Leaker reveals AMD game-changing Zen 6 technologies for Ryzen
AMD’s next-gen Zen 6 tech could be game-changing for gamers
A lot of information has been leaked about Zen 6, AMD’s next-generation CPU architecture. This architecture will power AMD’s next generation of Ryzen processors. If this information is true, Zen 6 will be a game-changing architecture for AMD, and better still, it will support existing AM5 motherboards.
This leak doubles down on claims that AMD’s next-generation Zen 6 CPUs will feature CCX (Core Complexes) with 12 cores. That’s a 50% increase over the prior generation of Zen CPUs.
Next up, it has been claimed that AMD uses a new inter-chip interconnect technology with Zen 6. Using bridge dies from UMC, AMD’s IOD (IO Die) and CCX chiplets can be connected together with lower latencies and more bandwidth. Both of these changes are good for performance.
Latency is King
What is latency? One way of thinking about latency is that it is a “wait time.” If you need to wait a long time before taking action, performance slows down. By lowering these “wait times,” CPUs can respond faster and complete actions faster. This can make a processor faster, even if overall compute performance doesn’t change.
If AMD’s new bridge dies cut CCX-to-IOD latencies, AMD will accelerate a lot of the performance bottlenecks in their prior CPUs. For example, it will take less time for both CCX chips to communicate with each other, accelerating multi-threaded CPU performance. Additionally, it will lower memory latencies. After all, AMD’s DDR5 memory controller is on their IOD, not their CPU cores. This can be hugely beneficial for gaming workloads, and other memory-sensitive workloads.
Thanks to AMD’s new inter-chip communications system, their next-generation CPUs will spend less time waiting and more time working. This will be the biggest shake-up in AMD’s chiplet CPU designs since the release of Zen 2, the CPUs that introduced AMD’s current chiplet interconnect system.
(Image from Moore’s Law is Dead)
AMD will deliver higher core counts with Zen 6
With twelve cores per CCX, AMD’s Zen 6 Ryzen CPUs will be able to have up to 24 CPU cores using two CCX chiplets. This is a 50% increase in core count over AMD’s existing AM5 Ryzen processors. Furthermore, AMD can deliver up to 12 cores on a single CCX AM5 CPU. Today’s 12-core Ryzen CPUs have two CCX chiplets.
AMD is reportedly using TSMC’s 2nm lithography node to create its new Zen 6 CCX chiplets. Today’s Ryzen 9000 series CPUs use TSMC’s 4nm node. This new node offers advantages in performance, density, and power efficiency. With their new 12-core CCX designs, AMD is also likely to increase the amount of L3 cache on their Zen 6 CCXs, which is great news for gaming and other cache-sensitive workloads. These CCX chiplets will also support AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology.
With more cores and reduced inter-chip latencies, AMD’s Zen 6 CPUs promise to be impressive. If AMD can also deliver increased levels of per-core computational performance, the next generation of AMD Ryzen CPUs is going to be legendary.
You can join the discussion on discussion on AMD’s Zen 6 CPU architecture and next-gen Ryzen GPUs on the OC3D Forums.
