• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

AMD "Zen" Processors to Feature SMT, Support up to 8 DDR4 Memory Channels

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,274 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
CERN engineer Liviu Valsan, in a recent presentation on datacenter hardware trends, presented a curious looking slide that highlights some of the key features of AMD's upcoming "Zen" CPU architecture. We know from a recent story that the architecture is scalable up to 32 cores per socket, and that AMD is building these chips on the 14 nanometer FinFET process.

Among the other key features detailed on the slide are symmetric multi-threading (SMT). Implemented for over a decade by Intel as HyperThreading Technology, SMT exposes a physical core as two logical CPUs to the software, letting it make better use of the hardware resources. Another feature is talk of up to eight DDR4 memory channels. This could mean that AMD is readying a product to compete with the Xeon E7 series. Lastly, the slide mentions that "Zen" could bring about IPC improvements that are 40 percent higher than the current architecture.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
451 (0.13/day)
System Name Marmo / Kanon
Processor Intel Core i7 9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi / X570S Aorus Pro AX
Cooling Noctua NH-U12S x 2
Memory Corsair Vengeance 32GB 2666-C16 / 32GB 3200-C16
Video Card(s) KFA2 RTX3070 Ti / Asus TUF RX 6800XT OC
Storage Samsung 970 EVO+ 1TB, 860 EVO 1TB / Samsung 970 Pro 1TB, 970 EVO+ 1TB
Display(s) Dell AW2521HFA / U2715H
Case Fractal Design Focus G / Pop Air RGB
Audio Device(s) Onboard / Creative SB ZxR
Power Supply SeaSonic Focus GX 650W / PX 750W
Mouse Logitech MX310 / G1
Keyboard Logitech G413 / G513
Software Win 11 Ent
40% IPC improvement over A10-7870K. Hope this is true as it will definitely bring Zen on par with Haswell at minimum.
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2016
Messages
34 (0.01/day)
This all sounds great, but this isn't the first time AMD promises the moon only to end up delivering...well, Bulldozer.

Besides, AMD is merely catching up with Intel with that "SMT" and "40% more IPC" that they mention so much (the extra IPC comes most surely from fixing the Bulldozer mess and implementing one FPU per core). They're lucky that Intel are so technologically stagnated as of currently, if not AMD could probably never catch up with them in terms of performance.

Zen has a good chance on fixing the bad picture I currently have about AMD due to the Bulldozer fiasco. Let's hope they don't drop the ball again.

BTW, I'd really love to know how many PCIe lanes will Zen CPU's have....
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2016
Messages
34 (0.01/day)
40% IPC improvement over A10-7870K. Hope this is true as it will definitely bring Zen on par with Haswell at minimum.

The difference between Haswell and Skylake is pretty low anyway....if Zen reaches the same level as Haswell does, they may as well reach even Kaby Lake's performance (which, let's face it, they will most surely be merely a Skylake bugfix).

To be honest, I don't see even Cannonlake reaching a big performance leap. If the difference between 28 nm and 14 is that minimum, from 14 to 10 it'll probably be even less.

I'm not putting myself in AMD's side anyway...it's only natural for progress to be slower as silicon limits are reached. AMD is just catching up to Intel with Zen after Intel already reached the goal line, that's all.
 
Last edited:

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
18,914 (2.86/day)
Location
Piteå
System Name Black MC in Tokyo
Processor Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s) XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s) Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s) Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Rimworld 4K ready!
Now we just need a new Crysis to make a mass appealing need of performance.
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2016
Messages
660 (0.22/day)
Location
127.0.0.1, London, UK
System Name Warranty Void Mk.IV
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard Asus X470-I Strix
Cooling Arctic Freezer 240 + 2x Be Quiet! Pure Wings 2 140mm / Silverstone 120mm Slim
Memory Crucial Ballistix Elite 3600MHz 2x8GB CL16 - Tightened Sub-timings
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 XC Ultra
Storage WD SN550 / MX300 / MX500
Display(s) AOC CU34G2 / LG 29UM69G-B - Auxilary
Case CM NR200p / Silverstone RVZ03-B
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC 1220+SupremeFX
Power Supply Corsair CX550M 550W / Silverstone SX650-G 650W
Mouse Logitech G302/G502/G203 / RPG: Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard CM Masterkeys Pro M / Asus Sagaris GK100
VR HMD Oculus Rift S
Software Windows 10 Pro x64 - LTSB
@Frick Doesn't The Witcher III already use a bunch of CPU resources at highest settings? But yes I agree, software in the current decade is lagging behind to the point where my old i5-2400 can run almost anything, while hardware has seen a fair share of improvement, all that strength that's provided is almost always never fully utilized by games on PC. This and bad PC ports, little to no optimization and game developers preferring to make game titles run better for certain hardware, makes me think that triple AAA titles lack innovation and game developers have become lazy or they're pushed by the publishers to release turds as fast as they can and we know how well all that turns out.

I guess I want to see another one of those "killer apps", but you have to remember "according to EA" *cringe* Crysis didn't sell well at all. I wonder how much it would have sold if Crysis was released 4-5 years ago, during the time which the majority of people still had interest in First Person Shooters. Someone would really have to think everything through before even engaging in development.

OT: To me personally "Zen" just looks too good to be true since it has been a long time since I've seen a good CPU improvement over AMD Phenom offerings. Like most people, I will wait for some game benches and either be blown away, or just keep shaking my head in disappointment.

Going Phenom II X6 -> I5-2400 didn't seem like much of an upgrade for me, but I was wrong since most games still run better on Intel hardware for some obvious reasons and some that are unknown to me.

My expectations are: A reasonably priced, four core 95W TDP CPU that's on par with a "Haswell" i5 in game performance. Not a very tall order, they should be able to pull it off and hopefully they do.

From my point of view it doesn't even look like Intel and AMD are competing in the consumer/enthusiast market anymore (did I miss something?). It's just AMD playing in Intel's sandbox and it's looks plain embarrassing to me. I don't think it's good for them, and definitely not good for us consumers, but most people here know that already.
 
Last edited:

cdawall

where the hell are my stars
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
27,680 (4.29/day)
Location
Houston
System Name All the cores
Processor 2990WX
Motherboard Asrock X399M
Cooling CPU-XSPC RayStorm Neo, 2x240mm+360mm, D5PWM+140mL, GPU-2x360mm, 2xbyski, D4+D5+100mL
Memory 4x16GB G.Skill 3600
Video Card(s) (2) EVGA SC BLACK 1080Ti's
Storage 2x Samsung SM951 512GB, Samsung PM961 512GB
Display(s) Dell UP2414Q 3840X2160@60hz
Case Caselabs Mercury S5+pedestal
Audio Device(s) Fischer HA-02->Fischer FA-002W High edition/FA-003/Jubilate/FA-011 depending on my mood
Power Supply Seasonic Prime 1200w
Mouse Thermaltake Theron, Steam controller
Keyboard Keychron K8
Software W10P
Now I am curious if this hints at 8 channel memory in the same way the current opterons have quad channel. Which is really just two dual channel controllers for the currents is two 4 channels for zen
 

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man
Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
13,147 (2.96/day)
Location
Concord, NH, USA
System Name Apollo
Processor Intel Core i9 9880H
Motherboard Some proprietary Apple thing.
Memory 64GB DDR4-2667
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2
Storage 1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External
Display(s) Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays
Case MacBook Pro (16", 2019)
Audio Device(s) AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers
Power Supply 96w Power Adapter
Mouse Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software MacOS 12.1
Now I am curious if this hints at 8 channel memory in the same way the current opterons have quad channel. Which is really just two dual channel controllers for the currents is two 4 channels for zen
You mean just like how the 16c Opterons are just two 8c dies in one? That could indicate 16c and quad channel consumer CPUs.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
13,210 (3.83/day)
Location
Sunshine Coast
System Name Black Box
Processor Intel Xeon E3-1260L v5
Motherboard MSI E3 KRAIT Gaming v5
Cooling Tt tower + 120mm Tt fan
Memory G.Skill 16GB 3600 C18
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 970 Mini
Storage Kingston A2000 512Gb NVME
Display(s) AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Case Corsair 450D High Air Flow.
Audio Device(s) No need.
Power Supply FSP Aurum 650W
Mouse Yes
Keyboard Of course
Software W10 Pro 64 bit
AMD still playing catch up.
A 40% improvement in IPC will still leave them behind Intel.
 

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
18,914 (2.86/day)
Location
Piteå
System Name Black MC in Tokyo
Processor Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory 2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s) XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage Kingston A400 240GB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s) Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s) Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Rimworld 4K ready!
AMD still playing catch up.
A 40% improvement in IPC will still leave them behind Intel.

Which should come as no surprise. I'm just hoping the overclocking will be there.
 

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,274 (7.69/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
40% IPC improvement over A10-7870K. Hope this is true as it will definitely bring Zen on par with Haswell at minimum.

Yeah, per core, at a given clock speed. It's not that an 8-core Zen will be just 40% "better" than a 7870K.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
13,210 (3.83/day)
Location
Sunshine Coast
System Name Black Box
Processor Intel Xeon E3-1260L v5
Motherboard MSI E3 KRAIT Gaming v5
Cooling Tt tower + 120mm Tt fan
Memory G.Skill 16GB 3600 C18
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 970 Mini
Storage Kingston A2000 512Gb NVME
Display(s) AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Case Corsair 450D High Air Flow.
Audio Device(s) No need.
Power Supply FSP Aurum 650W
Mouse Yes
Keyboard Of course
Software W10 Pro 64 bit
I'm not betting on it with up to 32 cores, they will probably limit that to keep heat down.
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
11,654 (1.73/day)
System Name Compy 386
Processor 7800X3D
Motherboard Asus
Cooling Air for now.....
Memory 64 GB DDR5 6400Mhz
Video Card(s) 7900XTX 310 Merc
Storage Samsung 990 2TB, 2 SP 2TB SSDs and over 10TB spinning
Display(s) 56" Samsung 4K HDR
Audio Device(s) ATI HDMI
Mouse Logitech MX518
Keyboard Razer
Software A lot.
Benchmark Scores Its fast. Enough.
I'm betting on a modular design, 16 core 32thread 4channel enthusiast chip, each set of four cores features a channel, so dual channel 8 core standard desktop part, and single channel quad core or lower parts. I would also bet they have the ability to turn single cores off based on core metrics to allow other cores to run higher boost speeds.
 
D

Deleted member 67555

Guest
So 4 modules 16 cores quad channel memory @ 3200mhz and I bet it will compete with an i5...is my best guess
 
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,141 (0.56/day)
Location
Serbia
Processor Ryzen 3600
Motherboard X570 I Aorus Pro
Cooling Deepcool AG400
Memory HyperX Fury 2 x 8GB 3200 CL16
Video Card(s) RX 470 Nitro+ 4GB
Storage SX8200 Pro 512 / NV2 512
Display(s) 24G2U
Case NR200P
Power Supply Ion SFX 650
Mouse G703
Keyboard Keychron V1 (Akko Matcha Green) / Apex m500 (gateron milky yellow)
Software W10
40% IPC improvement over A10-7870K. Hope this is true as it will definitely bring Zen on par with Haswell at minimum.
Hasn't AMD already claimed that the 40% improvement was compared to Excavator, or am I mistaken. A10-7870 is steamroller as far as I recall.
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
2,648 (0.56/day)
Location
Greece
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600@80W
Motherboard MSI B550 Tomahawk
Cooling ZALMAN CNPS9X OPTIMA
Memory 2*8GB PATRIOT PVS416G400C9K@3733MT_C16
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon RX 6750 XT Pulse 12GB
Storage Sandisk SSD 128GB, Kingston A2000 NVMe 1TB, Samsung F1 1TB, WD Black 10TB
Display(s) AOC 27G2U/BK IPS 144Hz
Case SHARKOON M25-W 7.1 BLACK
Audio Device(s) Realtek 7.1 onboard
Power Supply Seasonic Core GC 500W
Mouse Sharkoon SHARK Force Black
Keyboard Trust GXT280
Software Win 7 Ultimate 64bit/Win 10 pro 64bit/Manjaro Linux
If the 40+% increase on average performance from Kaveri is true, it will for sure shake Intel from its throne since the modular design will make it easy for AMD to cover all price and performance points quick enough. I just hope they start selling having a halo product which shows off they are in the game again and a few cpus in the $100-200 price range to allow anyone who sees that the halo cpu is great to go and buy and build up the momentum AMD needs. It is almost sure that with Samsung's 14nm tech they will make a decent product. I wish they make a great product though.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
479 (0.14/day)
System Name Diablo | Baal | Mephisto | Andariel
Processor i5-3570K@4.4GHz | 2x Xeon X5675 | i7-4710MQ | i7-2640M
Motherboard Asus Sabertooth Z77 | HP DL380 G6 | Dell Precision M4800 | Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Tablet
Cooling Swiftech H220-X | Chassis cooled (6 fans + HS) | dual-fanned heatpipes | small-fanned heatpipe
Memory 32GiB DDR3-1600 CL9 | 96GiB DDR3-1333 ECC RDIMM | 32GiB DDR3L-1866 CL11 | 8GiB DDR3L-1600 CL11
Video Card(s) Dual GTX 670 in SLI | Embedded ATi ES1000 | Quadro K2100M | Intel HD 3000
Storage many, many SSDs and HDDs....
Display(s) 1 Dell U3011 + 2x Dell U2410 | HP iLO2 KVMoIP | 3200x1800 Sharp IGZO | 1366x768 IPS with Wacom pen
Case Corsair Obsidian 550D | HP DL380 G6 Chassis | Dell Precision M4800 | Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Tablet
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi HomeTheater HD | None | On-board | On-board
Power Supply Corsair AX850 | Dual 750W Redundant PSU (Delta) | Dell 330W+240W (Flextronics) | Lenovo 65W (Delta)
Mouse Logitech G502, Logitech G700s, Logitech G500, Dell optical mouse (emergency backup)
Keyboard 1985 IBM Model F 122-key, Ducky YOTT MX Black, Dell AT101W, 1994 IBM Model M, various integrated
Software FAAAR too much to list
Now I am curious if this hints at 8 channel memory in the same way the current opterons have quad channel. Which is really just two dual channel controllers for the currents is two 4 channels for zen

By and large that's how the higher core count Xeons (10+cores) are setup, with a pair of dual-channel controllers wired into 2 QPI rings (one for the local cluster, one for the whole chip). The difference is small between that setup and the single quad-channel setup of a low core count chip due to a combination of being so close and fairly large caches (2.5MB per core)
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
1,129 (0.21/day)
Location
Republic of Texas
System Name [H]arbringer
Processor 4x 61XX ES @3.5Ghz (48cores)
Motherboard SM GL
Cooling 3x xspc rx360, rx240, 4x DT G34 snipers, D5 pump.
Memory 16x gskill DDR3 1600 cas6 2gb
Video Card(s) blah bigadv folder no gfx needed
Storage 32GB Sammy SSD
Display(s) headless
Case Xigmatek Elysium (whats left of it)
Audio Device(s) yawn
Power Supply Antec 1200w HCP
Software Ubuntu 10.10
Benchmark Scores http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1780855 http://www.hwbot.org/submission/2158678 http://ww
By and large that's how the higher core count Xeons (10+cores) are setup, with a pair of dual-channel controllers wired into 2 QPI rings (one for the local cluster, one for the whole chip). The difference is small between that setup and the single quad-channel setup of a low core count chip due to a combination of being so close and fairly large caches (2.5MB per core)

Since amd is using a modular 4c unit I would imagine they will also be using a ringbus to connect to memory controllers.

4c-32c chips designs available...
 
Joined
Jun 22, 2015
Messages
203 (0.06/day)
even if this info is the top specs for server grade skus, the "consumer grade" will probably still be appealing to me.
dont fail me now amd, i wanna make a custom thin mini-itx build (apu powered with ac wifi) that packs a punch and i can still "haul" it whenever needed between places (only 4 cables on each place needed: pwr, kb, mouse, hdmi; kinda like with a docking station and a laptop) without having to carry it on a bag on on my shoulder.
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
2,304 (0.52/day)
System Name msdos
Processor 8086
Motherboard mainboard
Cooling passive
Memory 640KB + 384KB extended
Video Card(s) EGA
Storage 5.25"
Display(s) 80x25
Case plastic
Audio Device(s) modchip
Power Supply 45 watts
Mouse serial
Keyboard yes
Software disk commander
Benchmark Scores still running
I hope it at least closes the performance gap to get within the ballpark.
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
1,129 (0.21/day)
Location
Republic of Texas
System Name [H]arbringer
Processor 4x 61XX ES @3.5Ghz (48cores)
Motherboard SM GL
Cooling 3x xspc rx360, rx240, 4x DT G34 snipers, D5 pump.
Memory 16x gskill DDR3 1600 cas6 2gb
Video Card(s) blah bigadv folder no gfx needed
Storage 32GB Sammy SSD
Display(s) headless
Case Xigmatek Elysium (whats left of it)
Audio Device(s) yawn
Power Supply Antec 1200w HCP
Software Ubuntu 10.10
Benchmark Scores http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1780855 http://www.hwbot.org/submission/2158678 http://ww
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Messages
2,986 (0.96/day)
Location
Argentina
System Name Ciel
Processor AMD Ryzen R5 5600X
Motherboard Asus Tuf Gaming B550 Plus
Cooling ID-Cooling 224-XT Basic
Memory 2x 16GB Kingston Fury 3600MHz@3933MHz
Video Card(s) Gainward Ghost 3060 Ti 8GB + Sapphire Pulse RX 6600 8GB
Storage NVMe Kingston KC3000 2TB + NVMe Toshiba KBG40ZNT256G + HDD WD 4TB
Display(s) Gigabyte G27Q + AOC 19'
Case Cougar MX410 Mesh-G
Audio Device(s) Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger Core 7.1 Wireless PC
Power Supply Aerocool KCAS-500W
Mouse Logitech G203
Keyboard VSG Alnilam
Software Windows 11 x64
I hope it's not a Nuclear FX Reactor. A DDR4 Zen APU sounds like a great low cost/low power upgrade for my old Deneb+HD7750.
 
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
25 (0.01/day)
Location
Jersey Boy
System Name The Terminator's baby
Processor Intel Skylake i5-6500 @ 3.2GHz
Motherboard ASRock Z170 PRO4
Cooling Stock
Memory Corsair 2x8GB DDR4-2400
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon R7 240
Storage 2x1TB WD Black in RAID 0
Display(s) AOC I2367F 23" 1080P
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Power Supply Seasonic G-550 550W
Software Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
It's not just AMD that needs a win this coming next generation, we ALL need it too. If they fail to meet our expectations, I'm afraid that prices will never go down on Intel & Nvidia products for the life of their products, only replaced.
 
Top