AMD AM6 socket may support AM5 coolers

While AMD's AM5 platform still has plenty of life left in it, the rumour mill is beginnning to shift attention to the next-generation AM6 platform.  A new report has shed some light on the potential design of the upcoming AM6 socket, and it contains some very good news for those who have invested in high-end cooling for their AM5-based systems.

According to the Bits and Chips report (via VideoCardz), the AM6 socket will feature a much higher pin density than its predecessor, with the total pin count expected to exceed 2100. That's a jump of over 22% compared to AM5's 1718 pins. Despite this increase, the rumour claims that the physical dimensions and overall layout of the socket will remain comparable to AM5. If true, this could mean that the existing AM5-compatible CPU coolers would also be compatible with the next-generation platform, which would be a massive win for builders.

This new socket is said to be the foundation for the future Zen 7 architecture. The massive increase in pin count is necessary to support the next wave of technologies, as the AM6 platform is expected to be AMD's first to introduce support for both DDR6 memory and the PCIe 6.0 interface. The launch of the platform will likely be tied to the general availability of the new DDR6 memory standard.

This is, of course, a long way off. AMD has pledged to support the current AM5 socket well into 2025 and beyond, and it is widely expected that the upcoming Zen 6 CPU architecture will still be an AM5 product. Still, this new report gives us an early glimpse at the generation that will follow, providing a logical roadmap for when a socket change will become necessary to adopt new I/O and memory standards.

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KitGuru says: For enthusiasts, the prospect of carrying forward their expensive cooling solutions to a new platform that ushers in both DDR6 and PCIe 6.0 is certainly something to look forward to.

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