AMD’s Ryzen 7000 ES Desktop CPU Spotted Running On A Next-Gen MSI B650 AM5 Motherboard
In a picture tweeted by @9550Pro (HXL), we can see an off-screen BIOS display that shows the motherboard with the MAG B650 naming scheme. The MAG series motherboards are designed exclusively by MSI and are the most entry-level in their motherboard family. While we can’t say which specific MAG variant this is (Mortar, Bazooka, Tomahawk), we can see that it is based on AMD’s B650 chipset which will be part of the next-generation AM5 platform.
— HXL (@9550pro) April 14, 2022 The AM5 platform is designed to support AMD’s next-generation Ryzen 7000 CPUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture. AMD has already confirmed that Ryzen 7000 CPUs will be the first Zen 4 family to hit the AM5 platform and it looks like this is indeed the case with this leak. The CPU isn’t mentioned but it’s definitely an AMD Ryzen 7000 ‘Zen 4’ engineering sample. Another thing that is very interesting is the Vcore voltage. The CPU can be seen running at 1.532V which is considered really high and mostly only seen in LN2-OC use cases. Such a high voltage seen here could be due to the chip still being an early sample that has not yet been optimized. AMD usually provides its board partners with test samples several quarters prior to launch and it looks like motherboard vendors are already prepped up with their initial design if they are already testing these chips out. This aligns with the recent reports of mass production commencing this month and a launch happening as early as Q3 2022.
AMD AM5 Platform - A New Beginning
Before we talk CPUs, we have to talk about the platform itself. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs will be migrating to a new home known as AM5, the successor to the long-lasting AM4 platform. It marks a fresh start for the Ryzen Desktop family and as such, existing Ryzen CPUs starting with Ryzen 1000 & all the way up to Ryzen 5000 won’t be supported by the new platform we will tell you why it is so. The AM5 platform will first and foremost feature the brand new LGA 1718 socket. That’s correct, AMD isn’t going the PGA (Pin Grid Array) route anymore and now focusing on LGA (Land Grid Array), similar to what Intel uses on its existing desktop processors. The main reason to go LGA is due to the addition of enhanced and next-gen features such as PCIe Gen 5, DDR5, etc that we will get to see on the AM5 platform. The socket has a single latch & gone are the days of worrying about pins underneath your precious processors. In terms of features, the AM5 platform will initially support AMD’s Ryzen 7000 ‘Zen 4’ Desktop CPUs and extend that support to future Ryzen CPUs and APUs. The platform offers DDR5-5200 (JEDEC) memory support, up to 28 PCIe lanes (Gen 5 standard), increased NVMe 4.0, and USB 3.2 I/O lanes & we have also heard chatter about native USB 4.0 support which will be a game-changer. A new feature called RAMP (Ryzen Accelerated Memory Profile) will allow enhanced DDR5 memory OC on the new platform, similar to Intel’s XMP. It has been a rough road for AM4 to offer decent DDR4 OC capabilities but that has more or less been sorted out by now, we can only expect DDR5 to have a much better OC and compatibility experience compared to DDR4 on AM4 platforms. Furthermore, it looks like the platform will only be DDR5 compatible and we won’t see DDR4 options as we do on Intel’s existing platform. But with DDR5 prices and availability improving, that won’t be that big of a deal for most high-end consumers who AMD will be aiming first.
AMD Mainstream Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
