AMD's AM4 platform is still going strong after many years, AMD reports a 50/50 sales split with AM5

[midian182]

Why it matters: It's been almost three years since AMD launched the AM5 chipset alongside Ryzen 7000 CPUs. But according to a company executive, global sales of AM5 and the previous-gen AM4 are split 50/50, illustrating how the socket that supports Zen 1 through to Zen 3 remains popular.

AMD head of Client Channel Business David McAfee was asked by TechPowerUp about the company's chip sales and whether they were skewed towards newer X3D processors.

McAfee said that the split between AM4 and AM5 is close to 50/50. He added that this was a global picture, and that different markets have different preferences. The US and Western Europe, for example, are more skewed toward higher-end AM5 builds.

AM4 was introduced in September 2016, alongside the launch of 7th-gen Bristol Ridge APUs. The first major adoption came when the Zen-based Ryzen 1000-series processors landed in March 2017. AM4 was AMD's main desktop platform for six years, proving so popular that the company extended promised support beyond the original 2020 date to 2022 – though it said last year that it would be supporting AM4 into 2025.

AMD showed its commitment to AM4 in June 2024 when it launched the Ryzen 9 5900XT and Ryzen 7 5800XT for the platform. The 5800XT is a 100 MHz overclock of the 5800X, while the 5900XT is essentially a 100 MHz downclocked version of the Ryzen 9 5950X.

Sorry, Intel

Although the US is weighted toward AM5, Amazon's best-selling CPU chart shows the lingering popularity of AM4 processors. Nine out of the top 25 entries are from the Ryzen 5000-series, the most popular of which is the Ryzen 7 5700X in third place. Meanwhile, Intel has only five processors in the top 25, the highest being the 11th-place Core i7-12700KF.

Also check out: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs. 9700X: 3D V-Cache Still Going Hard!

As for how long AMD will support the current AM5 platform, McAfee said last year that the longevity of AM4 was one of the biggest factors behind Ryzen's success and that AMD will think carefully about moving to the next socket generation. He added that the company wants to stay on AM5 for as long as possible.

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AMD's AM4 platform is still going strong after many years, AMD reports a 50/50 sales split with AM5

 

[yRaz]

I have 7 AM4 systems in my "rack". It's more of a steel shelf in my garage. Great platform, cheap parts, fast enough for everything I need. Bunch of 1800/2800/3800's in there I got used on ebay and now use as either game servers or linux-homelab foolery. I'll put it this way, if you have the equipment you end up finding stuff to do with it. On of my favorites is that my "smart washer" likes to send all kinds of data over my network back home. I have one computer that's only job is to "pretend" it's my washing machine and send junk telemetry data to the manufacturer 24/7

 

[bviktor]

I have 7 AM4 systems in my "rack". It's more of a steel shelf in my garage. Great platform, cheap parts, fast enough for everything I need. Bunch of 1800/2800/3800's in there I got used on ebay and now use as either game servers or linux-homelab foolery. I'll put it this way, if you have the equipment you end up finding stuff to do with it. On of my favorites is that my "smart washer" likes to send all kinds of data over my network back home. I have one computer that's only job is to "pretend" it's my washing machine and send junk telemetry data to the manufacturer 24/7

In other news, that's what happens when electricity is too cheap. You end up wasting it on things that are completely pointless.

 

[takaozo]

I have one computer that's only job is to "pretend" it's my washing machine and send junk telemetry data to the manufacturer 24/7

That is pure genius in action. Haha never crossed my mind to send fake data to harvesters.
And yes AM4 still does the job today. Me running a 5700x3d in the main rig.

All other systems are Haswell Refresh that I got from the old job, mostly Dell Optiplex.
One acts as a media center, other as a NAS and wife has one 4790 with a 3060 that plays her games just fine.

 

[yRaz]

In other news, that's what happens when electricity is too cheap. You end up wasting it on things that are completely pointless.

So for 11 total systems on my wall, each of then only uses about 200watts max and around 50watts idling. Combined, they use less electricity than it does to run my heat in the winter. And considering the furnace needs to run for about 3-4 months a year here, I'm not exactly wasting money.

They all basically run virtual machines that I control over my network. I created my own personal, scalable cloud. Recently I've been using them to play with cluster computing, bit that's turning out to be more difficult than I intended without spending money.

 

[yRaz]

That is pure genius in action. Haha never crossed my mind to send fake data to harvesters.
And yes AM4 still does the job today. Me running a 5700x3d in the main rig.

All other systems are Haswell Refresh that I got from the old job, mostly Dell Optiplex.
One acts as a media center, other as a NAS and wife has one 4790 with a 3060 that plays her games just fine.

I just picked up a 12700 non-k used with memory and motherboard on ebay for cheap and that became my new rig and my 3800x went into the rack.

I've been on a miniPC kick recently and l, while I haven't bought 1, the Minisforum atom man g7 pt has Bern getting my attention because it has a built in 7600GPU. However, now that I just got the 12700 system, I'm probably going to wait until 9070XT comes out. I'm excites for AM5 epyc chips for the ECC memory. I might try to upgrade some of my zen1 and 2 systems with to AM5 epyc systems. part of me wants to just replace everything with a single 96 core theeadripper pro, but I spent less on basically all the systems in my "rack" than what it would cost to buy a theeadripper pro motherboard alone.

 

[MarcusNumb]

My 3600x still serves me greatly, and since I have just upgraded my monitor to 1440p, I think I will enjoy it for another year before looking for a good 9700x deal.

 

[MasterMace]

AM5 still hasn't fixed the shitty DDR5 compatibility issues for 4+ RAM slots

 

[JuanDegr]

AM4, what's not to love? Even if you run a DDR5 system! I have a 5700x with 128GB Ram (4x32GB) as a second rig dedicated to bigger file operations in Knime Analytics. It's still a great system with epic efficiency, lowest temps I ever saw, boots up in a couple of seconds with 128GB and is simply a rock solid system without any crashes.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

I want to build a AM5 rig, but I need the 9800x3D to be available at MSRP and don't even get me started on GPU availability right now...

 

[hahahanoobs]

Just goes to show the majority isn't chasing the latest hardware.

 

[manowar51]

AM4 was a huge success for home users. But not so much in the business/enterprise space. I have worked in IT and networking for over 15 years, and I rarely see AMD in the wild. Its a shame because they are good products, but companies like to stick to what they know and can rely on.

Also the high compatibility of AM4 is a strength that's wasted in business. When a technician charges $200 an hour to replace a motherboard and reinstall windows its usually more cost effective just to buy a new machine. And people will freak out at $200 an hour. Its often less than plumbers, electricians and mechanics charge per hour.

 

[airbornex]

AM4 is the Tom Brady of CPU sockets—just refuses to retire. Meanwhile, Intel’s over here changing sockets like it’s a fashion trend.

 

[AnilD]

AMD’s strategy of extending AM4 support and launching new chips for it is smart business. It keeps budget-conscious and mid-range builders happy while giving enthusiasts an upgrade path with AM5. Balancing both markets like this is why Ryzen has been such a success story.

 

[Lionvibez]

I will be sad when I sell my AM4 board been on it since 2019 and a 5800X3D. Been a great platform.

 

[Lionvibez]

AM4 was a huge success for home users. But not so much in the business/enterprise space. I have worked in IT and networking for over 15 years, and I rarely see AMD in the wild. Its a shame because they are good products, but companies like to stick to what they know and can rely on.

Also the high compatibility of AM4 is a strength that's wasted in business. When a technician charges $200 an hour to replace a motherboard and reinstall windows its usually more cost effective just to buy a new machine. And people will freak out at $200 an hour. Its often less than plumbers, electricians and mechanics charge per hour.

Not surprised on the business side as that is mostly Laptops. I vary rarely see anyone building desktops in a company. They just order from an OEM a dev workstation would be a Threadripper etc which is not AM4.

 

[StrikerRocket]

My 5900x is still going strong. Upgraded from a 3900x I bought brand new with a second hand one.
Probably the best rig I have ever had since I started fooling with computers in the early 80's as a teen.
It still has enough juice to feed a 7900 XTX driving an ultrawide 3440x1440 LG monitor and deliver more than 100 FPS on average. If you're not an e-sport buff, when you get over 90-100 FPS, there's no reason to want more IMHO! AM4 will certainly be remembered as one of the best platforms ever.

 

[Burty117]

I'm excites for AM5 epyc chips for the ECC memory. I might try to upgrade some of my zen1 and 2 systems with to AM5 epyc systems. part of me wants to just replace everything with a single 96 core theeadripper pro, but I spent less on basically all the systems in my "rack" than what it would cost to buy a theeadripper pro motherboard alone.

I've been looking into this recently to replace my homelab server, you can get some seriously powerful epyc CPU's on Ebay for cheap, talking £80-£120 for 24 cores, I've even seen the odd 32 core at that price.

The only problem I find is getting the motherboards for cheap, they do pop up on the second hand market, but seem to be harder to find than the CPU's.

 

[yRaz]

I've been looking into this recently to replace my homelab server, you can get some seriously powerful epyc CPU's on Ebay for cheap, talking £80-£120 for 24 cores, I've even seen the odd 32 core at that price.

The only problem I find is getting the motherboards for cheap, they do pop up on the second hand market, but seem to be harder to find than the CPU's.

I'm a really big fan of mini PCs, lots of cores but you're usually limited to 96GB of RAM. Still, if you know where to look, you can get 12 and 16 core mini PC barebones for under $300 then throw in 2 48GB sticks of ram, a few NVME drives and a NIC. Heck, most come with 10gbe now.

EDIT:

I've actually been considering doing a few AM5/epyc builds now they they released the chips for it. Still kind of pricy, but it's not a BAD deal. I think it would be fun to do a 96 core threadripper pro build, but I have zero reason for one to even begin to justify the cost. the CPU alone costs 5 5090's. Then after filling it up with enough memory and drives, you're looking at $20,000. I have probably spent 1/10th that on all 12 systems in my house and I have ABOUT that many cores

 

[dmoros]

My 3600x still serves me greatly, and since I have just upgraded my monitor to 1440p, I think I will enjoy it for another year before looking for a good 9700x deal.

Grab a 5700X3D and it will last you years

 

[Burty117]

I'm a really big fan of mini PCs, lots of cores but you're usually limited to 96GB of RAM. Still, if you know where to look, you can get 12 and 16 core mini PC barebones for under $300 then throw in 2 48GB sticks of ram, a few NVME drives and a NIC. Heck, most come with 10gbe now.

EDIT:

I've actually been considering doing a few AM5/epyc builds now they they released the chips for it. Still kind of pricy, but it's not a BAD deal. I think it would be fun to do a 96 core threadripper pro build, but I have zero reason for one to even begin to justify the cost. the CPU alone costs 5 5090's. Then after filling it up with enough memory and drives, you're looking at $20,000. I have probably spent 1/10th that on all 12 systems in my house and I have ABOUT that many cores

I'm more of a "all-in-one" box type of guy, I live in the UK, most expensive energy in the world and the smallest, crappiest houses going, so space and power usage is usually on my mind. Make no mistake, I am very jealous of you right now, I wish I had the space and power to do the same thing as you.

My current TrueNAS Scale box has 68TB of usable space (using 44TB currently) also runs a load of Apps and a few Virtual Machines for game servers and what not.

I've completely run out of space to grow though, so was looking at replacing it over time since it's running an old Xeon Processor and I'm hard limited to 128GB of RAM and it "only" has 6 cores, which have done me well, but I have a fair amount running on this thing and it can be an issue sometimes.

I found my new case (JMCD 12S4) from Alibaba of all places, half-depth chassis that holds 12x HDD's, 4x 2.5inchers, plus whatever M.2's I can fit on the motherboard, But now I'm thinking going AMD Epyc for the CPU since you can get them fairly cheap on eBay, RAM second hand isn't that bad either, But normal ATX motherboard's have been a bit of a pain point.

 

[Str8Shot]

I want to build a AM5 rig, but I need the 9800x3D to be available at MSRP and don't even get me started on GPU availability right now...

Microcenter (Chicago areas) has plenty of them in stock. Just picked one up two days ago.

 

[yRaz]

I'm more of a "all-in-one" box type of guy, I live in the UK, most expensive energy in the world and the smallest, crappiest houses going, so space and power usage is usually on my mind. Make no mistake, I am very jealous of you right now, I wish I had the space and power to do the same thing as you.

My current TrueNAS Scale box has 68TB of usable space (using 44TB currently) also runs a load of Apps and a few Virtual Machines for game servers and what not.

I've completely run out of space to grow though, so was looking at replacing it over time since it's running an old Xeon Processor and I'm hard limited to 128GB of RAM and it "only" has 6 cores, which have done me well, but I have a fair amount running on this thing and it can be an issue sometimes.

I found my new case (JMCD 12S4) from Alibaba of all places, half-depth chassis that holds 12x HDD's, 4x 2.5inchers, plus whatever M.2's I can fit on the motherboard, But now I'm thinking going AMD Epyc for the CPU since you can get them fairly cheap on eBay, RAM second hand isn't that bad either, But normal ATX motherboard's have been a bit of a pain point.

I remember seeing a "rack" for mini PCs that could hold 20 of them in a 5 high 4 wide configuration was was basically the size of an ATX case. Most are limed to 65 to 85watts of total system power as almost all if them use mobile parts. definitely worth looking into.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Microcenter (Chicago areas) has plenty of them in stock. Just picked one up two days ago.

Sadly, a flight to Chicago raises the cost above MSRP.

 

[CMP01]

This is why I'm still running a 5800X despite better regular and 3D Vcache successors since...

Well, helped some by Techspot's handy 'vs' articles (5800X vs 5800X3D etc) turning me away from the perenially fixed price 5800X3D or later options with the added cost of a new mobo/RAM for about the same end result.

That the 5800X loses little vs the others gaming at 4K (along with a solid GPU; 6800XT until 2023 then a 7900XTX) and not much more at my preferred 3440x1440 has been very nice indeed.
Sure, I'll need to upgrade eventually though unsure from what of the competition rn, whether that be, again, a regular Ryzen or an X3D. 8c/16t seems to be about right for gaming only though. We'll see, might be next gen by the time it becomes anything like a necessity. Might be that this 5800X is the first ever CPU I upgrade cos it died of natural causes...