Gigabyte’s official press release confirming support for AMD’s next-generation processors on its current AM5 motherboards has shed light on the upcoming lineup’s branding. The processors will be marketed under the ‘Ryzen 9000’ moniker, contradicting speculations that AMD might switch to ‘Ryzen 8000’ branding for its Zen 5 chips launching this year. Codenamed ‘Granite Ridge,’ the Ryzen 9000-series desktop processors will be based on the Zen 5 architecture, offering an upgrade over the Zen 4-based ‘Raphael’ CPUs released in late 2022. Though AMD has not yet revealed specific launch dates, unconfirmed rumors suggest that the first batch of Zen 5-based SKUs could be unveiled at Computex 2024 in June before going on sale a few months later.
Beyond the ‘Granite Ridge’ desktop processors, Zen 5 is also expected to power the ‘Strix Point’ APUs, rumored to release later this year. These APUs are said to combine Zen 5 and Zen 5c cores and feature more robust integrated graphics capabilities. Zen 5 is further anticipated to empower the ‘Fire Range’ mobile CPUs and ‘Strix Halo’ APUs, rumored for release in 2025.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su has previously confirmed the launch of Zen 5-based CPUs for both client and server applications in the second half of 2024. A recent leak hinted at Zen 5 cores potentially delivering a performance boost of over 40 percent compared to Zen 4, indicating a significant leap in processing power for the next-generation processors. While AMD has yet to share any official Zen 5 benchmarks, the company claims that the chips will provide enhanced performance and efficiency over their Zen 4 predecessors. Other anticipated improvements include a re-pipelined front end, integrated AI, and machine learning optimizations.
Overall, Zen 5 is poised to be a substantial upgrade over current-generation processors, and its compatibility with existing AM5 motherboards is likely to entice AMD users considering a CPU upgrade this year. The official confirmation of the ‘Ryzen 9000’ branding further solidifies AMD’s roadmap for its next-generation processor lineup, setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting year for the tech industry.
