The very first set of motherboards from AMD's upcoming AM4 platform for Zen, Bristol Ridge & Raven Ridge have been detailed & pictured. These new boards will be compatible with everything from upcoming high-end Summit Ridge 8 core CPUs to mid-range and entry-level desktop APUs. The new details & photos come via the Korean hardware tech site bodnara.

AMD AM4 Motherboards From Gigabyte Pictured & Detailed

AMD's new AM4 platform will feature three different chipsets for three tiers. The entry-level A320 chipset, mid-range B350 chipset and high-end X370 chipset. The updated chipset brings M.2 connectivity, PCI-E gen 3, DDR4 memory and much more to AMD's desktop platform. Currently, only a select number of OEMs have started systems with AM4 motherboards & Bristol Ridge APUs inside. So this represents the first ever leak pertaining to channel boards that you'll be able to buy in retail stores or via e-tail soon enough.

We have two AM4 motherboards from Gigabyte to talk about here, both feature the mid-range B350 chipset and come in an M-ATX form-factor.













The first board features two PCIe 3.0 x16 expansion slots and an NMVe M.2 interface. In terms of I/O the board comes with two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, a PS2 combo port, D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and three audio jacks. Which brings us neatly to the ob-board audio. Which is physically separated from the rest of the board to minimize interference. Powered by Realtek's 8 channel ALC887 high definition audio codec & high-end Japanese capacitors.

As is with most modern motherboards Gigabyte's AM4 board comes with dual BIOS functionality for more convenient flashing and added protection in case overclocking fails or unstable settings are saved. Above you can see the UEFI screen showing the frequency & voltage of installed DDR4 memory modules.

















The second board Gigabyte's entry-level OEM GA-B350M-D2 model. It features a 4+3 -- 7-phase -- power delivery desgin and an auxiliary 8-pin motherboard power connector. Unlike the other AM4 Gigabyte motherboard this one actually comes with only two rather than four DDR4 dimms. Storage wise we have four SATA3 6Gbps ports, two USB 3.0 front panel headers and one USB 2.0 front panel header. In terms of expansion this board comes with only PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and two PCIe 2.0 1x slots.

The on-board audio solution is identical here, featuring an 8 channel Realtek ALC887 high definition audio codec with premium Japanese capacitors. Just like the other board there's no integrated wifi and LAN is handled by a Realtek 8111G Gigabit Ethernet controller. I/O consists of two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.1 Type-A port, a PS2 combo port, D-Sub, DVI-D and three audio jacks.

AM4 In A Nutshell

DDR4 Memory

PCIe Gen 3

USB 3.1 Gen2 10Gbps

NVMe

SATA Express

AMD Zen Press Release

From 7th Gen APUs to upcoming Zen-based “Summit Ridge” desktop processors, the future-ready AM4 platform features the newest I/O standards and an AMD commitment to support it into the future. The initial “Zen” cores for “Summit Ridge”-powered desktops will utilize the AMD AM4 socket, a new unified socket infrastructure that is compatible with 7th Generation AMD A-Series desktop processors. With dedicated PCIe® lanes for cutting-edge USB, graphics, data and other I/O, the AMD AM4 platform will not steal lanes from other devices and components. This allows users to enjoy systems with improved responsiveness and the future looking technologies that the AM4 platform provides, resulting in a powerful, scalable and reliable computing solution for all their needs.











AMD Bristol Ridge Desktop AM4 SKUs:

SKU Cores Base/Boost Clock GPU CUs GPU SPs GPU Clock Memory TDP AMD A12-9800 4 3.8/4.2 GHz 8 CUs 512 SPs 1108 MHz DDR4-2400 65W AMD A12-9800E 4 3.1/3.8 GHz 8 CUs 512 SPs 900 MHz DDR4-2400 35W AMD A10-9700 4 3.5/3.8 GHz 6 CUs 384 SPs 1029 MHz DDR4-2400 65W AMD A10-9700E 4 3.0/3.5 GHz 6 CUs 384 SPs 847 MHz DDR4-2400 35W AMD A8-9600 4 3.1/3.4 GHz 6 CUs 384 SPs 900 MHz DDR4-2400 65W AMD Athlon X4 950 4 3.5/3.8 GHz N/A N/A N/A DDR4-2400 65W AMD A6-9500 2 3.5/3.8 GHz 6 CUs 384 SPs 1029 MHz DDR4-2400 65W AMD A6-9500E 2 3.0/3.4 GHz 4 CUs 256 SPs 800 MHz DDR4-2400 35W Athlon X4 970 4 3.5+/3.8 GHz+ N/A N/A N/A DDR4-2400 65W Athlon X4 950 4 3.5/3.8 GHz N/A N/A N/A DDR4-2400 65W Athlon X4 940 2 3.2/3.5 GHz N/A N/A N/A DDR4-2400 35W

Inching Closer To Zen's Launch - January Debut At CES Inevtible

For the past couple of weeks we have seen a substantial increase in the number of leaks pertaining to AMD's upcoming Zen CPUs and the brand new AM4 platform. AMD Zen Summit Ridge CPUs & the high-end "X370" chipset is expected to be available on shelves this upcoming February. Motherboard makers are already building their inventories of all three AM4 chipsets. Rumor has it, as we had reported a couple of weeks back, that motherboard makers are planning to showcase their new AM4 motherboards this upcoming October. This inventory build-up while well underway will reportedly take several months to be market ready due to the large inventories.

All Zen FX CPUs that are part of the Summit Ridge family will include the company’s new platform security processor, PCIe 3.0 support, dual channel DDR4 memory controllers, copious amounts of L3 cache and updated storage features. Including USB3.1 and NVMe. Summit Ridge will include CPUs ranging from 8 cores & 16 threads to 4 cores & 8 threads with 95-65 watts of power.

One thing that AMD has hinted at during its recent performance demonstration of Zen which wowed the press, is that we’ll see Zen on display at CES in January of 2017. That’s when Summit RIdge is expected to officially launch. Assuming everything goes according to plan this means that high-end X370 AM4 motherboards and desktop Zen CPUs should be available on-shelves by February of next year.

Next Generation AMD CPUs And APUs