Thursday, January 6th 2022

AMD Socket AM5 a "Long-lived Platform": CEO

AMD is designing its upcoming Socket AM5 platform to be a "long-lived platform," not unlike AM4. CEO Dr Lisa Su, responding to a question on the longevity of AM5, by Paul Alcorn from Tom's Hardware, said that she's very happy with AM4 being the company's long-lived desktop socket; and while she doesn't have an exact number of years to share, one could expect AM5 to be a "long-lived platform" of a similar kind.

AMD Socket AM4 was debuted alongside the company's very first Ryzen processors, in March 2017. It has remained AMD's mainstream desktop socket for close to five years; and AMD continues to launch new products for the socket. Even in 2022, the company is expected to give the socket its swansong, with the Ryzen 5000X3D processors. AM4 was designed keeping in mind dual-channel DDR4 and up to 28 lanes of PCIe Gen 3 (later Gen 4) in mind. The change to Socket AM5 is driven by next-generation I/O, namely DDR5 memory (four 40-bit channels), and PCIe Gen 5.
"AMD committed to the AM4 platform, the AM4 socket for quite a long time. Can you guys give us any idea of how long you will stick with AM5?," asked Paul Alcorn, to which Dr Su responded: "Well, we've been extremely pleased with how AM4 has evolved….we said we would keep that socket for a long time and we have. We continue to believe that it has been good for the community and frankly, it's been good for us as well. As we bring things along, it was time to do a socket transition for the new I/O in the new technology, but I think strategy-wise, it should be similar. I don't have an exact number of years but I would say that you should expect that AM5 will be a long-lived platform as AM4 has been. I think we're expecting AM4 to stay in the marketplace for quite some years and it will be sort of an overlapping type of thing."
Source: PC World
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68 Comments on AMD Socket AM5 a "Long-lived Platform": CEO

#1
Dranzule
Where 5000 series support for 300 series tho
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#2
ncrs
DranzuleWhere 5000 series support for 300 series tho
While it is not officially required by AMD, apparently some MSI 300 series boards will support it. Will it be enough peer pressure to force other vendors? Who knows ;)
Posted on Reply
#3
Keullo-e
S.T.A.R.S.
Well, IMO 5 years is a long life for a platform and AM4 has good compatibility in general between generations. Think about that 5 years ago Intel released Kaby Lake and there has been already three sockets (1151-2, 1200 & 1700) after that.
ncrsWhile it is not officially required by AMD, apparently some MSI 300 series boards will support it. Will it be enough peer pressure to force other vendors? Who knows ;)
Yeah, it's mostly up to the manufacturers to make a BIOS which support newer CPUs. Electrically there aren't problems.
Posted on Reply
#4
trsttte
Yeah... keeping the same socket means little when chipset support is locked for no reason. Even saying the number of years, it was 3 generations of motherboards - x370/b550/a320; x470/b450; x570/b550 - not that special without the pretty 5 years frame. Also looking at the CPU, only Zen 2 works on the 3 chipset generations.

Slightly better than Intel but pretty much lipstick on a very similar pig

MaenadYeah, it's mostly up to the manufacturers to make a BIOS which support newer CPUs. Electrically there aren't problems.
Yet somehow they have locked support and are all playing a game of blame the other one

Posted on Reply
#5
Keullo-e
S.T.A.R.S.
trsttteYet somehow they have locked support and are all playing a game of blame the other one

True, but never say never. :)
Posted on Reply
#7
Wirko
That "overlapping type of thing" comment caught my attention. It could mean that AMD intends to keep the low end (maybe Ryzen 3 and lower) on AM4 + DDR4 for a couple years more. Well, why not, but they shouln't forget to adjust prices.
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#8
SaLaDiN666
AM4 was released in 2016 and debuted with Bristol Ridge, not Zen1. They were selling them to OEM partners.
Posted on Reply
#9
Mysteoa
I will be upgrading to 5000 series down the line, I think it will be enough for me. Not sure when I will switch to AM5.
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#10
phill
I think AMD has done wonders with the AM4 socket, I have a CPU from each gen and not really had any issues with any really. I might have to try a 5 series CPU in one of my X370 boards, see if they work :) I know the 3900X's I have do, as they are in the X370 boards I have...

Be interesting if I can get one of the newer setups, looking forward to the release :)
Posted on Reply
#11
TheoneandonlyMrK
trsttteYeah... keeping the same socket means little when chipset support is locked for no reason. Even saying the number of years, it was 3 generations of motherboards - x370/b550/a320; x470/b450; x570/b550 - not that special without the pretty 5 years frame. Also looking at the CPU, only Zen 2 works on the 3 chipset generations.

Slightly better than Intel but pretty much lipstick on a very similar pig





Yet somehow they have locked support and are all playing a game of blame the other one

Chipset support was locked?! it was not, two pciex generations, various usb and Io , many generations of CPU and some board's that Will use any of over a hundred SKU, now, if you can show me any platform that's seen that much continuous action.

And can still get within debatable leadership position against Intel's best Latest platform, near EOL after five years well I would be surprised.
Posted on Reply
#12
Unregistered
It will be a good thing changing to LGA type socket, no more ripping the CPU out with the cooler for starters.
#13
R-T-B
trsttteYet somehow they have locked
It's not locked, or we wouldn't see mods. It's literally AGESA bios space, because AGESA is kind of giant.
TiggerIt will be a good thing changing to LGA type socket, no more ripping the CPU out with the cooler for starters.
LGA sockets have their own issues. Or maybe I do. I dunno. But either way, don't touch.
Posted on Reply
#14
TheoneandonlyMrK
R-T-BIt's not locked, or we wouldn't see mods. It's literally AGESA bios space, because AGESA is kind of giant.


LGA sockets have their own issues. Or maybe I do. I dunno. But either way, don't touch.
I too have,err, lost two LGA board's to Linus grade, f up drops so far
Posted on Reply
#15
TechLurker
Now if only they can promise the same thing with Threadripper this time around.
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#16
TheoneandonlyMrK
TechLurkerNow if only they can promise the same thing with Threadripper this time around.
I think that's the one big victim of AMDS success, so niche yet so resource hungry it's getting trickle along attention but I did recently see rumours of new SWx8r or whatever it's called, 8 channel ram chips on the way.
Posted on Reply
#17
R-T-B
TheoneandonlyMrKI too have,err, lost two LGA board's to Linus grade, f up drops so far
I've learned not to use too much thermal paste...

...not to wear long sleves...

...not to do it, make my brother do it. Because my hands shake. And I only decided on this option after the other two failed with two dead boards.
Posted on Reply
#18
Unregistered
I have never had a problem with a LGA socket, all the way from 775, bought boards with duff ones though.
#19
Jism
It's not so difficult really since the chipset is in the CPU and not on a board, unlike Intel.
Posted on Reply
#20
Nephilim666
TheoneandonlyMrKI think that's the one big victim of AMDS success, so niche yet so resource hungry it's getting trickle along attention but I did recently see rumours of new SWx8r or whatever it's called, 8 channel ram chips on the way.
To quote AMD's tr 3000 series page:
3rd Gen Ryzen™ Threadripper™ processors will work on AMD TRX40 motherboards, the first high-end desktop platform in the world that is ready for bleeding edge PCIe® 4.0 connectivity. This powerful, scalable, future-proof2 platform offers the most I/O and expansion you can get on desktop processor, for serious multi-GPU and NVMe arrays.3

Following that "future-proof" asterisk into the footnotes:
  1. Statement of “future-proof” refers to support of current and upcoming technology standards including 14nm FinFET process technology, DirectX®12 and Vulkan™ API support, new I/O technology including DDR4, USB 3.1 Gen 2, and NVMe, and experiences such as VR. “Future-proof” statement is not meant to serve as a warranty or indicate that users will never have to upgrade their graphics technology again. Support of current and upcoming technology standards described above has the potential to reduce frequency of CPU upgrades for some users. GD-104
So there you go, they intended to reduce the frequency of CPU upgrades, they sure did, reduced it to zero by offering none.
Posted on Reply
#21
Rob_DF_MX
The AM4socket has been a rare exception and has been a very big smoke curtain for AMD.
I really do not trust them any more and may call the ( included their CEO ) Liars!

Anyone remember how much time does the first Threadripper platform last ?
Anyone owns a third generation Threadripper motherboard ?
Where is your Long Lived Platform now ?

Guess who made a serious investment on the first Threadripper platform dreaming of a near AM4 long lasting purchase ?
Of course me.
But I really know I was not the only one.

Marketing is always ahead of customer commitment.
Posted on Reply
#23
RJARRRPCGP
Is there really a high risk of LGA socket pin failure, for installing another chip or reseating the processor more than 5 times? I saw BS like that for LGA, back in the 2010s.

Yay! (not!) Motherboards with bad socket pins could be flooding PC shops every year now!
Posted on Reply
#24
DemonicRyzen666
Ok Who cares.
Why not ask them what hell their doing with TRX40 and WRX80 sockets?:confused:
Posted on Reply
#25
watzupken
RJARRRPCGPIs there really a high risk of LGA socket pin failure, for installing another chip or reseating the processor more than 5 times? I saw BS like that for LGA, back in the 2010s.

Yay! (not!) Motherboards with bad socket pins could be flooding PC shops every year now!
The pins are very fragile, so it really depends on the user how they handle it. There was once I did not put the chip in the socket properly, so when I tried to slide it into the socket, it actually bent some of the pins. So care needs to be taken when removing or putting the processor chip on it. And the same goes for AMD's socket as well. In fact, there is a higher risk of damage to the pins for AMD's socket because there is no frame to hold it down. So one really need to be careful how they remove the cooler.

I like AMD's approach to maximising the socket lifespan in a sense that if you are not looking for cutting edge technology like faster PCI-E and M2 slots, then it allows people to upgrade some years down the road, assuming the motherboard manufacturer will release a BIOS for it. It is not perfect, but I prefer this over Intel's annual or bi-annual upgrade cycle. Even if there are significant improvements in technology, people should decide if they need it before getting a new board. People like me don't go for cutting edge motherboards, i.e. I am using a B460 board, and there is little reason to upgrade to a new chipset. At the budget segment, you tend to get the same features year on year.
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