According to a trustworthy source with hardware leaks, AMD’s next-generation “Zen 6” microarchitecture for desktop computers will continue to use Socket AM5, Kepler_L2. The most intriguing rumor is that AMD will continue to rely on the existing “Zen 5” for the desktop platform for the entirety of 2025 and potentially even the majority of 2026. To compete with Intel in 2025, AMD will rely largely on the newly revealed Ryzen 7 9800X3D and its high core-count siblings, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and potential 9900X3D. Since the 9800X3D outperformed Intel in gaming and the 9950X3D is predicted to outperform the 7950X3D in gaming, AMD’s desktop processor lineup should be dominated by its gaming performance and multithreaded application performance due to its 16-core/32-thread count for at least the upcoming year.

AMD’s decision to release “Zen 6” on AM5 without updating the platform wouldn’t be out of character. Three microarchitectures (Zen through Zen 3) were introduced by the business on Socket AM4. AMD could at least update the current 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) while keeping AM5 with “Zen 6,” which gives it the chance to increase IPC as well as core-counts per CCD, cache sizes, a new foundry node like 3 nm, and likely even features like hybrid architecture and an NPU for the desktop platform. AMD may now have the chance to update the DDR5 memory controllers to support higher memory frequencies with a new cIOD. According to the Kepler_L2 leak, desktop “Zen 6” CPUs would be released “late-2026 or early-2027.” Intel is anticipated to launch the “Panther Lake” microarchitecture on LGA1851 in 2025–2026 and ramp “Arrow Lake-S” on Socket LGA1851.