AMD's Ryzen 7000 & Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs that will be part of the Raphael AM5 platform are now rumored to support higher DDR5 memory specs.
AMD Raphael 'Ryzen 7000' & Raphael-X 'Ryzen 7000X3D' Desktop CPUs Rumored To Support DDR5-5600 Memory Natively
The latest rumor comes from KittyYuko who has tweeted out after a long hiatus of six months. As per his latest tweet, the leaker has managed to land some information regarding the upcoming Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs such as Raphael, Raphael-X, and also the recently announced & also Zen 4 powered, Dragon Range APUs for laptops.
Raphael = DDR5-5600
Raphael-X = 3D + DDR5-5600
Dragon Range＝Raphael + FCBGA-FL1
FCLK ~ 1600~1800MHz— Yuko Yoshida (@KittyYYuko) May 5, 2022
It is stated that AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs will include both Raphael and Raphael-X lineups. The first will be the standard Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs launching this year while Raphael-X will come equipped with 3D V-Cache next year and be branded as the Ryzen 7000X3D series. This is something that recent rumors have also pointed out but the more interesting info is the memory spec.
Our first DDR5 platform for gaming is our Raphael platform and one of the awesome things about Raphael is that we are really gonna try to make a big splash with overclocking and I'll just kinda leave it there but speeds that you maybe thought couldn't be possible, maybe possible with this overclocking spec.
Joseph Tao, Memory Enabling Manager at AMD
Currently, this is how the DDR5 platforms for 2022 are shaping up to look:
- Intel Alder Lake - DDR5-4800 (Native - Confirmed)
- Intel Raptor Lake - DDR5-5600 (Native - Expected)
- AMD Ryzen 7000 - DDR5-5600 (Native - Expected)
The rumor states that both Ryzen 7000 and Ryzen 7000X3D will feature support for DDR5-5600 memory natively. This is a faster memory spec than the one that's been listed by memory manufacturer, APACER, in its presentation slide that we reported here. Going from DDR5-5200 to DDR5-5600 is a 7.5% increase in clock rate and a 16.5% increase over the native DDR5-4800 spec. This will be a huge improvement over Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs which feature DDR5-4800 native support while Raptor Lake is expected to bring in DDR5-5600 support. So AMD is likely to have parity with Intel's latest platform on their first DDR5 platform which is something they have already pointed out here.
AMD Mainstream Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
| AMD CPU Family | Codename | Processor Process | Processors Cores/Threads (Max) | TDPs (Max) | Platform | Platform Chipset | Memory Support | PCIe Support | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 1000 | Summit Ridge | 14nm (Zen 1) | 8/16 | 95W | AM4 | 300-Series | DDR4-2677 | Gen 3.0 | 2017 |
| Ryzen 2000 | Pinnacle Ridge | 12nm (Zen +) | 8/16 | 105W | AM4 | 400-Series | DDR4-2933 | Gen 3.0 | 2018 |
| Ryzen 3000 | Matisse | 7nm (Zen 2) | 16/32 | 105W | AM4 | 500-Series | DDR4-3200 | Gen 4.0 | 2019 |
| Ryzen 5000 | Vermeer | 7nm (Zen 3) | 16/32 | 105W | AM4 | 500-Series | DDR4-3200 | Gen 4.0 | 2020 |
| Ryzen 5000 3D | Warhol? | 7nm (Zen 3D) | 8/16 | 105W | AM4 | 500-Series | DDR4-3200 | Gen 4.0 | 2022 |
| Ryzen 7000 | Raphael | 5nm (Zen 4) | 16/32 | 170W | AM5 | 600-Series | DDR5-5200 | Gen 5.0 | 2022 |
| Ryzen 7000 3D | Raphael | 5nm (Zen 4) | 16/32 | 120W | AM5 | 600-Series | DDR5-5200 | Gen 5.0 | 2023 |
| Ryzen X000 | Granite Ridge | 3nm (Zen 5)? | TBA | TBA | AM5 | 700-Series? | DDR5-5600+ | Gen 5.0 | 2024 |
The FCLK for the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs is said to be between 1600-1800 MHz (Infinity Fabric) which is similar to existing Ryzen 5000 'Zen 3' CPUs. But the 1800 MHz FCLK is said to be an upper limit of overclocking. It looks like Zen 4 APUs will be better off with FCLK overclocking as demonstrated with Zen 3 and Zen 2 parts. On the other hand, Dragon Range CPUs are said to utilize the Raphael Die on the FCBGA-FL1 socket.
While DDR5 prices are still nowhere close to DDR4 prices, it looks like by the start of 2023 as more mainstream CPU platforms enter the mass market, we will see a gradual drop in prices for the new standard as the DRAM makers try to achieve price-parity with DDR4 for further adoption.
