There are several new details surrounding the AMD Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ Zen 4 CPUs and the respective AM5 platform that have been revealed this week.
AMD’s Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ Zen 4 CPUs To Feature Optimized TSMC 5nm Process For 5 GHz & Beyond Clock Speeds
First and foremost, in an interview with CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, Anandtech confirmed that the TSMC 5nm process node utilized by Zen 4 cores isn’t just any other node but a specially optimized variant that is designed for high-performance computing.
The same Zen 4 cores will be used to power a range of AMD chips including the 4th Gen EPYC Genoa and Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ families. For Raphael specifically, we will be looking at clocks beyond 5 GHz. At CES 2022, AMD already showcased a demo where an early Ryzen 7000 CPU sample was running Halo Infinite with a 5 GHz clock speed across all cores. A 5 GHz all-core clock means that the single-core clocks will definitely be above the 5 GHz mark which means that Zen 4 would be the first AMD CPU architecture and design to break past the 5 GHz barrier, officially.
AMD CEO, Dr. Lisa Su via Anandtech
See AMD Ryzen 7000 and Zen 4 in action with Halo Infinite! With beautiful gameplay and high framerates, AMD is excited to bring you the ultimate PC and gaming experiences. #AMD2022https://t.co/4GRGyPgedC pic.twitter.com/R6jEPOGxV6
— AMD Ryzen (@AMDRyzen) January 4, 2022
AMD Ryzen 7000 ‘Raphael’ To Be The First AM5 CPU Family, APUs Come Later
As for whether we will see Raphael CPUs or Rembrandt APUs on the AM5 platform, AMD’s CVP and GM of Client Channel Business confirmed to Tomshardware that for the new platform, DDR5 DRAM plays a huge role and they will try their best to ensure that the new memory standard is mature & easily attainable by the time AM5 hits the street. We have seen with Intel’s Alder Lake launch that DDR5 memory is almost entirely non-existent and the prices are much higher but that’s something to be expected of a new standard. Keeping all of these things in mind, David stated that AM5 will be an enthusiast-first introduction but APUs might come later.
We know that AMD’s Ryzen 5000G APUs based on their Cezanne architecture launched months after their notebook entry so for the next-generation Rembrandt ‘Ryzen 6000G’ lineup we may get to see them by CES 2022 or AMD could also entirely skip them in favor of Phoenix Ryzen 7000G APUs but that’s something we have to wait and see.
“And so there may be other forces beyond the product itself that slow down or meter the introduction of APUs into that AM5 socket. You know, we do expect that to be an enthusiast-first introduction. And I think we’re going to have to watch very carefully just how the DDR5 transition takes place and how quickly both supply and prices come in line to make it more affordable for a mainstream consumer that might be more interested in making a product in that socket.”
AMD CVP & GM of Client Business, David McAfee via Tomshardware
AMD AM5 LGA 1718 Socket Detailed A Bit More, Renders Confirm Socket Layout & Design
The AM5 LGA 1718 socket will feature 1718 pins arranged in the LGA (Land Grid Array) format. As for TDP requirements, the AMD AM5 CPU platform will feature six different segments starting with the flagship 170W CPU class which is recommended for Liquid coolers (280mm or higher). It looks like this will be an aggressively clocked chip with higher voltages and with CPU overclocking support.
This segment is followed by 120W TDP CPUs which are recommended to utilize a high-performance air-cooler. Interestingly, the 45-105W variants are listed as SR1/SR2a/SR4 thermal segments which means they would require standard heatsink solutions when running in a stock configuration so not much else is required to keep them cool.
As per the leaked renders by Igor’s Lab, the AM5 socket will adopt a SAM (Socket Actuation Mechanism) which will be directly connected to the backplate through four screws. As for the cooling support, while we have mentioned the supported TDPs above, the socket has some dimensional dissimilarities with the LGA 1700 socket and that’s gonna give cooling vendors a headache as they have to work again to ensure not only that their newer coolers work perfectly well with the AM5 socket but also their older coolers which AMD has confirmed will be compatible with the new socket.
