The adoption of a new processor, a new motherboard, and other components, can often mean uncertainty on the part of the user. Following half a decade of reliable support for the AM4 platform, AMD has carefully considered when the right time was to make the leap forward to AM5.
And the time is now. While support for AM4 will continue, the AM5 platform delivers a wealth of new features and possibilities for users of all types and needs, from gamers to creators and beyond.
Socket AM5 is a 1718-pin land-grid array (LGA) socket, meaning that its pins are on the motherboard instead of on the CPU. One thing the additional pins allow for is more power delivery—from a rated maximum of 142 W for AM4 to a maximum of 242 W for AM5. This also lets AMD increase the TDP ratings of newer Ryzen CPUs, from 105 W to 170 W.
AM4 vs AM5: What’s the Difference?
Socket AM4 has been available for five years and used across three families of chipsets. From 2017 to 2022, CPU support notwithstanding, the socket has mostly remained unchanged. In fact, the last major update to the AM4 platform came with Zen 2 and the Ryzen 5000-series chipsets, all the way back in 2019, when they upgraded the PCI Express interface from 3.0 to 4.0.
This stagnation has created a strange scenario where AMD CPUs are seeing a regular bump in performance every year, but are lacking the most cutting-edge of standards. For example, the brilliant Zen 3 processors do not support DDR5 memory or PCIe 5.0, a standard that is supported by processors of their rivals – Intel. But AMD has finally awoken from this technological slumber and called for the end of AM4 socket, ushering in the age of renaissance for their PC processors.
CURRENTLY KNOWN AM5 MOTHERBOARDS
ASRock-X670E Taichi
ASUS-ROG CROSSHAIR X670E EXTREME
BIOSTAR- X670E VALKYRIE
GIGABYTE - X670E AORUS XTREME
