https://www.techpowerup.com/323052/amd-shuffles-feature-sets-of-its-800-series-chipset-x870-is-b650e-successor AMD is debuting its Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processors powered by the "Zen 5" microarchitecture later this year. These chips are compatible with existing AMD 600-series chipset motherboards with a simple UEFI firmware update, but the company is also taking the opportunity to launch the AMD 800-series chipset family alongside these chips. The lineup will be led by the AMD X870E, followed by the X870. These two chipsets should launch immediately alongside the new processors, but will later be joined by the AMD B850 and B840. There's no entry-level chipset planned, the AMD A620 will continue to hold the fort for AMD here. There is an interesting new mix of product differentiation, according to a leaked GIGABYTE slide scored by VideoCardz.
If you recall, the X670E and X670 were differentiated by a lack of Gen 5 PCI-Express x16 PEG slots on the X670, which instead was limited to Gen 4 on the PEG slot. The X670 still had Gen 5 NVMe slots attached to the CPU, and had practically the same I/O features as the X670E, including the same counts of downstream PCIe Gen 4 general purpose lanes. Both the X670E and X670 are 2-chip solutions, in that the second chip is a connected to the general purpose PCIe lanes of the first chip, which in turn is connected to the processor. Things are going to change with the 800-series. The top-spec X870E will be a 2-chip solution, with PCIe Gen 4 general purpose lane counts resembling the X670E; but the X870 is a single-chip solution that more closely resembles the B650E in I/O. The X870 (non-E) now gives you Gen 5 PCI-Express x16 PEG, just like the X870E and the B650E, and at least one Gen 5 x4 NVMe slot attached to the CPU, but has fewer downstream Gen 4 general purpose PCIe lanes than the X670. Both the X870E and X870 assure USB4 connectivity, and support CPU overclocking. Things get very interesting in the mid-range.
The AMD B850 is very similar to the X870 in terms of downstream general purpose PCIe Gen 4 lanes. What's more, it even assures a Gen 5 x16 PEG slot, much like the X870. Where it differs from the X870 is its CPU-attached NVMe slots. Gen 5 is made optional here (motherboard vendors can provide Gen 5 if they want, but are perfectly free to offer Gen 4 instead). Unlike the X870E and X870, the B850 doesn't mandate USB4 connectivity, however, motherboard vendors will be free to offer discrete USB4 controllers on their boards. Much like the B650 and its predecessors dating all the way back to the B350, the B850 supports CPU overclocking.
The B840 is a new introduction with this generation, there's no real predecessor to it, although it closely resembles the A620A, which in turn resembles the B550. It completely removes all forms of Gen 5 PCIe from the platform—the x16 slots are limited to Gen 4, as are the M.2 NVMe slots attached to the CPU. This chipset also lacks CPU overclocking support. It does retain memory overclocking, and B840 motherboards should support AMD EXPO, as well as manual memory overclocking. What sets the B840 apart from the A620 is its Gen 4 PCIe connectivity both along the PEG and general purpose PCIe.
Very interesting info. Don't know if I want to upgrade my motherboard yet.