AMD plans to deliver Zen 3 in “late 2020” – Don’t expect Ryzen 4000 Desktop CPUs anytime soon
AMD plans to deliver Zen 3 in “late 2020” – Don’t expect Ryzen 4000 Desktop CPUs anytime soon
Previously, AMD listed Zen 3 as a 7nm processor, but to reduce confusion with TSMC’s roadmap, AMD has adjusted their public roadmap to list Zen 3 as a 7nm processor. AMD has confirmed that Zen 3 will use a refined 7nm process node, but hasn’t commented on exactly which 7nm node it is using.Â
Back in 2019, AMD’s Martin Hilgeman, their Senior Manager of HPC applications, revealed slides at the HPC AI Advisory Council’s 2019 UK Conference which shown attendees some early information about the company’s Zen 3 architecture. AMD has since gotten footage from this conference removed from the internet. That said, this information came directly from AMD, and therefore should be considered accurate.Â
Based on AMD’s slides, Zen 3 will support the same SP3 motherboard platforms as Zen 2 and ship with the same core/thread counts as today’s Zen 2 series CPUs. AMD’s slides also suggest that Zen 3 will deliver users more L3 cache than Zen 2 and feature a revamped cache structure. This cache redesign is likely to lower cache latencies on Zen 3 processors and help make EPYC more suitable for a broader range of enterprise workloads.Â
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AMD has confirmed that 3rd Generation (Zen 3) EPYC processors will release in “late 2020”, sticking to AMD’s 12-18-month cadence for new processor releases.Â
Right now, 3rd Generation EPYC processors are expected to release before Zen 3 desktop processors, allowing AMD to benefit from higher margins during Zen 3’s initial rollout. This means that Ryzen 4th Gen desktop processors could be revealed as late as CES 2021. That said, AMD has not made firm comments on Zen 3’s Ryzen release, so an earlier release is possible.Â
AMD’s CPU roadmap shows Zen 4 releasing in late 2021 or early 2022, coming in the form of “Genoa” series EPYC processors. These are the processors that will be used in the US’ AMD-powered El Capitan supercomputer, which will be the most powerful supercomputer ever created when it is turned on in 2022/3.Â
PC builders shouldn’t expect to see Zen 3 desktop processors anytime soon, with AMD’s Financial analysts day killing off all hope of a summer 2020 release. Even so, AMD remains confident that they will stay within their 12-18-month release cadence for Zen, which is excellent news for the PC market.Â
You can join the discussion on AMD’s plans to ship Zen 3 in late 2020 on the OC3D Forums.Â