AMD WTF

[pat24601]

I've never paid much attention to AMD processors. I mean, it was always neat there was someone nipping at intel's heels - but when it came time to actually buy/build stuff, they were never in one of those magic windows where they were actually ahead. So I've always gone intel, and all I know about AMD is some vague mish-mosh of headlines that have gone wizzing by for 20 years.

 

But I'm starting a new project, and looking at AMD stuff. And it's confusing as heck. The product numbering system seems just random, and are there different versions of the processors that use the same physical socket and aren't compatible? DO you really have to read the manual and check bios versions to know if any given proc will work in any given MB? If I want to compare with products a generation or three older, what does that even mean in AMD land? What does "Zen 2" or "Zen 3" even mean?

Has anyone made a good guide on understanding AMD processors and compatible MB's?

[IkeaGnome]

2 minutes ago, pat24601 said:

Has anyone made a good guide on understanding AMD processors 

It's a lot more similar to Intel than you'd think. Where a Intel i7-7700k is 2 generations older, but the "same" cpu as a I7-9700k, the same applies to the AMD R7 1700 compared to Amd R7 3700. 

5 minutes ago, pat24601 said:

What does "Zen 2" or "Zen 3" even mean?

Zen is what they call their CPU architecture. Zen 3 CPUs are 5xxx series, and Zen 2 is the older architecture that 3xxx and 4xxx CPUs use. 

[Dr. Will0hlep]

There are basically only 2 sockets: AM4 and AM5.

 

AM5 socket is on A620, B650, B650E, X670, X670E boards and supports 7000 series processors.

AM4 socket is on A320, B350, X370, B450, X470, A520, B550, X570 boards and supports everything else recent you could consider (5000 and 3000 plus some others).
 

[NumLock21]

Latest AMD processors are the AMD Ryzen 7000 series, just focus on that if you're going with an AMD build. forget the rest.

[Dr. Will0hlep]

Just now, NumLock21 said:

Latest AMD processors are the AMD Ryzen 7000 series, just focus on that if you're going with an AMD build. forget the rest.

I mean, 5000 is great for budget builds... certainly shouldn't be overlooked.

[Middcore]

23 minutes ago, pat24601 said:

and are there different versions of the processors that use the same physical socket and aren't compatible? 

AMD made four generations of CPU from 2017 to 2021 that all use the same socket, actually. The thoughtless bastards should just change platforms every other year so people have to buy a new board if they want to upgrade but never need to do any research, I guess.

 

I honestly have no idea why you can't grasp AMD's CPU numbering if you can grasp Intel's. Leading digit is the generation so higher is newer, higher following digits are generally more powerful... exactly the same as Intel. Why is a 5700 being a newer, somewhat more high-end chip than a 3600 harder to comprehend than a 12600 being newer and somewhat higher in the lineup than a 10400?

 

Zen 1: Chips numbered 1xxx

Zen+: Chips numbered 2xxx

Zen 2: Chips numbered 3xxx

Zen 3: Chips numbered 5xxx

 

All of these use AM4 boards, and all of them can be used on the very earliest AM4 boards released back in 2017, if the board manufacturer bothered to release a BIOS update. 

 

Zen 4: Chips numbered 7xxx, use the new AM5 socket.

 

Chips with numbers ending in G are APU's and have integrated graphics whereas no other Ryzen CPU's do, and they were also a generation behind what the model number suggests in the earlier years, that's probably the most confusing thing about Ryzen numbering but none of that is really relevant anymore. 

 

Chips with numbers ending in X have slightly higher factory clocks and overclocking potential than the non-X ones but all Ryzen CPU's are unlocked for overclocking and the X chips don't really have a meaningful advantage for the most part.

 

Chips with numbers ending in X3D use AMD's new 3D V-Cache concept. At the moment is the 5800X3D is the only one on the market but X3D models of Zen 3 chips will come next year. 

[Slayer3032]

Pretty much any AM4 board you order nowadays is going to support all of the AM4 cpus you're likely looking at.

 

Zen(1000), Zen+(2000/refresh of 1000), Zen 2(3000) and Zen 3(5000) are the architectures, the same way you have Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake and the 10 other __ Lake's with Intel.

 

CPU compatibility is more so placed on the motherboard rather than the chipset, things can get confusing with your more fringe boards/setups where running a X370 board from early 2017 may have different bios revisions which may not support both a 1700x and a 5800x3d with the same bios. Even then, compatibility is generally only lost for those bristol ridge AM3 port socket heaters and less important skus.

 

Outside of trying to update your Skylake era AM4 board to support something that released just 8 months ago, you're not going to encounter any issues and certainly none which you wouldn't already have the hardware or ability to just hit it with a bios flashback to get whatever is in the socket running.

 

If it fits in the socket, you'll likely be able to get it running which for me is the largest value add possible for a platform in my opinion.

[porina]

22 minutes ago, pat24601 said:

Has anyone made a good guide on understanding AMD processors and compatible MB's?

I'd look at it much more simply than that. If buying new, buy a mobo with chipset that was released at the same time as the CPU so you know they probably work together without fuss. I'd avoid mix and match of generations where possible. You do have to double check compatibility and in the most likely combination of older mobo with newer CPU, you may not get all features of the CPU. This applies regardless of CPU manufacturer.