X870E and X870: AMD’s Next-Gen Motherboards with Prom21 Chips and PCIe 5.0

During this year’s Taipei Computer Show, AMD will unveil its Ryzen 9000 series processors based on the Zen 5 architecture. Although the new processors will continue to use the AM5 socket, the motherboards will also be updated alongside the CPUs, with the AMD 800 series motherboards being introduced.

Videocardz has obtained information on new motherboards from Gigabyte. AMD will release four new motherboard chipsets, with the X670E and X670 being replaced by the X870E and X870. The X870E, like the X670E, will feature two Prom21 chips, whereas the X870 will have only one chip instead of two as in the X670. Both of these motherboards will require at least one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and one PCIe 5.0 M.2 interface and will be equipped with USB4 interfaces.

According to the architecture diagram of the X870E, the USB4 chip is connected to both the CPU and the PCH. However, due to unclear text on the diagram, the source of the PCIe lanes is not entirely clear. Additionally, the Ryzen 9000 processors natively support DP 2.1 video output.

In the mainstream market, the current B650E and B650 will be replaced by the B850 and B840. These two chipsets use different southbridge chips, with the B850 using the Prom21 chip similar to the current B650 series, and the B840 using the Prom19 chip found in the A620A motherboards. Neither the B850 nor the B840 motherboards support CPU overclocking, but they do support memory overclocking. The B840 motherboard does not support PCIe 5.0.

Furthermore, the AMD 800 series motherboards will offer improved memory overclocking capabilities, with XMP/EXPO memory overclocking now supporting speeds up to 8000MT/s, and the CPU’s IF bus frequency increased from 2000MHz to 2400MHz.