AMD’s Strategic Resurrection of AM4: An Affordable Upgrade Amidst High DDR5 Prices

AMD is working on making a comeback into the processor market with socket AM4, against the backdrop of rising component prices, particularly DDR5 memory. During CES 2026 in Las Vegas, David McAfee, a senior executive at AMD, expressed the company’s consideration to resume the supply of desktop processors for AM4, primarily the Ryzen 5000 series and Zen 3-based APUs. The primary goal is to allow users to upgrade their systems without a complete platform overhaul.

According to McAfee, the transition to DDR5 is currently very expensive. The purchase of a new PC or upgrading a system that’s four years old requires not just a new processor but also a motherboard and costly RAM. Consequently, even a basic set consisting of a CPU, board, and 32 GB DDR5 easily exceeds one thousand dollars ($1000).

Commenting on this situation, McAfee noted that AMD is “actively looking for ways to increase supply and reintroduce products into the AM4 ecosystem” to meet the demand from gamers who want a significant performance boost without rebuilding their entire system. This focus is “something [the company] is really working actively on right now.”

DDR5 memory, though gaining in popularity due to its superior performance over DDR4, remains on the pricier side. Industry experts speculate that prices will stabilize as production scales, but this might not happen until later in 2026. Meanwhile, AMD’s commitment to its AM4 socket could provide cost-sensitive users with a viable alternative, as significant architecture advancements or new processor releases are not expected immediately following the debut of their Zen 4 products.