One of the main reasons AMD CPUs have proven so popular in recent years the company’s policy to use the same CPU sockets across multiple generations. This has meant that a user could buy a motherboard and CPU one year, then still be able to drop in a newer, faster CPU, four, five, six, or more years later. For instance, AMD AM4 saw support for four generations of CPU, with new CPUs for the platform still available ten years later. Now, AMD has committed to making its current AM5 socket last until 2029, seven years after the first AMD AM5 CPU launched, and two years longer than it originally said.
In recent years, AMD’s 7000 series and 9000 series X3D chips have simply been the best gaming CPUs available, so many buyers have bought for that reason alone. However, AMD’s commitment to long term support and an easy upgrade path has also been the foundation (or the cherry on top, depending which way you look at it) for many buyers considering their best options for longer term cost saving and ease of upgrade.
AMD revealed the news as part of its announcements for the Computex trade show currently taking place in Taiwan. Although it didn’t go into too much detail, the company said that it “confirms its long-term commitment to the AM5 platform with drop-in upgrade support and new architectures planned through 2029, delivering sustained value and confidence for gamers to invest and upgrade.”
For example, you could buy an AMD AM5 motherboard today and a budget, last-generation AM5 CPU, such as the six-core Ryzen 5 7600X. Then, not only could you upgrade in the next couple of years to a current-generation Ryzen 9000 CPU, such as the all-conquering Ryzen 7 9850X3D, or even the company’s next generation CPUs (expected later this year), but likely the next generation of chips after that. This potentially unlocks enormous performance gains, all without having to disturb your RAM, motherboard, or any other part of your system.
In contrast, while Intel has had motherboard support extend across multiple generations of CPUs, for a long time, it would at most support two generations of chips, which would typically only give you a window of around four years before a new motherboard would be needed, if you wanted to upgrade to the latest CPUs. It has suggested it will look at having longer-lasting support, but, for now, it’s set to introduce a new motherboard socket for its next generation Nova Lake CPUs expected to land later this year.
Highlighting its long term socket support, AMD also announced the relaunch of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which was the fastest gaming CPU for AM4 motherboards and the first CPU to feature the 3D V-Cache (X3D) tech that has gone on to make AMD CPUs the fastest for gaming. The new eight-core CPU will go on sale on Thursday, June 25 for a price of $349.
AMD has also announced the Ryzen 7 7700X3D, which is a new eight-core AMD AM5 CPU that slots in just behind the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, a chip that used to be the fastest in the world for gaming, until the 9800X3D came along. The Ryzen 7 7700X3D release date is Tuesday, July 16, priced at $329. This puts it comfortably below the 7800X3D that typically sells for around $375.
One final interesting tidbit from today’s AMD CPU-related announcements is that the company will now be shipping carbon nanotube cooling pads with some of its new CPUs, instead of pre-applying thermal paste to the cooler that ships with the CPU. These pads will be reusable and mess-free, The first chip to get this treatment is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D.
