A PLATFORM FOR SUCCESS
If AMD’s CPUs are looking crusty, its platforms and chipsets could also do with being taken out with the trash. Native support for modern high-bandwidth interconnects and storage are conspicuous by their absence. Put another way, even if AMD’s new Zen CPU architecture delivers on its promise, that will only be half the job done. AMD needs some new platforms, too. A warm welcome, therefore, for AM4, AMD’s new socket, and the X370, B350, and A320 chipsets.
AM4 will also come with support for DDR4 system memory. But it’s elsewhere that the real interest lies. The new platforms seem to have all the bases covered: Nothing is official as we go to press, but NVMe and M.2 storage, plus native USB 3.1 Gen 2 and PCI Express 3.0 are all reportedly in the mix, according to leaked documents.
The top chipset is the X370. That will pack dual x16 PCI Express 3.0 ports for multi-GPU action. X370 will also have a full range of overclocking features. Beyond that, not a great deal is known. We certainly hope that additional PCI Express 3.0 lanes will be available to allow dual graphics, plus a high-speed PCIe SSD.
There’s reason to think that, as leaked details about the mid-range B350 chipset indicate it will come with support for two PCIe drives, although the actual number of lanes available to each drive isn’t clear. All told, it looks promising, and exactly what AMD needs to complete its next-gen offering. All the indications are that Zen and its supporting platforms will be announced very early in 2017, so here’s hoping Intel finally has a fight on its hands.