Starting with AM4, AMD is moving to a unified socket and platform for all their chips. At long last, the CPU and APU lineups are united on the same motherboards. So far, AM4 supports the Bristol Ridge APUs and Ryzen CPUs. To get ready for the Raven Ridge release, AMD is shipping out BIOS updates for their vendors. This will finally bring Zen cores and Vega graphics together on the desktop.
At launch, AMD’s AM4 motherboards could already support Raven Ridge. To provide full support, a BIOS update is still required. With vendors getting the BIOS update, it is only a matter of time until launch. Current rumours point to a launch at CES 2018 in January. However, AMD may choose to roll in Raven Ridge with their upcoming Radeon ReLive Redux Software update for next month.
AMD AM4 Will Be Longterm Platform
By moving onto a unified socket, the goal is to provide more value and longevity for customers. AMD split the previous lineup into AM3+ and FM1/2 for CPUs and APUs respectively. That increased support costs and limited consumer freedom for upgrades. The change brings AMD in line with Intel which uses one LGA 115x socket for mainstream desktops. At the same time, AMD is keeping AM4 instead of Intel constantly updating their LGA 115x. This means AM4 owners can be more futureproof for future upgrades.
In providing a more stable upgrade path, AMD will hope to have more repeat customers. We can expect future Zen+ and Navi based CPUs and APUs on the AM4 platform as well. It has been a long time coming but AMD will soon have an APU worthy of the title with competitive CPU and GPU performance. If mobile Raven Ridge is an indicator, the desktop variant should blow last gen APUs right out of the water.
I’d like AMD to push motherboard makers to include HDMI 2.0. Current motherboards are 1.4, and that’s a problem for using an APU on an HTPC, which is where it makes most sense.
I am really hoping we start seeing HDMI 2.0 motherboards soon too.