AMD reveals an army of Ryzen PCs and AM4 motherboards

Life

Image: AMD

5 January 2017

At CES 2017 AMD set the stage for the upcoming launch of its Ryzen chips by revealing 16 high-end motherboards that use the new unified AM4 socket, CPU coolers built for those boards, and another some ‘extreme performance’ pre-built PCs designed around Ryzen. Let’s dig into what was revealed.

AM4 motherboards
Both Ryzen and all of AMD’s other new APUs fit into the same motherboard socket, AM4. But those AM4 motherboards won’t all use the same chipset: A more affordable APU system might pair with a motherboard that has modest features, whereas a Ryzen-based PC is likely to require more robust technologies. To that end, AMD is releasing the X300 and X370 desktop chipsets for Ryzen systems.

You’ll want an X300 motherboard in a tiny mini-ITX machine, and an X370 in a full-size PC. Both support all of the recent tech being baked into AM4 such as dual-channel DDR4 memory, NVMe and M.2 SSDs, USB 3.1 Gen 1 and 2.

AMD is showing off Ryzen boards and APU and budget PC-focused B350 and A320 desktop motherboards from partners ASRock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte and MSI.

AM4 coolers
New motherboards do mean new CPU cooler brackets and AMD is working with 15 vendors on an array of AM4 cooling solutions.

Noctua’s highly regarded NH-D15 and its thinner cousin, the NH-U12S, will both become compatible with AM4 motherboards, and EK Waterblocks – beloved by enthusiasts who dig custom hardline liquid-cooling – will release AM4 products as well. If you prefer your liquid-cooling of the dead simple variety, Corsair’s H60, H100i, and H110i will also support AMD’s new platform.

Ryzen PCs
Finally, AMD has teamed with boutique PC builders to show off Ryzen ‘dream PCs’. The lineup ranges from practical systems to exotic, tricked-out builds. Here’s the full list of partners who’ve built Ryzen rigs: