AMD AM5: Support probably only for DDR5

According to Tom's Hardware, AMD's future AM5 socket platforms X670 and B650 will only support DDR5 memory. In addition, according to a Chinese report, AMD will switch to a dual-chipset design, at least for the X670 platform.

DDR5 memory is notoriously more expensive than DDR4 memory, owing to the limited availability of PMICs and VRMs, which are incorporated with DDR5 as the first generation of memory.

The cost is intriguing because, according to Tom's Hardware, AMD's next-generation AM5 socket systems will only support DDR5. The Ryzen 7000 chips built at 5 nm would be harmed as a result. It's specifically regarding the X670 and B650 mainboards, which should only support DDR5 RAM.

Given that Intel's Raptor Lake machines should continue to support lower-cost DDR4 memory, AMD would be taking a risk. As previously stated, DDR5 RAM is much more expensive than DDR4 RAM and provides no meaningful performance gain.

According to memory producer Micron, DDR5 prices are projected to rebound soon as the supply of PMICs/VRMs improves again in the second half of the year, about the same time AMD's Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 series CPUs debut. However, considering the recent lockdowns in Shanghai and ever-increasing lead times, it's unclear when the price drops will take effect.

In general, the additional complexity of DDR5 compared to DDR4, as well as the built-in ECC techniques, should ensure that DDR5 RAM is more expensive than DDR4 RAM, regardless of availability.

With DDR4 support, Intel may have a price advantage, which should pay dividends in the mid-range and low-end segments in particular. AMD, on the other hand, would like to rely on DDR5 overclocking capability for its AM5 platforms. Significant performance enhancements for AMD's Zen 4 architecture are possible.

Meanwhile, according to a source on the Chinatimes website, AMD will transition to a dual-chipset design, at least for its X670 platform. Asmedia, a chipset partner, will supply the 6 nm chips.

According to reports, B650 mainboards, as well as those in the A-series, will have only one chipset. One such connection on common B650 boards is supposed to be a PCI Express 4.0 x4 connection for Ryzen 7000 CPUs, while some documents suggest that a PCI Express 5.0 connection will also be included on various AM5 platforms.

The chip has eight PCI Express 4.0 lanes (four of which are dedicated to M.2 storage), four SATA connections, and a few USB ports. These connectivity options are virtually doubled on the X670 platforms due to the dual-chipset design. This new approach should also provide cost and design flexibility benefits.