According to its subreddit, XMG’s currently retailing APEX 15 gaming notebook with B450 barebone is most likely to be compatible with the incoming AMD 4th generation CPUs. The FAQ in the official post said:
At any rate, it’s already been confirmed that AM4 socket and B450 chipset will be compatible with some (if not all) future Ryzen 4000 SKUs. As you might know from Desktop mainboards, the B450 chipset was not meant to be run with the 105W tier SKUs, but the 65W SKUs all run perfectly fine. We expect this to repeat with Ryzen 4000.
Originally, the desktop-ish gaming notebook is sold with up to 16-core based Ryzen 9 3950X CPU. With the Zen 3 architecture support, it provides wider physical and chipset compatibility. This support is likely extending towards X570 and perhaps the X470 chipsets.
About the XMG APEX 15
The XMG APEX 15 is an impressive gaming notebook which uses desktop CPU and chipset, giving a portable and full desktop performance. it has an AM4 socket supporting up to 65 watts TDP. While officially it supports up to Ryzen 3900X, it pairs the Ryzen 9 3950x with eco mode BIOS setting. The APEX 15’s BIOS provides CPU and chipset tuning. While its a norm for desktop motherboards, seeing that in a laptop factor is something you dont hear everywhere.
For graphics, it is paired with either RTX 2060 or RTX 2070. The notebook has a SATA HDD and M.2 slot. It uses a 15.6″ 1080p display with 144Hz refresh rate.
What known about the AMD 4000 Series so far…
AMD Ryzen 4000 series of desktop CPUs are expected to be released sometime after September. Intel is also known to prepare its CPU lineups as well, though it takes a hit with backwards compatibility as it is using the LGA 2100 socket. AMD’s all-new Zen 3 architecture and 7nm process are one of the key upgrades for the upcoming Ryzen 4000 series processors. These will make the upcoming processors be energy efficient and more powerful. It is assumed the processors will come out in it at the end of 2020 but there’s no news about compatibility with existing motherboard chipsets.
AM4 Socket Lifespan
If it is seamless compatibility, this is a great upgrade path extending to the DIY enthusiast and gamers segment. AM4 socket was meant to be supported until 2020. since 2017. So the 4th generation will be the last to support this socket design. So its in AMD’s best interest to include compatibility with the current generation motherboards. AMD B550 chipset is expected to be launched on the June 16th and will have PCIe 4.0, according to reports. AMD Zen 3 will just be an enhanced 7nm based CPUs with better power efficiency and faster clock speeds. Providing an optimized Ryzen 3000 series CPUs shouldn’t be the reason to justify motherboard support with existing chipsets. So it is not a farfetched assumption even before this leak.
Why would anyone pair an AMD 4th gen flagship with B450?
IF it supports.
While providing flagship CPU support on a mid-range gamer-centric chipset may not site well with some enthusiasts, it shows the last support base multi-core support CPUs you can pair it with, giving future-ready support. Of course, the motherboard and its CPU power delivery will have to be good enough to support the CPU.
VIA: XMG subreddit
