMD Ryzen 4700G, 4400G and 4200G Renoir APUs

Renowned leaker APISAK has digged up benchmarks for AMD's upcoming Ryzen 4700G, 4400G and 4200G Renoir APUs in 3D Mark. These are actually for the PRO versions of the APUs, but these tend to be directly comparable with AMD's non-PRO offerings, so we can look at them to get an idea of where AMD's 4000G series' performance lies. AMD's 4000G will be increasing core-counts almost across the board - the midrange 4400G now sports 6 cores and 12 threads, which is more than the previous generation Ryzen 5 3400G offered (4 cores / 8 threads), while the top-of-the-line 4700G doubles the 3400G's core-cpount to 8 physical and 16 logical threads.

This increase in CPU cores, of course, has implied a reduction in the area of the chip that's dedicated to the integrated Vega graphics GPU - compute units have been reduced from the 3400G's 11 down to 8 compute units on the Ryzen 7 4700G and 7 compute units on the 4400G - while the 4200G now makes do with just 6 Vega compute units. Clocks have been severely increased across the board to compensate the CU reduction, though - the aim is to achieve similar GPU performance using a smaller amount of semiconductor real-estate.

GIGABYTE AMD B550 Motherboard Pricing Revealed

A GIGABYTE Community Manager on Reddit updated the "cheat sheet" of the company's AMD B550 motherboard lineup with MSRP Pricing. While prices of these boards start at USD $99, they go all the way up to $279. The top model, the B550 AORUS Master, leads the pack with a USD $279 price that puts it firmly in the premium segment where it matches features with boards based on the X570 and Intel's Z490 chipset. The B550 AORUS Pro AC is the next best model in the lineup, priced at $189. Its sans-WLAN twin, the B550 AORUS Pro, goes for $10 less at $179. The B550 AORUS Elite is priced at $159. The B550 Gaming X is part of the company's mainline brand, and goes for $139. The micro-ATX B550M AORUS Pro goes for $129, and the B550M AORUS Elite goes for $109. There's a token "sub $100" product, the B550M Gaming, at $99.

These prices indicate that B550 motherboards are on average 20% higher than B450 motherboards. For example, a reasonably well-endowed board like the B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC could be had for $150, as could the ASUS ROG Strix B450-E, and a decent board like the ROG Strix B450-F Gaming could be had at $130 even before "Zen 2" hit the market. Plenty of B450 boards could be had under the $100-mark. It looks like $99 will be a token value at best, with board vendors releasing only their most stripped down products at that that price. Find the GIGABYTE B550 motherboard cheat sheet in the source link below.

AMD Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.5.1 Drivers

AMD today released the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition. Version 20.5.1 beta is released exclusively for Windows 10, and comes with two new feature additions and several fixes. To begin with, version 20.5.1 introduces support for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (2004), including its new WDDM. An update to AMD Link sees a new Xinput emulation driver to improve compatibility with current- and future games. Several issues were fixed, beginning with a crash or hang on hybrid graphics system configurations, especially during a driver installation; a black screen issue on a limited number displays, requiring a reboot to resolve; a "Destiny 2" crash/hang when task-switching; an "Overwatrch" crash or black screen when joining a match; and incorrect clocks reported on performance metrics overlay for RX 5700 series graphics cards.

Also fixed were high memory usage on Instant Replay or Desktop Recording on a machine that's entered sleep; a black screen with the Vulkan test on GeekBench 5; glitching observed in "League of Legends" after a task-switch, Radeon Overlay unintentionally minimizing "Sniper Elite 4" when invoked; lighting corruption in GTA V with Radeon Boost enabled; a texture corruption issue with "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," RDR2 failing to launch in certain hybrid graphics systems; memory OC failing to apply on Radeon VII, and "Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order" and "Control" experiencing hangs with Radeon Anti-Lag enabled. Grab the driver from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.5.1 beta

MSI Confirms "Zen 3" Support on its AMD 400-series Chipset Motherboards with 16MB ROMs

MSI confirmed that AMD's "Zen 3" processor support will be added to the company's AMD 400-series chipset motherboards, including the non-MAX SKUs that only have 16 MB EEPROM chips. Marketing Director Eric van Beurden in an MSI Insider video presentation confirmed that with the non-MAX motherboards, "Zen 3" support will be added as AMD planned to go about doing so (i.e. add "Zen 3" support by cutting out support for older processors and slimming down the UEFI setup program down to the GSE Click BIOS program, which may not correspond with your motherboard's original feature-set). On the other hand, the MAX SKUs, with their 32 MB EEPROMs will receive "Zen 3" support painlessly, meaning that the board may retain support for some, if not all, older processor generations, and retain their original feature-rich UEFI setup programs.

AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT and Ryzen 7 3800XT Benchmarks Surface

AMD's 3rd generation Ryzen "Matisse Refresh" processors surfaced on the Futuremark online database, as dug up by TUM_APISAK, where someone with access to them allegedly posted some performance numbers. Interestingly, the clock-speeds as read by the Futuremark SystemInfo module appear very different from what were previously reported. The 3800XT is shown featuring a 3.80 GHz nominal clock, boosting up to 4.70 GHz, while the 3900XT has a 3.90 GHz nominal clock, boosting up to the same 4.70 GHz as the 3800XT. APISAK reports that the 3800XT scores 25135 points in the FireStrike physics test.

A WCCFTech report presents screenshots of Cinebench R20 single-thread performance scores of the 3900XT, where it is shown beating the i9-10900K (in a single-threaded test). The 3800XT is within striking distance of the i9-10900K in this test, and beats the i7-10700KF. This single-threaded performance figure suggests that AMD's design focus with "Matisse Refresh" has been to shore up single-threaded and less-parallelized application performance, in other words, gaming performance.

AMD Radeon RX 5300 (Desktop) Surfaces on Geekbench

AMD is coming around to launching its entry-level Radeon RX 5300 on the desktop platform, although it remains to be seen if the SKU will be released in the AIB (all-in-board) retail channel, or remains an OEM-exclusive. It surfaced an "AMD 7340:CF" graphics device on the Geekbench database, and was identified as the RX 5300 (non-mobile) by Komachi Ensaka. The OpenCL benchmark component of Geekbench identifies the card as having 24 compute units (1536 stream processors). The mobile RX 5300M has 3 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 96-bit wide memory bus, and the desktop RX 5300 appears to have the same memory configuration. The SKU hence appears to be based on the 7 nm "Navi 14" silicon, the same one that powers the RX 5500 series.

AMD Re-Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.4.2 as a WHQL-signed Driver

AMD on Tuesday re-released its Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.4.2 graphics drivers as a WHQL-signed driver. The company hasn't released a driver update since April 21 (the same 20.4.2 as a beta). With no new AAA game releases, there probably wasn't much AMD could do. Then again, 20.4.2 beta came with a long list of "known issues" (new issues identified by AMD that needed to be solved), which could have been fixed in the last 35 days or so. The WHQL is identical to the beta. It comes with optimization for Gears Tactics and Predator: Hunting Grounds, and fixes a handful of issues. Grab the Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.4.2 WHQL from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 20.4.2 WHQL

AMD B550 Motherboards to Restart AGESA with v2

Apparently, AMD will be taking a slightly confusing step with its new AGESA codes - at least for the B550 platform. A report via Hardwareluxx has AMD rebooting AGESA (the most basic firmware for your motherboard and chipset support that's a requirement for correct CPU and feature support) versions back to version 1.0.0.0, but with a catch. The new AGESA version that's supposed to allow for support for AMD's Zen 3 CPUs will be coded as ComboAM4 v2 1.0.0.0 - instead of the next version in the current AGESA nomenclature, 1.0.0.6. It is still unclear if this change only refers to AMD's B550 or if it will also move on to X570's next AGESA releases.

It's expected that new motherboards based on AMD's B550 chipset will start landing in June. For now, there's confirmation on at least two motherboards running with this V2 of AGESA: MSI's MAG B550 Tomahawk (ComboAM4 v2 1.0.0.0), and the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master (ComboAM4v2 1.0.0.1). So if you're looking to use AMD's B550 motherboard (or even X570) with AMD's upcoming Zen 3 CPUs, make sure to read your motherboard manufacturers' release notes for each AGESA version, so that you install the correct one and avoid yourself a potential load of pain with a non-functioning AGESA for your shiny new Zen 3 CPU.

Distant Blips on the AMD Roadmap Surface: Rembrandt and Raphael

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."

AOC Expands Their Business Monitors Portfolio with ten new P2 Series Models

In the times of growing need for monitors with bigger size, improved connectivity and image quality, display specialist AOC announces the new P2 series monitors for professional users. Covering an extensive range of display sizes from 21.5" (54.7 cm), 23.8" (60.4 cm), 27" (68.6 cm) and ultra-wide 34" (86 cm), AOC acknowledges its users' distinct needs and individual setups. Except for the 34" ultrawide CU34P2A with its curved (1500R) VA panel, all other models are equipped with flat IPS panels. They ensure true-to-life colour reproduction, wide gamut coverage, and wide viewing angles (178/178°) perfectly suited for content creation and editing. Selected models (24P2C and 27P2C) with USB-C port provide an easier display, data and power connection to mobile devices with a single USB-C cable. The KVM switch included in these models allows the user to switch the keyboard and mouse between two PCs (connected via USB-C and USB hub uplink).
AOC 27P2C Monitor AOC Q24P2Q Monitor AOC U27P2 Monitor AOC Q27P2Q Monitor

AMD Releases APU + dGPU Combo Radeon Drivers for Dell G5 15 SE Notebooks

AMD released its first Dell G5 15 SE-specific OEM driver update, with a single package providing drivers for the APU (iGPU) and Radeon RX 5600M discrete GPU of the notebook. This would be AMD's first Radeon Software release in over a month, as the AAA game release cycle has cooled down, and AMD has its hands full with several new OEM designs to develop drivers for. The G5 15 SE comes with processor options that include the "Renoir" Ryzen 5 4600H and Ryzen 7 4700H; and Radeon RX 5600M discrete GPU option.
DOWNLOAD: AMD Dell G5 15 SE iGPU+dGPU Combo Driver

Linus Torvalds Upgrades to AMD Threadripper After 15 Years with Intel

Linux and Git creator Linus Torvalds revealed that he upgraded to an AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X processor powered machine after 15 years of upgrading among Intel processors. This is likely his main machine from which he does pioneering work on the future of Linux and his other creations. His May 24 dated "State of the Kernel" blog post reveals that his hardware upgrade was the most exciting piece of news to share among the community.

"In fact, the biggest excitement this week for me was just that I, upgraded my main machine, and for the first time in about 15 years, my desktop isn't Intel-based. No, I didn't switch to ARM yet, but I'm now rocking an AMD Threadripper 3970x. My 'allmodconfig' test builds are now three times faster than they used to be, which doesn't matter so much right now during the calming down period, but I will most definitely notice the upgrade during the next merge window," he stated. What makes this story big is the fact that the "Zen 2" microarchitecture, and a processor with a similar multi-core architecture to AMD's EPYC enterprise processors, is now being used by the creator of the most popular enterprise operating system.

Possible 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen "Matisse Refresh" XT SKU Clock Speeds Surface

Last week, we brought you reports of AMD inching closer to launch its 3rd generation Ryzen "Matisse Refresh" processor lineup to ward off the 10th gen Intel Core "Comet Lake" threat, by giving the "Zen 2" chips possible clock speed-bumps to shore up performance. The lineup included the Ryzen 9 3900XT, the Ryzen 7 3800XT, and the Ryzen 5 3600XT. We now have a first-look at their alleged clock speeds courtesy of an anonymous tipster on ChipHell forums, seconded by HXL @9550pro.

The XT SKUs indeed revolve around 200-300 MHz increments in base- and boost clock speeds as many of our readers predicted in the "Matisse Refresh" article's comments section. The 3900XT comes with 4.10 GHz base clock, and 4.80 GHz max boost clocks, compared to 3.80 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost clocks of the 3900X. Likewise, the 3800XT notches up to 4.20 GHz base clock (highest in the lineup), and 4.70 GHz max boost, compared to 3.90-4.50 GHz of the 3800X. The 3600XT offers the same 4.70 GHz max boost, a step up from the 4.40 GHz of the 3600X, but has its base clock set at 4.00 GHz, compared to 3.80 GHz on the 3600X. It appears like AMD's design focus is to reduce, if not beat, Intel's gaming performance lead. The 10th generation Core "Comet Lake" tops gaming performance by a mid-high single-digit percentages over AMD's offerings, and AMD could bring them down to low single-digit percentages with the XT family.

AMD RDNA2 "Navi 21" GPU to Double CU Count Over "Navi 10"

AMD's RDNA2 graphics architecture, which sees real-time ray-tracing among other DirectX 12 Ultimate features, could see the company double the amount of stream processors generation-over-generation, according to a specs leak by _rogame. The increase in stream processors would fall in line with AMD's effort to increase performance/Watt by 50%. It may appear like the resulting SKUs finally measure up to the likes of the RTX 2080 Ti, but AMD has GeForce "Ampere" in its competitive calculus, and should the recent specs reveal hold up, the new "Navi 21" could end up being a performance-segment competitor to GeForce graphics cards based on the "GA104" ("TU104" successor), rather than a flagship-killer.

The RDNA2-based "Navi 21" GPU allegedly features 80 RDNA2 compute units amounting to 5,120 stream processors. AMD might tap into a refined 7 nm-class silicon fabrication node by TSMC to build these chips, either N7P or N7+. The die-size could measure up to 505 mm², and AMD could aim for a 50% performance/Watt gain over the "Navi 10." AMD could carve out as many as 10 SKUs out of the "Navi 21," but only three are relevant to the gamers. The SKU with the PCI device ID "0x731F: D1" succeeds the RX 5700 XT. The one bearing "0x731F: D3" succeeds the RX 5700, with a variant name "Navi 21 XL." The "Navi 21 XE" variant has a PCI ID of "0x731F: DF," and succeeds the RX 5600 XT.

AMD "Matisse Refresh" Processor SKUs Include 3900XT, 3800XT, and 3600XT

Rumors of AMD refreshing its 3rd generation Ryzen desktop processor family are growing louder. On Friday (22/05), reports of the "Matisse Refresh" processor family surfaced, with talk of "Ryzen 7 3850X" and "Ryzen 7 3750X" processors headed for a June 2020 announcement followed by July availability. Turns out AMD has a different naming scheme in mind, targeted at wooing gamers. The company is reportedly bringing its "XT" brand extension over from its Radeon graphics card family over to the Ryzen line.

There are three SKUs AMD is developing, the Ryzen 9 3900XT, the Ryzen 7 3800XT, and the Ryzen 5 3600 XT. All three are likely to retain core counts of the SKUs they are displacing from current price points - with the 3900XT likely being a 12-core/24-thread part; the 3800XT an 8-core/16-thread part, and the 3600XT a 6-core/12-thread part. AMD is likely to give the three a major clock speed increase to shore up gaming performance. It won't surprise us if AMD tinkers with boost algorithms, either. GIGABYTE has already referenced "Matisse Refresh" in its motherboard product roadmaps, which adds plenty of credibilty to this rumor. With "Zen 3" based 4th gen Ryzen processors unlikely to relieve the embattled 3900X, 3800X, and 3600X in the wake of Intel's 10th gen Core "Comet Lake" launch until Q4-2020, it makes sense for AMD to plan a product stack refresh to bolster its competitiveness. AMD is reportedly planning a June 16 product announcement, followed by July 7 availability.

AMD Readies 3rd Gen Ryzen "Matisse Refresh" Ryzen 7 3850X and 3750X Processors

AMD is planning to immediately update its product stack to counter the Intel 10th gen Core "Comet Lake-S" desktop processor family. Codenamed "Matisse Refresh," the processor will use existing IP, based on the 7 nm "Zen 2" microarchitecture, but could improve in areas such as clock-speeds. As it now stands, the Ryzen 9 3900X appears unfazed by the i9-10900K and i7-10700K at its new $410 price, however, competitiveness of the 3800X and 3700X could buckle under pressure from the i7-10700 series (K, KF, non-K, and F), as well as the Core i5-10600 series. To this effect, we're hearing rumors of a "Ryzen 7 3750X" and "Ryzen 7 3850X" seeing the light of the day soon, with an early-June announcement, and early-July market availability. References to the 3750X date back to October 2019.

Rumors of "Matisse Refresh" gained traction when WCCFTech editor Hassan Mujtaba tweeted a slide from a GIGABYTE AMD B550 motherboard series pre-launch presentation, which references GIGABYTE's own interpretation of AMD's roadmap. It lists out every CPU microarchitecture for the AM4 platform, and right next to "Matisse" is "& Refresh," confirming that "Matisse Refresh" is real. A microarchitecture "refresh" needn't even involve any physical changes to the processor design, core-counts, or architecture, and can sometimes even indicate something as simple as a second major wave of SKUs that replace existing SKUs in the market, leading to their phase-out (eg: Intel "Haswell Refresh" retaining the 4th gen Core model numbering). The slide also adds weight to the theory that desktop "Renoir," like its mobile counterpart, lacks PCIe gen 4.0. The slide also talks about AMD introducing the entry-level A520 desktop chipset in August, which will support PCIe gen 4 when paired with a capable processor.

MSI Announces its B550 Motherboard Family

MSI, the world-leading motherboard brand, continues to be dedicated to the AMD AM4 platform with the launch of the new B550 motherboards. Since AMD launched Ryzen Desktop Processors with AM4 platform, MSI has been occupied the market with our AM4 motherboards. For the B450 platform, MSI undoubtedly is in the market leadership with our iconic TOMAHAWK and MORTAR motherboards. This year, together with the 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors and readiness of PCIe Gen 4 technology, MSI offers a complete B550 motherboard lineup from MPG, MAG to PRO series with advanced technology and MSI exclusive features to satisfy all types of gamers and users' need.

"We are seeing increasing user demands for flexible systems that perform well in a multitude of tasks from gaming to content creation more than ever before," said Chris Kilburn, corporate vice president and general manager, client component business unit, AMD. "AMD is excited to bring the power of 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processors and cutting edge PCIe 4.0 support to the mainstream users with our latest AMD B550 chipset. With an extensive platform lineup from our partners at MSI, AMD is confident these new B550 platforms will provide flexibility and power never seen before on a mainstream platform."

ASUS Announces its B550 Motherboard Series: ROG, TUF Gaming, and Prime

ASUS today announced new motherboards featuring the latest AMD B550 chipset that bring the potential of PCI Express 4.0 to mainstream builds everywhere. AMD B550 motherboards enable 20 general-purpose PCIe 4.0 lanes from 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen desktop processors. The primary PCIe slot on all new ASUS B550 boards offers 16 lanes of PCIe 4.0 connectivity, and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen parts feature as many as four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports running at up to 10 Gbps direct from the CPU itself.

ASUS also has exciting features to enhance its B550 motherboards like WiFi 6, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, robust power delivery, increased DRAM speed and BIOS Flashback. The B550 chip itself gets an upgrade to PCIe 3.0 for its built-in lanes. These upgrades make B550 a tantalizing platform for mainstream builders throughout the world.
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