AMD expected to release 800 series motherboard chipsets for Ryzen 9000 CPUs — chipset series numbers to run in parallel to Intel

AMD is preparing to launch its next-generation desktop CPU and motherboard series. The current flagship consumer motherboard chipset from AMD is the X670 (E), which we’d expect to be succeeded by the X760 (E). However, recent leaks suggest AMD will skip ahead and dub the next chipset X860 (E), running in parallel with Intel's 800 motherboard chipset series like the Intel Z890 flagship. Both x86 CPU vendors will thus simultaneously be offering 800 series chipsets - which shouldn't but may cause more confusion among customers.

Most major motherboard manufacturers will display their newest AMD and Intel motherboards at Computex 2024 in early June. On the AMD side of things, expect these motherboards to be compatible with the upcoming Ryzen 9000 series of CPUs, codenamed Granite Ridge.

According to Benchlife, the chipsets used with the Ryzen 9000 CPUs will be called the 800 series. This is the same as Intel’s new motherboard chipset, so the major CPU manufacturers will both have flagship motherboards using 800-series nomenclature.

It will be important to remember, though, that the similarity will mostly end with the numbering scheme. Each manufacturer’s newest motherboards will feature entirely different sockets. They’ll also support different processors. Just like motherboard / CPU combinations going back as far as I can recall, you won’t be able to socket an Intel CPU in an AMD motherboard, or vice versa.

Of course, this naming can always change between now and the actual release. AMD has, after all, made numerous changes in the naming for its Strix Point mobile Zen 5 platform. At one point, it was rumored to be named the Ryzen 9050 series. The latest rumors, however, claim that has changed to the Ryzen AI 300 series.

Despite the upcoming new AMD chipset, it seems some motherboard manufacturers are still improving upon the first-generation AM5-socket motherboards. Benchlife received a new, as yet unreleased, Gigabyte B650E Aorus Pro X USB4. While the motherboard sounds like it would be obsolete almost upon delivery, the specifications for the board tell a different story.

In fact, Benchlife notes that the “B650E Aorus Pro X USB4 motherboard matches the specifications of most AMD X870 motherboards.” It also features a reinforced PCIe slot supporting up to a maximum weight of 58 kg. I can’t for the life of me figure out why you’d need your PCIe slot to withstand so much weight, but there you have it.

Gigabyte hasn’t officially announced the new motherboard yet, but a teaser video on X (formerly Twitter) makes it clear something is coming soon.