The Ryzen CPUs for the AM5 have been greatly anticipated, and AMD created even more buzz when it shared details on its upcoming Ryzen 8000 Zen 5 processors. In Sept. 2023, the company confirmed that the processors are set to debut in the second quarter of 2024. While their core clocks may be slower than the Ryzen 7000, they are expected to feature the newer AM5 socket, just like that series did. However, recent rumors suggest that AMD isn’t finished working with the AM4 platform just yet.

On Nov. 14, a post made by credible leaker @g01d3nm4ng0 on Twitter suggested that AMD is working on the development of the Ryzen 7 5700X3D and Ryzen 5 5500X3D. These CPUs would be based on the AM4 platform and feature 3D V-Cache stacking technology. The Ryzen 7 5700X3D is rumored to have eight cores and 16 threads, as well as a base clock of 3.0GHz. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is believed to have six cores and 12 threads, and feature the same base clock. Both are expected to have 96MB of L3 cache, but the 5700X3D could have a boost clock of 4.1GHz while the 5500X3D offers 4.0GHz. The prices and release dates for these products have yet to be confirmed.

As anticipation continues to ramp up for the Ryzen 8000 processors, AMD’s decision to continue developing products based on the AM4 socket may seem like a step backward. However, it’s worth noting that AM5 is incompatible with many existing AMD processors that work with the AM4 socket. This means that you will need to invest in a new motherboard if you buy an AM5-based processor, and you'll also need a DDR5 RAM memory upgrade since AM5 doesn’t feature support for DDR4 RAM. Knowing many of its customers are still leveraging the AM4 for these reasons, it’s not entirely surprising that AMD hasn’t closed the door on it just yet.