AMD’s Zen 6-Based Ryzen “Medusa” Desktop CPUs To Retain AM5 Compatibility, Eyeing Late 2026/Early 2027 Launch

AMD’s next-generation Zen 6-based Ryzen Desktop CPUs will remain compatible with the AM5 socket and launch a few years from now.

AMD Ryzen “Zen 6” Desktop CPUs are rumored to be released roughly two years from now, but the good thing is, you won’t have to change your motherboards

We haven’t witnessed all that AMD has to offer in the Zen 5 lineup. Although we did get the initial processor launch for desktops and laptops, AMD typically brings in more SKUs later on. Right now, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is the most popular Zen 5 chip, featuring 8 cores on a single CCD, but fresh reports regarding the next-gen Zen 6 architecture have now started to pop up.

If you remember, we reported about Zen 6 a while back. AMD’s Zen 6-based Ryzen CPUs for desktops and servers are reportedly bringing up to 32 cores on a single CCD. We will talk about that later but the same leaker @Kepler_L2, who reported about the core count on Zen 6, has today reported that AMD Zen 6 will be coming in late 2026 or early 2027.

This means AMD will introduce the Zen 6 lineup in either Q4 2026 or as early as CES 2027, or possibly a month or two later. About being asked what socket Zen 6 will use, Kepler replied that it is going to use the AM5 socket, which is currently the one used for Ryzen 7000 and Ryzen 9000 processors. This means AM5 is supporting at least three CPU generations from the time it launched.

If true, it should be a huge relief for PC builders who are investing in the AM5 socket & the respective platforms compared to the LGA 1851 platforms from Intel, about which we don’t know if it will only support Arrow Lake or another generation. Current reports suggest that either Panther Lake or Nova Lake should be coming to desktops, but we aren’t 100% certain about that.

It is unclear whether AMD will keep AM5 alive for Zen 7, and it may switch the socket afterward. Till then, AMD will have no problem with memory compatibility as DDR6 isn’t coming to PCs before 2027. Nonetheless, as we talked about previously, AMD Zen 6 is the first architecture that will equip CPUs with more cores on a single-core complex Die(CCD). The current max core count on Zen 5 CCD is 8 and 16 on Zen 5C.

The core count on the Zen 6 CCD is said to feature 8, 16, and 32 cores, and 32 cores will likely be possible on the Zen 6C CCDs. However, they will still have 16 cores on Zen 6 CCD, which is twice the core count on Zen 4 and Zen 5. This will not only help AMD increase the core count easily on higher-end Ryzen desktop CPUs but also upgrade their server chips dramatically.

There are still 2 years left before we can see Zen 6 in real life and till then, AMD is free to release more Zen 5-based chips, including the X3D CPUs for the AM5 platform. Not much has been revealed about Zen 6 till now, but there are indications that the Zen 6 chips will utilize more advanced process nodes for better performance and efficiency.

AMD Zen CPU / APU Roadmap:

News Source: @Kepler_L2