Couple of cpu related questions (cpu upgrade-ability, AM5 motherboards)

[Tykey]

Hi

I'm thinking of buying a new pc (currently have an i7 7700K) and i'm leaning towards Zen 4 mainly because, i think, with AMD there's more scope for upgrading cpu to your existing mobo, whereas when intel release new cpu generations they usually require a new mobo. i'm thinking for atleast a few years if i buy AMD then i'll be able to easily upgrade just the cpu, correct?

also, i'm not clued up on AM5 mobo's, which are the one's to go for or are they all similar? i know prices vary a lot.

 

[8 Pack]

Hi

I'm thinking of buying a new pc (currently have an i7 7700K) and i'm leaning towards Zen 4 mainly because, i think, with AMD there's more scope for upgrading cpu to your existing mobo, whereas when intel release new cpu generations they usually require a new mobo. i'm thinking for atleast a few years if i buy AMD then i'll be able to easily upgrade just the cpu, correct?

also, i'm not clued up on AM5 mobo's, which are the one's to go for or are they all similar? i know prices vary a lot.

Yeah the next gen CPUs from AMD will work in these current boards.

I only tested X670E boards from several vendors. I would suggest if moving forward you want to keep just upgrading CPUs then get the best board you can... As generation on generation the CPUs become more power hungry and a decent VRM will be needed to deliver this power.

The higher chipsets also offer more gen5 wise which may be useful on future GPU and storage.

 

[VonScar]

Hi

I'm thinking of buying a new pc (currently have an i7 7700K) and i'm leaning towards Zen 4 mainly because, i think, with AMD there's more scope for upgrading cpu to your existing mobo, whereas when intel release new cpu generations they usually require a new mobo. i'm thinking for atleast a few years if i buy AMD then i'll be able to easily upgrade just the cpu, correct?

also, i'm not clued up on AM5 mobo's, which are the one's to go for or are they all similar? i know prices vary a lot.

Four classes of AM5 motherboards

X670E
X670
B650E
B650

I believe the non-E motherboards omit/limit PCIE-5 capability.

If I were to upgrade, I would consider a B650 E or non-E motherboards. Due to absurd pricing. Zen 4 chips do reach 95 degrees, as the current BIOS and designs allow it and hardware as well.

However, an X670-E motherboard will be the highest tier. This will have higher PCI-E lanes available and PCI-5 on GPU and NVME storage drives.

AM5 socket is supposed to last 2025 plus. All motherboards are DDR5 only.

 

[Tetras]

Hi

I'm thinking of buying a new pc (currently have an i7 7700K) and i'm leaning towards Zen 4 mainly because, i think, with AMD there's more scope for upgrading cpu to your existing mobo, whereas when intel release new cpu generations they usually require a new mobo. i'm thinking for atleast a few years if i buy AMD then i'll be able to easily upgrade just the cpu, correct?

also, i'm not clued up on AM5 mobo's, which are the one's to go for or are they all similar? i know prices vary a lot.

I don't want to discourage you, but to quote Linus, don't purchase a promise (12:40). It is true that they have offered BIOS updates for the AM4 range on their first and second gen boards, but the community pushed hard for this (AMD initially made board manufacturers take their beta bios down, for both X370 and B450) and they could change tack at any time. I'd buy AM5 because you're happy with what it offers you now (which is a pretty huge upgrade on a 7700K).

The B boards are supposed to be due in early October and should be more affordable, which if true, is unusually fast.