AMD's Upcoming 800-Series Motherboard Chipset

AMD is preparing to release the new 800-series motherboard chipset alongside its next-generation Ryzen 9000 series processors. These processors will feature the "Zen 5" microarchitecture and are codenamed "Granite Ridge." The flagship chipset in the 800-series family will be the AMD X870E, which will succeed the current X670E. The CPU socket, Socket AM5, will remain the same, allowing the 800-series chipset to support not only "Granite Ridge" but also the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael" and Ryzen 8000 series "Hawk Point."

The X870E stands out from its predecessor, the X670E, due to its USB4 capabilities. Motherboard manufacturers will be required to include 40 Gbps USB4 connectivity with the X870E chipset. This means that the chipset will consist of three chips: two Promontory 21 bridge chips and a discrete ASMedia ASM4242 USB4 host controller. It is possible that AMD's Qualified Vendor List (QVL) will allow other brands of USB4 controllers in the future.

The Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" processors are chiplet-based, similar to the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" processors. While the 4 nm "Zen 5" CCDs are new, the 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) is mostly carried over from "Raphael," with some updates to its memory controller. AMD recommends DDR5-6400 as the optimal memory speed, but it may also encourage motherboard vendors to support DDR5-8000 EXPO profiles with an FCLK of 2400 MHz and a divider.

When the Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" processors launch, they will be compatible with the new wave of AMD X870E motherboards. However, these processors will also be supported on AMD 600-series chipset motherboards with BIOS updates. Most Socket AM5 motherboards feature USB BIOS Flashback, allowing users to pair a Ryzen 9000 series processor with a 600-series chipset motherboard. Additionally, AMD may expand the 800-series with other chipset models, including the X870, B850, and the new B840 for entry-level options.