AMD's new AM6 socket has all the pins—2,100 of 'em—but don't worry, your old CPU cooler will apparently still fit just fine
More pins equals more performance, right? If so, get ready for AMD's next-gen AM6 CPU socket. According to a new AMD patent filing (via Bits and Chips), it'll have about 2,100 of the pointy little suckers, a significant step up from the 1,718 pins of AM5. But here's the really good news, the socket is basically the same size and shape as AM5.
In other words, it's designed to be backwards compatible with the heatsinks and other cooling attachments, like water blocks, available for AM5. More pins in essentially the same socket area, of course, means the contacts in the AM6 socket are much more dense than AM5.
It's worth noting, at this point, that AM6 is quite a ways out. AM5 only came out in September 2022 and AMD tends to stick with its sockets for a fair few CPU generations. It has promised that AM5 will be around until at least 2027, for instance.
So, the existing AM5 socket is expected to remain in use for AMD's next-gen Zen 6-based CPUs. Only when Zen 7 chips arrive, probably in the 2028 time frame, will AM6 be rolled out. If AM6 does arrive in 2028, that will mean AM5 has had the same six-year life span as its AM4 predecessor.
What else do we know about AM6? Not a huge amount given it's still years away. However, it's thought that it will also support next-gen DDR6 memory. It is also likely to be the first AMD platform to support PCIe Gen 6. So, sixes all round.
Indeed, support for DDR6 and PCIe 6 are among the reasons why AMD is cramming in more pins in the first place. For the record, DDR6 is set to double the headline JEDEC-approved data rate of DDR5 from 6,400 MT/s to 12,800 MT/s.
"Overclocked" DDR6 will be faster, still. Transfer rates above 16,000 MT/s are likely. Bandwidth also goes up. DDR5 at official JEDEC speeds hits around 67 GB/s. For DDR6, that will double to just under 135 GB/s.
As for PCIe 6, it likewise doubles up on PCIe 5's capabilities, increasing maximum bandwidth to 256 GB/s for a x16 graphics slot.
So, yeah, AM6 looks like it will be capable of shunting an awful lot of data around. As for those mooted Zen 7-based CPUs that are slated to go into the AM6 socket, they are a long way off. Some early leaks claim Zen 7 will use TSMC's 14A node and offer up to 32 cores. But we'll ultimately have to wait and see how it all pans out.