In 2023, the AM4 socket represents 7 years of AMD technology in the market, which is a very long time. At the end of last year, the company released the AM5 socket, which is gradually replacing its legendary predecessor. The main advantage of AM5 is its support for DDR5 memory.
About Socket AM5
AM5 (LGA 1718) is a processor socket produced by AMD, designed to replace the AM4 socket and intended for use with Ryzen 7000 processors. The CPU socket on the motherboard has undergone significant changes, and now features 1718 pins, while the processor has lost its legs.
At the same time, AM5 is backwards compatible with coolers for the AM4 platform. The transition to the new platform is not a whim or a cunning plan to improve the company’s financial position, but a necessity for the introduction of the new DDR5 RAM and PCI Express 5.0 standards. With the arrival of PCI Express 5.0, we get transfer speeds of up to 32 GT/s and a throughput of up to 128 GB/s in x16 configuration, which is twice as fast as the PCI Express 4.0 standard. Although such speeds may seem unnecessary right now, the platform clearly has a serious reserve for the future and a long life cycle.
This is the first transition in the slightly over 6-year history of Ryzen processors and the AM4 platform. Over 140 processors with five different architectures and over 500 motherboards were released on the AM4 socket. You can view the full list of processors supporting the AM4 socket in another article.
Features socket
Here are some features and differences from the AM4 socket that were identified from tests and company presentations:
- Support for PCI Express 5.0 and memory DDR5 (dedicated PCI Express 5.0 lanes for NVMe SSD for two slots).
- On average, the increase in energy efficiency was 50% compared to the previous generation
- AMD RAMP (Ryzen Accelerated Memory Profile) – used for automatic overclocking of DDR5 memory beyond the stated JEDEC specifications
- Execution in LGA package, the socket now has a backplate (a metal plate on the back of the motherboard for protection against deformation).
List of processors supporting the AM5 socket
| Processor Model | Cores | Threads | Graphics Core Count | Base Clock | Max. Boost Clock ¹ ² | L3 Cache | Process | PCI Express Version | TDP | Memory Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D | 16 | 32 | 2 | 4.2GHz | Up to 5.7GHz | 128MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 120W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | 16 | 32 | 2 | 4.5GHz | Up to 5.7GHz | 64MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 170W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | 12 | 24 | 2 | 4.4GHz | Up to 5.6GHz | 128MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 120W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | 12 | 24 | 2 | 4.7GHz | Up to 5.6GHz | 64MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 170W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900 | 12 | 24 | 2 | 3.7GHz | Up to 5.4GHz | 64MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 65W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4.2GHz | Up to 5.0GHz | 96MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 120W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4.5GHz | Up to 5.4GHz | 32MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 105W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 3.8GHz | Up to 5.3GHz | 32MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 65W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4.7GHz | Up to 5.3GHz | 32MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 105W | DDR5 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 3.8GHz | Up to 5.1GHz | 32MB | TSMC 5nm | PCIe 5.0 | 65W | DDR5 |
Conclusions from our expert
As an expert, I can say that the technology of the AM5 socket is significantly limited at the initial stage. In fact, it is an analogue of the 1000 series platform AM4, with all its drawbacks. In my opinion, the number of USB ports is also insufficient. For example, my B450 motherboard has only two 10 Gbit/s ports, which were made a long time ago. The fact that only two ports were added is surprising.
I also believe that the introduction of PCI Express 5.0 is nothing more than nonsense, as instead of providing support for video cards, developers have focused on storage devices. Even PCI Express 3.0 is sufficient for most games today, and there is no need to switch to a faster interface. As a result, this looks like an attempt to swindle users, forcing them to buy expensive storage devices that will not give them a significant performance boost.
I also have a critical attitude towards the decision to switch to DDR5 RAM. This is a fatal mistake, as in games, the Intel platform with DDR4 RAM outperforms AMD with DDR5. As a result, users are forced to buy new RAM, and choosing the best memory is also not obvious, as delays can significantly affect performance, which can only be determined by tests.
When the AM4 socket was first released, its first generation did not immediately reveal its full potential. It was only with the release of the new thousand series that we saw what AMD processors are capable of. Therefore, it is still too early to draw conclusions about the AM5 socket.
| Previous socket | Next socket |
|---|---|
| AM4 CPU list | Not available, under development. |
