More leaks on AMD Zen 4 and AM5 socket

 New leaks by ExcutableFix provides more details on AMD's next-generation Zen 4 processor.

Let's keep it going! Raphael is the first Zen 4 consumer chip and here's a first look

Raphael
- AM5 socket
- DDR5 (no DDR4)
- 28 PCIe 4.0 lanes (+4 compared to Zen 3)
- 120W TDP (170W possible as well 🤯) pic.twitter.com/5DcTmjdqNd

— ExecutableFix (@ExecuFix) May 25, 2021

 The AM5 socket might be moving over to the land grid array, rather than pins on the processors, the pins will be on the socket, like Intel's processors. Until now AMD uses LGA design only on High-End Desktop and server platforms, on Threadripper and EPYC.

What benefits does LGA present? If the pins are in the socket then you are less likely to bend the pins, and also if that was on the processors and you bent the pins, then it's pretty much damaged, and fixing the pins will take a lot of precision and in that, you might even break off one pin, which could be the worst imaginable experience, and then its a very expensive piece of hardware destroyed. And it's also less likely that the motherboard will come with bent pins.

Zen 4, Raphael processors will be the first Ryzen chips to have an LGA design. And the AM5 will have 1,718 contacts, whereas the AM4 socket had 1,331 contacts, with a significant increase in contacts. Also, AM5 will exclusively offer support for DDR5, but not DDR4, whereas Intel's Alder lake (12th Gen) will offer support for both. 

Leaks also point out that Zen 4 will offer more cores, with a maximum core count of 24 cores, whereas Zen 3 has only 16 cores at max as it only has 2 CCD (Core complex die). With more cores, it will have more power consumption, they may range from 120W TDP - 170W TDP. 

Rumors still say that Zen 4 will be on the PCIe 4.0 interface, with a total of 28 PCIe 4.0 lanes, whereas Zen 3 chips only supported 24 PCIe lanes.

Zen 4 will be out by the end of 2022, and these are just rumors so nothing is fixed, the numbers might not be accurate when Zen 4 comes out.