What you need to know
- AMD announced AMD Ryzen 4000 CPUs will work on 500-series motherboards.
- AMD continues to stick to its promise to keep reusing the AM4 socket.
- Both the X570 and new B550 motherboards will work with the Ryzen 4000 CPUs.
AMD announced that new Ryzen 4000 desktop CPUs based on the Zen 3 architecture will require 500-series motherboards with an AM4 socket. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given that Ryzen 3000 processors cannot be used with 300-series motherboards, and as such we're about due another bump in chipset requirements.
It does mark the first time 400-series motherboards will need to be replaced, given that they could be used with current Ryzen 3000 CPUs with nothing but a BIOS flash. Interestingly, AMD is sticking with the AM4 socket, which has been around since "Excavator." Flagship X570 motherboards remain pretty pricey compared to mid-tier or budget offerings, but we should start to see some price reductions soon.
There's also the upcoming B550, replacing the B450 chipset, which will also be compatible with Ryzen 4000 processors. It's worth noting that both the X570 and B550 will support AMD Ryzen 3000 series processor too (just not the ones with integrated graphics). It's positive to see AMD continue to keep to its original promise of sticking with AM4 for up to 2020, not forcing PC owners to buy new motherboards with each CPU generation.
