AMD has listed Ryzen 9000 CPUs in its latest chipset drivers published by Asus. It seems that the Red Team is once more jumping an entire range as it did with the Ryzen 5000 series.
Spotted by @9550pro on X, the new name for the chips is buried in AMD’s Chipset Driver V6.03.19.217. It’s currently available for Asus’ ROG Crosshair X670E Hero motherboard, revealing the upcoming AMD PMF-9000 Series. PMF stands for Platform Management Framework. This is a centralised framework based on sensor inputs, OS hints, platform state, plus APU metrics that dynamically manage perf, power, and system thermals. The aim is to enhance end-user experience by making CPUs smarter, quieter, and more efficient by adapting to user behaviour and environment.
While we are unsure if this is a desktop, mobile, or APU series, we can make an informed guess. According to leaks, Granite Ridge is already in mass production stages, hinting that it’s most likely the desktop Ryzen series. If so, it should be compatible with current AM5 motherboards through a simple BIOS update.
As far as we know, next-gen AMD Ryzen CPUs will not bring anything groundbreaking. It doesn’t look like Team Red has changed the CPU layout, leaving up to eight Zen 5 cores per chiplet. This gives a total of 16 cores/32 threads per CPU. Add to that 2 RDNA 2 CUs for graphics and some 3D-V-Cache on the X3D models. However, that doesn’t mean performance will stagnate.
Overall, we expect a similar naming scheme as Ryzen 7000 chips. Don’t be surprised to see Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9800X3D on the horizon. Same for power targets ranging from 65W on non-X models to 170W on the high-end work powerhouses. Hopefully, this time around, AMD will launch non-X variants at the same time for those on a tight budget.
Since these are only whispers, take everything with the usual healthy dose of salt until AMD chimes in with something official. We shouldn’t have too long to wait to find out more, as new Ryzen will reportedly land on digital shelves later this year.
