I guess the most exciting product AMD announced at CES 2002 is the Zen4-based AMD Ryzen 7000 Raphael CPU. Unlike AMD’s previous processors, the Ryzen 7000 will be a completely different CPU with an interesting IHS design and a new socket type. It uses a Land Grid Array socket type and is based on TSMC’s 5nm fabrication process. AMD also boasts that it could run 5GHz on all cores. Check out more details below.
UPDATE: AMD’s Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs and X670(E) AM5 motherboards are now available. Check the latest pricing and availability below: (#ad)
AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen4 CPUs are now available at Amazon.com here.
AMD AM5 X670(E) motherboards are available at Amazon.com here.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen4 Raphael Could Be An Intel Alder Lake-Killer
The upcoming Ryzen 7000 series processor, based on the Zen4 architecture, is AMD’s true next-gen CPU for desktop. I say true next-gen because AMD also announced a Ryzen 7 5800X3D that uses a 3D V-cache to boost the performance of the CPU, especially in gaming. But that CPU is still based on Zen3 architecture.
Code-named “Raphael”, the next-gen desktop CPU will be completely different from the previous generations of AMD’s processor. Similar to Intel’s CPU, it uses an LGA socket, meaning the pins will be on the motherboard and only contact points are present on the CPU. The socket AM5 is an LGA1718 socket, and there are reports claiming that the existing coolers for AM4 will be compatible with socket AM5.
The Ryzen 7000 CPUs use TSMC’s 5nm fabrication process, meaning it will be more efficient than the current Ryzen 5000 CPUs that are on a 7nm fab process. Aside from the new socket type and CPU design, the Zen4 architecture will also support the latest DDR5 memory and faster PCIe 5.0 interface. As I said, there are a lot of “5” here. Maybe they should have called it “Zen 5” as well?
AMD CEO Lisa Su didn’t reveal any more details. I expect that we may learn more about the CPU themselves at Computex 2022, mid this year. However, there is a separate teaser from AMD, claiming that the upcoming Ryzen CPUs can boost up to 5GHz on all cores. This was achieved when AMD demoed a Ryzen 7000 prototype CPU paired with a reference motherboard and DDR5-4800 32GB memory. The game they used was Halo Infinite.
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 7 7800X Coming Soon
In addition to the CES 2022 announcement, two Ryzen 7000 SKUs were spotted. These could be the upcoming Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 7 7800X. One CPU features 16 cores and 32 threads, and thus it was assumed to be the Ryzen 9 5950X’s successor. Meanwhile, the other CPU had 8 cores and 16 threads, similar to the current Ryzen 5800X.
We’ll surely learn more about AMD’s upcoming CPU in the next following months to come. After all, they are not due until the second half of this year. AMD plans to release the new platform when DDR5 memory stocks are stable and are no longer facing a shortage.
