AMD announced a new set of desktop CPUs during CES 2024, but it looks like the latest low-end options will cost you some of your PC’s performance. According to reports spotted by Wccftech, the new AMD low-end CPUs will offer PCIe 4.0 x4 functionality for GPUs and PCIe 4.0 x2 for M.2 lanes.
This means that the new Phoenix 2 specs will essentially half the performance capabilities for M.2 SSDs and discreet graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia, like the newly announced Nvidia 40 Super Series.
It’s disappointing to see this kind of offering in the newest CPUs, even those that fit into AMD’s low-end spectrum. This is especially true, considering the previously released Ryzen 7000 included PCIe 5.0 x16 dGPU lanes. As a big fan of AMD’s offerings in recent years, I’m very surprised to see the company taking a step backward like this.
Still, some of the new AMD CPUs should offer more than enough power to support high-end graphics cards. You just won’t get as many lanes for performance as past options have offered, which is a huge disappointment. This alone could steer people away from the new low-end CPUs that AMD is offering.
So, if you’re planning on building a new PC with the latest AMD CPUs, then it’s important to keep in mind the performance limitations that the Phoenix 2 systems will bring to the table. The low-end AMD CPUs might seem like a money saver, but you’ll find yourself struggling with the performance limitations if you’re trying to build a higher-end system.
