AMD's family of desktop Zen CPUs code named Summit Ridge will reportedly be available on shelves by February next year. Accompanied by a collection of AM4 motherboards, flagshipped by the company's brand new high-end X370 series chipset.

This update which we're bringing you courtesy of our friend Chris L over at Benchlife also makes mention of AMD's new Bristol Ridge series of desktop APUs based on the Excavator CPU architecture and GCN 3.0 graphics architecture.

Summit Ridge & Bristol Ridge CPUs & APUs share pin to pin compatibility on the AM4 socket. Giving prospective Bristol Ridge owners a clear upgrade path to the high-end Zen "Summit Ridge" parts. Bristol Ridge APUs have begun shipping to OEMs earlier in the week. Boxed DIY Bristol Ridge APUs will be available, we're told, in retail stores some time within the next couple of months.

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

AM4, New Socket, New Chipsets & New Features

There will be three different chipsets for the AM4 socket to serve different areas of the market. The highest end chipset has now been revealed to be the X370. If you're planning to build a Summit Ridge based build this will likely your best way to go. Along with the X370 chipset AM4 will also support two other chipsets for the mid-range and entry level market dubbed "B350" and "A320".











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.

AM4’s Key Features

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 Zen Summit Ridge CPUs & High-End "X370" AM4 Motherboards To Be Available On Shelves By February 2017

According to Benchlife's Chris L, 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.

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

WCCFTech AMD Summit Ridge AMD Pinnacle Ridge AMD Bristol Ridge AMD Raven Ridge AMD Gray Hawk Family Name Ryzen TBD AMD 7th Gen A-Series Ryzen TBD Product Architecture Zen Zen Refresh / Zen 2 Excavator Zen Zen 2 Process Node 14nm 12nm 28nm 14nm 14nm CPU Cores Up to 8 Up to 8 Up to 4 Up to 4 Up to 4 GPU Architecture N/A N/A Caribbean Islands Vega Navi TDP 65W-95W 65W-95W 15-65W TBA TBA Socket AM4 AM4 AM4 AM4 AM4 Memory Support DDR4 DDR4 DDR4 DDR4 DDR4 Launch 2017 2018 2016 (Mobile)

2017 (Desktop) 2017 (Mobile)

2018 (Desktop) 2019

AMD & Intel Slugging It Out In Early 2017

Interestingly the report also included some minor updates regarding Intel's upcoming Kaby Lake desktop CPUs. Kaby Lake processors will be compatible with two upcoming chipsets, Z270 as well as H270 in addition to the existing H110 chipset for the entry level.





Quadcore Kaby Lake desktop processors will reportedly be the highest end offering Intel will showcase at CES next year. Notably absent from the show will be the enthusiast 6, 8 and 10 core Skylake-X CPUs. Additionally Kaby Lake has reportedly been slightly postponed, however no specific timeline for availability was provided beyond Q1 2017. As I write this the official word from Intel is that Kaby Lake is coming in January for the desktop. So it remains to be seen if and how much of a delay these chips will face.

Kably Lake : Skylake On Steroids

Kaby Lake is Intel's third generation 14nm based CPU family. Featuring the same Skylake core architecture manufactured on an updated 14nm PLUS process. Fine tuned to squeeze out every last drop of power efficiency and Mhz and it shows. The flagship Kaby Lake part, the quadcore eight thread i7 7700K, features a core clock speed of 4.2Ghz with an impressive boost clock of 4.5Ghz.



While that's not necessarily going to be enough to compete with AMD's eight core Zen part. Which the company demoed live last month outperforming Intel's 8 core i7 6900K clock for clock. It's enough to make a quadcore CPU perhaps interesting again. One thing Intel has plenty of is wiggle room. Simply cutting prices of its enthusiast Broadwell-E processors could prove effective in holding some ground until Skylake-X debuts. Whatever Intel's game plan may be, it's extraordinarily exciting to know that we're only a few months away from seeing fierce competition back in the CPU arena.

Intel 7th Generation 'Kaby Lake' Desktop Lineup