AMD's desktop Piledriver processor, which is better known by its Vishera codename, will use the firm's Socket AM3+, effectively meaning the chip is a drop-in replacement from previous generation Zambezi processors. The firm said that it will continue to support the AM3+ socket and that this won't be the last processor to use the socket.

AMD also confirmed a lot of leaked information on Vishera and touted its overclocking abilities, which The INQUIRER saw first hand two weeks ago. The firm not only confirmed that Socket AM3+ users can expect at least one more chip, almost certainly one based on the Steamroller architecture, it said that all of its future processors "in a few years time" will be socket compatible.

AMD's statement regarding top-to-bottom socket compatibility means that its upcoming accelerated processor units (APUs) will have another three years or so using the FM2 socket that will make its debut with Trinity in October. The firm said Trinity's use of FM2 will be the last socket change before it standardises on one socket for all of its desktop processors.

AMD deserves credit for supporting Socket AM3+ customers, however that could hamstring the company in the coming years as it tries to iterate the Bulldozer architecture from Piledriver to Steamroller. Nevertheless, when AMD does settle on a single socket for its desktop processors and in particular its high volume APU parts, that should help the firm win favour with OEMs and system builders that can standardise on a single motherboard.