With the upcoming release of the Ryzen 7000 processors expected to release around October this year, it’s been known for quite some time now that this would not only see the transition to a brand new AM5 socket but that it would also represent AMD’s official debut in the world of DDR5 memory. – With this in mind though, although DDR5 memory is certainly nice, I think many consumers still expected that the platform would continue to support, albeit perhaps in a limited way, DDR4 modules.Following a report via Videocardz, however, information has appeared online that strongly suggests that both the X670 & B650 AM5 motherboard platforms will be DDR5 exclusive. And, pending the question mark of whether AMD releases an A620 model, this might mean that DDR4 isn’t getting invited to the Ryzen 7000 party!
Now admittedly, there were some hints that this might happen that have been right under our nose ever since AMD officially released marketing images for the new AM5 socket platform earlier this year. As you can see below, DDR5 is mentioned, but without any note towards DDR4. I think, however, that most consumers likely presumed that this was simply promoting the introduction of DDR5 rather than the exclusion of DDR4.
If this source is accurate, however, then this image was telling us a lot more than we might’ve thought. And if true, this may definitely raise more than a little anger among current Ryzen users.
What Do We Think?
I don’t think it unfair to say that many people (myself included) presumed that AMD would be following a similar pattern to what Intel did with their recent Z690 LGA 1700 motherboard platform. Namely, that there would be both DDR4 and DDR5 AM5 variants available to buy. – The clear advantage of this is that if you have some super-fast DDR4 modules, you have the option to transition without the additional cost of being tied into buying newer and potentially slower DDR5.
Overall, if is this true, then it feels like a bit of a mad move on AMD’s part. Upgrading to Ryzen 7000 was always going to be mildly problematic predominantly due to the expense of not just a new CPU, but also a new motherboard. If you have to throw DDR5 modules into that mix though, which we’ll point out are bloody expensive at the moment, I suspect that people are going to be sticking on AM4 for a bit longer yet.
The only possible reason we can see for AMD requiring DDR5 memory on Ryzen 7000 is the introduction of their new RAMP (or EXPO now apparently) technology. – And admittedly, this might be a legitimate reason. At the same time though, I still find it doubtful that some DDR4 compatibility couldn’t be offered!
With this in mind, I guess it’s just as well AM4 owners still have the 5800X3D as a potential upgrade! – If this is what’s going to happen though, I do sincerely hope that AMD reconsiders this position.
What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!