AMD Talks Socket AM5 Plans, Memory Scaling And More In Revealing Interview

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When it comes to PC hardware, it is common knowledge that as technology advances, products quickly become obsolete. While enthusiasts always enjoy taking part in new advances, there is also a strong element of appreciation for longevity. If this longevity also continues to provide value and stellar performance over time, it hits the magic ratio of price-to-performance that consumers appreciate.

We bring this up because AMD's socket AM4 platform continues to be relevant with CPUs, such as its Ryzen 7 5800X3D, proving you don't need the latest platform to still enjoy high performance. In a recent interview with Overclockers UK, AMD's Corporate Vice President, David McAfee, further acknowledged how the long life of AM4 played a crucial role in how the product has been able to age gracefully. He also pointed out how support for AMD's newest AM5 platform, currently on Zen 4, will continue well into 2025.


This means that consumers who took the initiative to upgrade to AM5, including getting DDR5 memory, will enjoy future CPU upgrades without necessarily having to buy a new motherboard. Typically a simple BIOS update is all that is required to allow new CPU releases to effortlessly work on older motherboards as the platform matures. 

Intel historically has had shorter lifespan support for its enthusiast and gaming CPUs, changing sockets after only a couple of generations. While the current Intel Z690 and Z790 motherboards have enjoyed a long life after the release of its 3rd iteration in its 14th generation CPUs, AM4 still remains the modern benchmark for longevity. 

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AM5 has enjoyed healthy growth in part resulting from users who upgrade, thanks to high-performing gaming products like the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. AMD's 3D V-Cache technology has infused a strong mix of gaming performance with modest power draw and pricing. 

To strengthen its products, AMD also plans to make its memory scaling more robust. While DDR5 memory on the current Intel platform has seen faster speeds available, AMD has slowly been rolling out higher speeds on AM5. AMD's AGESA updates recently added better support, to go beyond speeds of 6000 MT/s. Ryzen CPUs can often take advantage of faster memory and therefore get a boost dependent on usage. 

The absolute most vital aspect of increasing memory scaling and support for higher speeds will come in the way of consistency and reliability. It is common for higher speeds to present more issues, which is why roll outs of faster memory speeds have been slower over time on AM5. By using better materials and improving signal integrity, AMD has improved on the hardware side as well.