Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?

Every new PCIe version brings with it tremendous gains in speeds. So much so that with every newer version, the speed doubles compared to the previous version. Hence, it is reasonable to ask which Intel and AMD CPUs support PCIe 4.0 so that you can experience the benefits yourself.

Basically at the moment, select CPUs from AMD Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series and Intel 11th and 12th generation support PCIe 4.0 protocol.

As of writing this article, the most current version of PCIe available in the market is V4.0. PCIe 5.0 is also around the corner.

In order to benefit from the newer PCIe speeds, you need to have both the right compatible motherboard as well as the CPU.

Therefore, without further ado, let us explore both Intel and AMD CPUs separately for PCIe v4.0.

As mentioned, you must also have the right motherboard to enable PCIe 4.0 support. Read: Which Motherboards Support PCIe 4.0?

So Which Intel and AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?

Basically the newer generation of both Intel and AMD CPUs currently support the PCIe 4.0 protocol.

Let us look at each brand separately.

Which AMD CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?

AMD was the pioneer in featuring PCIe 4.0 support for its CPUs with the release of AMD Ryzen 3000 series released back in July 2019.

The following tables shows all the AMD CPUs featuring PCIe v4.0.

List of AMD CPUs with PCIe v4.0

Does AMD Ryzen 1000 and 2000 Series Support PCIe V4.0?

No, the older 1000 and 2000 series AMD Ryzen AND Ryzen Threadripper series do not support PCIe v4.0. They conform to the older V3.0 standard.

Do AMD APUs with ‘G’ Suffix Support PCIe 4.0?

AMD CPUs that feature integrated graphics card are commonly known as APUs (accelerated processing units).

Unlike Intel where most of their CPUs do feature an integrated graphics card, with AMD only APUs do and these processors have the ‘G’ suffix in their name i.e AMD Ryzen 5 3400G or AMD Ryzen 7 5700G.

At the moment, none of the AMD APUs from 3000, 4000 or 5000 series support PCIe v4.0.

Do AMD Athlon CPUs Feature PCIe 4.0?

Unfortunately, they do not.

AMD Athlon are entry-level CPUs intended for budget PCs.

Is There Any AMD Mobile/Laptop CPU That Supports PCIe 4.0?

Unfortunately, none of the laptop-based AMD CPUs support PCIe v4.0.

Which Intel CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?

Intel released CPUs with support for PCIe v4.0 with the 11th Gen in 2020.

The interesting aspect about Intel is that you can find PCIe support even for mobile/laptop and even server based CPUs.

Therefore, despite being late comers to the PCIe v4.0 fray, Intel has a huge roster of CPUs that support this version.

List of Intel CPUs with PCIe V4.0

Do 10th Gen Intel Processors Support PCIe v4.0?

No, unfortunately, they do not.

10th gen and older Intel processors from all series i.e Core, Xeon, Pentium and Celeron do not support PCIe 4.0. They are limited to PCIe 3.0

Do 11th and 12th Gen Intel CPUs support PCIe v4.0?

Yes, both the 11th Gen and the newer 12th Gen Intel CPUs support PCIe v4.0.

Does Intel Have any Mobile/Laptop Based Processors that Support PCIe 4.0?

Yes, 11th Gen (and beyond) Core and Xeon series laptop based processors do support the newer PCIe version.

Do Pentium and Celeron CPUs Support PCIe 4.0?

No, none of the desktop and mobile based Pentium and Celeron CPUs support the newer PCIe version at the moment.

Pentium and Celeron are both budget and entry level CPUs intended for budget PCs.

The Motherboard must Also Support PCIe v4.0

Along with looking for which Intel and AMD CPUs support PCIe 4.0, you must also look for compatible motherboard chipset that offer support for PCIe 4.0 lanes.

Having a CPU conforming to PCIe 4.0 is just one part of the equation. The other part of the equation is getting the right motherboard.

For instance, at the moment only the AMD B550 and the AMD X570 motherboard chipsets support the PCIe 4.0 with the AM4 socket.

If you were to pair a Ryzen 3000 or a 5000 series desktop CPU with any other AMD motherboard, say the AMD A520 (which also has the AM4 socket), your system will be limited to PCIe 3.0 despite the processors supporting the newer 4.0 version.

Also Read: 

• Which Motherboards Support PCIe 4.0?
• What CPU is Compatible With My Motherboard?

PCIe Primer

To understand which Intel and AMD CPUs support PCIe 4.0 and what it means, you must have some grasp of the PCIe protocol and PCIe lanes.

I suggest you read up on the following important article regarding PCIe to get upto speed with how it works”

• What are PCIe Slots?
• What are PCIe Lanes?

The bottom line is that the amount of PCIe lanes that you have are limited. A typical PC can have anywhere between 20-24 PCIe lanes.

Both the CPU and the motherboard contribute to the total amount of PCIe lanes your system has.

It is also possible for the motherboard PCIe lanes conform to a different PCIe version compared to the CPU PCIe lanes.

Take for instance the AMD B550 chipset. On motherboards with this chipset, the motherboard PCIe lanes conform to PCIe v3.0, whereas the CPU PCIe lanes conform to PCIe v4.0.

With AMD X570, however, both the chipset and the CPU lanes conform to V4.0.

This is very important because if you have a PCIe 4.0 device, like a Gen 4 NVMe SSD, you would want to install it on a PCIe 4.0 slot.

Installing a Gen 4 NVMe SSD in a PCIe 3.0 slot would reduce its performance by half! Why? this is because with each successive generation, the PCIe per lane transfer speed doubles.

Therefore, using a newer device on an older slot can introduce performance bottlenecks.

The following table shows PCIe generation and their corresponding speeds.

Also Read: Where is the CPU Located in a Computer?

Final Words

Both Intel’s and AMD’s newer generation of CPUs support PCIe 4.0. AMD brought support for 4.0 with the release of Ryzen 3000 series CPU, whereas Intel brought the support with their 11th Gen CPUs.

Here I talked in detailed about currently which Intel and AMD CPUs support PCIe 4.0. This list will only grow in the future. However, with PCIe 5.0 just around  the corner, the PCIe 4.0 era will last far shorter compared to the previous PCIe 3.0.