Zen | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Wed, 27 Dec 2023 09:57:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Zen | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Threadripper 7000: An EPYC History of AMD Threadripper https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/leo-waldock/threadripper-7000-an-epyc-history-of-amd-threadripper/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/leo-waldock/threadripper-7000-an-epyc-history-of-amd-threadripper/#respond Fri, 22 Dec 2023 10:00:32 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=641333 Leo takes us through an EPYC history of AMD Threadripper

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Early in 2023, KitGuru took a close look at AMD Threadripper Pro WX series and we were deeply impressed by the 64-core 5995WX. The snag, of course, is that the 5000 Series uses Zen 3 architecture and we knew that Zen 4 Threadripper had to be just around the corner. Happily that time has arrived and the new Threadripper 7000s gain 1GHz on clock speeds and max out at 96 cores, which is superb news for rich enthusiasts.

KitGuru carried the news about Threadripper 7000 HERE and initially we were keen to get our hands on a sample CPU so we could run a review. After that we took a moment to think and realised that most people spending a fortune on Threadripper hardware would pay someone else to do the hard work and also to provide a warranty. We had a conversation with Scan and they will be sending us a fully configured workstation in January so while we wait for that moment to arrive we have produced a history of AMD Threadripper starting with the 16-core 1950X in 2017.

The headline facts are easy to digest; Threadripper 7000 is available in HEDT form up to 64-cores on the TRX50 platform and up to 96-cores on the Pro WRX90 platform. The CPUs use Zen 4 technology and support PCIe Gen 5.0 and DDR5 RDIMM memory. Clock speeds boost beyond 5GHz and you can expect a sustained all-core clock speed of 4.0GHz or 4.5GHz depending on which model you buy.

In our video you will see we ran a handful of benchmark tests on some of the older Threadrippers and also on a sample of a 32-core Threadripper 7970X, as shown in these photos. The hardware used is:

CPU: AMD Threadripper 7970X
Motherboard: Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D
Memory: 64GB Kingston Fury Renegade Pro DDR5-5600 in Quad Channel
CPU Cooler: Fractal Design Celsius S36
SSD: Crucial T700 Pro PCIe 5.0
SSD: Kingston Fury Renegade 4.0
Power supply: Seasonic Focus GX-1000 ATX 3.0

Learn more on AMD's website HERE. Shop Threadripper Pro 7000 systems from Scan HERE.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

#AMD #Threadripper #Ryzen7000.

KitGuru says: We have taken a fresh look at the original Zen Threadripper 1950X, and also the Zen 2  Threadripper 3990X, Zen 3 Threadripper Pro 5995WX and the Zen 4 Threadripper 7970X and are amazed at the improvements AMD has made over the course of six years.

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Leak suggests AMD Strix Point does feature a hybrid architecture https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/joao-silva/leak-suggests-amd-strix-point-does-feature-a-hybrid-architecture/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/joao-silva/leak-suggests-amd-strix-point-does-feature-a-hybrid-architecture/#respond Fri, 11 Aug 2023 13:00:33 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=626146 Intel moved towards a hybrid architecture in recent years, offering desktop processors with a mix of performance and efficiency cores. Rumours have claimed that AMD will eventually do the same and now, we have our first piece of evidence of that. New CPU-Z screenshots appear to show an AMD Strix Point processor in operation.  Performancedatabases …

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Intel moved towards a hybrid architecture in recent years, offering desktop processors with a mix of performance and efficiency cores. Rumours have claimed that AMD will eventually do the same and now, we have our first piece of evidence of that. New CPU-Z screenshots appear to show an AMD Strix Point processor in operation. 

Performancedatabases (via VideoCardz) says that it has the first screenshots showcasing a running AMD Strix Point APU. In one of the pictures, we see CPU-Z running, but it doesn't fully recognise the CPU. Still, it can tell you which instruction set is suitable and how big the CPU is. On the other hand, the HWiNFO image shows that the processor in question is a Strix (Point?) chip based on the 4nm process node with a 45W TDP.

Image credit: PerformanceDatabases

The HWiNFO picture in particular also shows a few details about clock speeds, but it's clear that the data is wrong. Not only does it show a minimum and boost clock speed of 6.375GHz, but also a base clock speed of 8.8GHz, which doesn't make much sense. Still, it's important to note that the information read by HWiNFO suggests the upcoming chips will support AVX2 and AVX512 instructions.

Moreover, the pictures let us see that the CPU has four Zen5 cores and eight smaller Zen5c cores. Both types of cores allow hyper-threading, something that Intel's E-cores don't. Also, it looks like the size of the L1 data cache is 48KB per core, while the size of the instruction cache is 32KB per core. Also, each P-core has 1MB of L2 cache, while the E-cores seem to be grouped in clusters of four cores, with each group sharing 1MB of L2 cache between themselves. The amount of L3 cache on both programs contradicts each other, with CPU-Z showing 16MB and HWiNFO showing 8MB.

KitGuru says: These two screenshots back up the idea that Strix Point APUs are currently being tested. However, it's important to note that these CPUs are still engineering samples, and as such, it will take some time before we see them running on any commercially available devices.

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AMD confirms ‘Zenbleed’ security issue, publishes timeline for fixes https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-confirms-zenbleed-security-issue-publishes-timeline-for-fixes/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-confirms-zenbleed-security-issue-publishes-timeline-for-fixes/#respond Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:00:36 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=624246 A new security vulnerability has been discovered, impacting AMD Zen 2 processors. The bug, known as Zenbleed, can be used to steal sensitive data, but mitigations for the exploit are already on the way.

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A new security vulnerability has been discovered, impacting AMD Zen 2 processors. The bug, known as Zenbleed, can be used to steal sensitive data, but mitigations for the exploit are already on the way.

An issue with Zen 2 processors means that under “specific microarchitectural circumstances”, a register in these processors may not be written to 0 correctly. This in turn can cause data from another process or thread to be stored in the YMM register, which an attacker could potentially use to access sensitive information. Cloudflare's analysis claims that the bug doesn't require physical access to a system to exploit.

The bug was brought to AMD's attention by Google security researcher, Tavis Ormandy and the company is already working on fixes. These will be rolled out to users of all Zen 2 processors in the form of BIOS updates and newer firmware.

While fixes are in the works, it will be a while until they arrive. In AMD's security bulletin, it puts a timeline of between October and December 2023 for these updates to roll out. With that said, a microcode update for EPYC 7002 series processors is already available and applying the patch is recommended for all users.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Fixes for this are on the way, although the timeline is a little long. Fortunately, it doesn't appear that anyone has successfully managed to exploit this bug outside of research environments. 

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Tesla’s new infotainment system packs a Zen+ APU and a Navi 23 GPU https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/joao-silva/teslas-new-infotainment-system-confirmed-to-feature-a-zen-apu-and-a-navi-23-gpu/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/joao-silva/teslas-new-infotainment-system-confirmed-to-feature-a-zen-apu-and-a-navi-23-gpu/#respond Fri, 05 Nov 2021 16:00:21 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=538640 Tesla's Plaid model cars have been available since June, but only now are we learning about the specific hardware powering its infotainment system. After taking one of these infotainment systems apart, it has been discovered that it is powered by an AMD Zen+ APU paired with a Navi 23 GPU.  YouTuber Ingineerix posted a video …

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Tesla's Plaid model cars have been available since June, but only now are we learning about the specific hardware powering its infotainment system. After taking one of these infotainment systems apart, it has been discovered that it is powered by an AMD Zen+ APU paired with a Navi 23 GPU. 

YouTuber Ingineerix posted a video showing the disassembled Plaid car computer and detailing the specifications of its components. In this case, the Zen+ CPU has 4x cores, 8x threads, 0.5MB of L2 cache per core and 4MB of L3 cache. The APU's TDP is set at 45W. As for the dedicated Navi 23 GPU, the YouTuber believes it to be similar to the Radeon Pro W6600.

Instead of using a more modern solution like the V2000 or V3000 embedded APUs, Tesla decided to go for a custom-made APU based on the Zen+ architecture. The SKU is labelled as “YE180FC3T4MFG”, which doesn't match any existing APU. However, its specifications suggest it might be based on the V1000 APU.

Besides the GPU and the CPU, the infotainment system also featured an LG Innotek ATC5CPC001 WiFi/BT Module, a Quectel AG525R-GL cell modem and an SPC5748GSMMJ6 gateway. Moreover, there's a Realtek RTL9068ABD Ethernet switch and two DSPs: ADSP-SC587W SHARC+ Dual ARM Cortex-A5 Core and AD21584 SHARC+ Dual ARM Cortex-A5 core.

KitGuru says: It's impressive to see how far car computers and infotainment systems have come, offering console-level performance on the go. 

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AMD Zen+ and Zen 2 CPUs affected by new Meltdown-like vulnerability https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/joao-silva/amd-zen-and-zen-2-cpus-affected-by-new-meltdown-like-vulnerability/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/joao-silva/amd-zen-and-zen-2-cpus-affected-by-new-meltdown-like-vulnerability/#respond Tue, 31 Aug 2021 11:28:00 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=529741 It has been a couple of years since the Meltdown bug was first discovered in CPUs and since then, similar bugs have also been found to affect older processors. This week, news of another Meltdown-type vulnerability made its way online, seemingly impacting AMD Zen+ and Zen 2 processors.  Dresden Technology University discovered the vulnerability back …

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It has been a couple of years since the Meltdown bug was first discovered in CPUs and since then, similar bugs have also been found to affect older processors. This week, news of another Meltdown-type vulnerability made its way online, seemingly impacting AMD Zen+ and Zen 2 processors. 

Dresden Technology University discovered the vulnerability back in October 2020 and shared their findings with AMD. In a document published by the cybersecurity researchers, we learn that the vulnerability was studied on three processors – the Zen 2-based EPYC 7262 and the Zen+ Ryzen 7 2700X and the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX. It is also said that this vulnerability impacts Intel processors as well.

The team of cybersecurity researchers is composed of Saidgani Musaev and Christof Fetzer, who both work at the Dresden Technology University. In an AMD Security Bulletin, the vulnerability is identified by the code “AMD-SB-1010”, and is rated with “medium” severity.

According to AMD's description, this vulnerability can be exploited by combining “specific software sequences” with AMD CPUs. Once executed, the CPUs “may transiently execute non-canonical loads and store using only the lower 48 address bits”, potentially causing data leakage. To mitigate the vulnerability, AMD recommends software vendors to look for any potential vulnerability in their code. If detected, they should insert an LFENCE or use any of the existing speculation mitigation techniques.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: It looks like Meltdown-like vulnerabilities are here to stay, at least as long as we use older CPUs vulnerable to these flaws. Fortunately, newer CPU architectures already have protections in place to avoid these vulnerabilities. 

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Asus and MSI confirm that Zen and Zen2 processors also support AMD Smart Access Memory https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/joao-silva/asus-and-msi-confirm-that-zen-and-zen2-processors-also-support-amd-smart-access-memory/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/joao-silva/asus-and-msi-confirm-that-zen-and-zen2-processors-also-support-amd-smart-access-memory/#respond Sat, 19 Dec 2020 16:00:05 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=498786 Back when AMD announced Smart Access Memory, it was said that only Zen3 processors would support it. Contrary to this, Asus and MSI were able to make it work on systems using AMD 400-series and 500-series motherboards equipped with Zen and Zen2 processors. Back when AMD said Smart Access Memory would only work with Zen3 …

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Back when AMD announced Smart Access Memory, it was said that only Zen3 processors would support it. Contrary to this, Asus and MSI were able to make it work on systems using AMD 400-series and 500-series motherboards equipped with Zen and Zen2 processors.

Back when AMD said Smart Access Memory would only work with Zen3 processors, there were rumours that older Zen processors couldn't handle it because they don't support a special PDEP instruction at native speeds. According to Wccftech, this was then debunked by AMD itself, which said that this wasn't the case, but the company didn't share a specific reason for the older Zen processors incapacity.

 

Despite these claims, Asus has seemingly enabled SAM/Resizeable BAR support on the BIOS of the ASUS B450-PLUS motherboard and it works with a first-gen Ryzen 1700 processor.

As if that wasn't enough, MSI also shared some screenshots with Wccftech showing X570 motherboards supporting AMD Smart Access Memory on Ryzen 3000 CPUs and Ryzen 4000G APUs. One important thing to note is that both screenshots show an Nvidia GPU was equipped in these systems, meaning they were also supporting Resizeable BAR.

KitGuru says: It takes some tweaking, but it would seem that Smart Access Memory can indeed work on older CPUs, motherboards and even non-AMD GPUs. 

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Leo Says 47 – March 2020 – AMD is Upbeat https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/leo-waldock/leo-says-47-march-2020-amd-is-upbeat/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/leo-waldock/leo-says-47-march-2020-amd-is-upbeat/#respond Tue, 17 Mar 2020 15:23:05 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=457201 As the Human Malware spreads around Planet Earth, Leo is doing his best to remain chirpy. Thankfully we can turn to news from AMD for a healthy portion of sunshine and happiness that will keep us all sane in these dark times.

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As the Human Malware spreads around Planet Earth, Leo is doing his best to remain chirpy. Thankfully we can turn to news from AMD for a healthy portion of sunshine and happiness that will keep us all sane in these dark times.

00:16 Ryzen 9 4900H
01:22 Recap on Covid 19 cancellations and Computex 2020
04:05 Intel as of today
07:23 AMD Financials and El Capitan Supercomputer, and more
12:23 Significant AMD PC Growth
12:45 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen Mobile, RX5000 graphics, Zen 3 and more
14:47 Leading Edge Foundry Process technology, AMD Infinity Architecture and Server CPU Map, AMD Radeon Technology Momentum
17:19 Leo shares some deep thoughts, and rumours on Threadripper, Zen 4 and more
21:01 Next Year – bun fight!

AMD has dished the details on Ryzen 9 4900H Mobile, as covered by Luke HERE

Ryzen 4000 is a monolithic die with Zen 2 CPU architecture and Vega graphics. The spec of Ryzen 9 4900H is similar to Ryzen 7 4800H with a higher CPU clock speed, more graphics cores and a higher graphics clock frequency.

We have to be grateful for that good news as the period since CES in January has involved a great deal of waiting for things to happen, which mostly comes down to the global Human Malware we apparently cannot name on YouTube.

Naturally we want to see AMD Ryzen 4000 laptops. On the Intel front, they launched Ice Lake and Comet Lake U and Y ages ago and we have waited patiently for the gaming laptop 10th Gen chips but so far, nothing but we have to look at the bigger picture

Events such as MWC have been cancelled while other such as GDC and E3 have moved on-line.
Apple has closed all its stores outside China and Nike is also closing stores.
A number of movie premieres have been pushed back including James Bond.
The Vatican has announced the Easter Liturgy will be a digital event i.e. you won’t be able to visit Rome and take part.
MotoGP, Formula 1, rugby and football have all been clobbered and you have to wonder about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in July and August.
Here in the UK we had local Elections schedule for May that have been pushed back a year to 2021. You have to wonder how the American Elections are going to work with candidates in their 70s meeting the public to shake hands and kiss babies.

We do not currently know what will happen with Computex. The mood is gloomy and the key point is whether Taiwan ROC allows visitors from China PRC

In this new and more serious age we’re going to let some annoying news slip by.
Intel launched the 10th Gen Cascade Lake X HEDT parts back in November but can you buy an 18-core i9-10980XE for the list price of US$979? No, it will cost you £1,299.98 (and it’s not in stock anyway).

If you fancy, the 12-core Core i9-10920X will cost you £709.99 which looks terribly steep.

In the fireside chat between George Davis, CFO of Intel and Joe Moore, Semiconductor Industry Analyst at Morgan Stanley we heard

‘We are definitely in the 10nm era. We launched Ice Lake client sat the end of last year. We have GPUs coming out – a discrete GPU coming out this year… at the end of the year we have the server SKU coming on 10nm. … We also have 10+ coming out this year.’

Thankfully we can turn to AMD for optimism and good news, for example Ryzen 9 3900X has dropped in price.

In somewhat bigger news AMD dished the details on the El Capitan Supercomputer and then we had a three hour AMD Financials briefing that covered a huge range of topics. We used a number of AMD's slides in the video but the highlights are:

AMD is claiming that Zen and Ryzen gives them the:
World’s Fastest 16-core Processor
World’s Fastest High-End Desktop Processors
World’s Fastest Ultrathin Notebook Processor

The Frontier Supercomputer uses AMD EPYC and Radeon Instinct to deliver 1.5 ExaFLOPS of performance while El Capitan uses Next-Generation Zen 4/Genoa EPYCs and a newer version of Radeon Instinct to provide 2 ExaFLOPS of compute power.

The key to Zen 4 looks like 3rd Gen Infinity Fabric which has been named Infinity Architecture and seems to be based on PCI Express 5.

Roadmaps:
Zen 3 on 7nm in late 2020 and early 2021.
Zen 4 on 5nm, seemingly in 2021, but surely for delivery in 2022.
RDNA2 graphics on 7nm in 2020 or 2021.
RDNA3 on ‘Advanced Node’ which might be 7nm EUV in 2021/2022.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: AMD is providing a massive amount of good news in these uncertain times. 

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AMD launches Athlon 3000G unlocked processor for $49 https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-launches-athlon-3000g-unlocked-processor-for-49/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-launches-athlon-3000g-unlocked-processor-for-49/#respond Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:14:07 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=437046 While AMD's latest high-end Ryzen processors have been the stars of the show this month, there is also a new Athlon-series CPU coming this week for the mainstream market. AMD has announced the Athlon 3000G today, harnessing the Zen architecture and pairing it with Radeon graphics. The Athlon 3000G is a $49 CPU, so what …

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While AMD's latest high-end Ryzen processors have been the stars of the show this month, there is also a new Athlon-series CPU coming this week for the mainstream market. AMD has announced the Athlon 3000G today, harnessing the Zen architecture and pairing it with Radeon graphics.

The Athlon 3000G is a $49 CPU, so what can you expect in terms of specs? You'll get a two-core, four-thread CPU that is unlocked for overclocking, 4MB of L3 cache, a 3.5GHz base clock and Radeon Vega 3 integrated graphics running at 1GHz. The default TDP is also 35W, so it is a low-power chip.

The Athlon 3000G is the first Zen-based Athlon processor to be unlocked, so it will be interesting to see what sort of overclocking results people are able to achieve with this.

We haven't been able to find any retail listings in the UK just yet but the Athlon 3000G is expected to be available to buy before the end of the month.

KitGuru Says: A new Athlon has joined the ranks. Are any of you interested in an inexpensive CPU like this? 

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AMD Ryzen 5 3400G (Zen+ & Vega 11) APU Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-5-3400g-zen-vega-11-apu-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-5-3400g-zen-vega-11-apu-review/#respond Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:04:14 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=420885 It's a Zen+ APU with Vega 11 graphics, priced at £139.99. Does Luke rate it?

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Codenamed Picasso and combining a four-core, eight-thread Zen+ CPU with an 11 CU slice of Vega graphics, AMD’s £140 Ryzen 5 3400G is an evolution from the Ryzen 5 2400G of last year. Boosting up to 4.2GHz on the single-CCX CPU component and 1400MHz for the Vega 11 GPU, clock speed increases are the most noteworthy change from last year’s Ryzen 5 2400G. Another important adjustment is the reduction in MSRP by $20, making the Ryzen 5 3400G slightly more affordable.

Despite the Ryzen 3000 naming scheme, it is important to remember that the current APUs are not Zen 2 architecture and are fabbed using a 12nm Global Foundries process, not the 7nm TSMC FinFET technology of their CPU brothers.

Is £140 for a four-core Zen+ CPU with simultaneous multi-threading, an on-chip Vega 11 GPU, plus the 95W-rated Wraith Spire cooler a solid deal for budget buyers and HTPC gamers?

Most of the information from our review of the Ryzen 5 2400G from last year still holds true with the Ryzen 5 3400G. As this update from Zen to Zen+ is more of a die-shrink with minor adjustments than the evolution to Zen 2 (which will perhaps arrive in 2020), the differences will be minor. Check out that review for additional details HERE.

It is important to understand the position of an APU in today’s market. Last year, the high GPU prices and supply issues driven by the cryptocurrency mining boom meant that even low-end GPUs were either severely overpriced or hard to come by. This year, however, those issues are non-existent (for now) and the APU regains its position as an entry-level option to cash-strapped gamers.

Another key market for APUs is for those who are looking for a stop-gap gaming machine before upgrading to a discrete GPU in the future. Of course, HTPC usage is also an ideal environment for APUs, thanks to the on-chip GPU’s media decoding capabilities.

AMD is clearly targeting 1080P gamers on a budget with the Ryzen 5 3400G. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect 60 FPS at 1080P in modern AAA titles. However, less-demanding games, older AAA titles, and those that simply aren’t too graphically intensive should all run fine. That’s more than can be said for the iGPU capabilities of competing Intel chips at this price point. The word ‘competing’ there is perhaps slightly misused as there is realistically no Intel competition for these APUs.

For £140, the six-thread Intel Coffee Lake Core i5-9400F should net you higher CPU performance but lower GPU performance that translates into largely unplayable gaming experiences. If you want a balance between a decent level of CPU performance and an integrated GPU that allows for gaming, the AMD APUs are the only real option without going down the discrete GPU route.

According to AMD, video encode and decode is handled by the Video Core Next, or VCN for short, silicon present in the Vega GPU. Video decode of common resolutions and media formats, such as 4K60 MPEG2, 4K60 H.265, and 4K60 HEVC are all supported.

AMD’s table highlights that VP9 8 bits per channel and VP9 10 bits per channel are both supported at up to 4K60. HDCP 2.2 is supported by the APU, though keep an eye on this specification when choosing a motherboard with built-in video outputs.

We tested video content relating to these formats, resolutions, and frame rates and found media playback to be perfectly fine in general. Our 4K30 100Mbps H264 content played without hiccups through VLC media play on Windows 10. The same can be said for 1440P60 50Mbps H264 media and also 4K60 80Mbps H265 footage taken from a GoPro Hero 6.

Testing with YouTube, 1080p60 and 1440p60 ran smoothly. 4K30 was also perfectly fine using Google Chrome and 4K60 had dropped frames here and there but they were generally induced by me messing about with the monitoring software at the same time.

8K footage on YouTube was not smoothly playable. That is perhaps something to bear in mind for those hoping to keep this APU for a long time. By comparison, the Intel UHD iGPU generally handles 8K30 and 8K60 YouTube footage fine, based on our testing with a Whiskey Lake-equipped Dell XPS 13 and the Intel UHD 630 on a Core i5-8600K.

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AMD Ryzen 5 3600X (6C12T) CPU Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-5-3600x-6c12t-cpu-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-5-3600x-6c12t-cpu-review/#respond Mon, 29 Jul 2019 15:33:01 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=419709 How does AMD's Ryzen 5 3600X fare in the mid-range market segment?

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Priced squarely to compete with Intel’s Core i5-9600K at the ever-attractive £240 price point, AMD Ryzen 5 3600X continues the Ryzen 5 x600 tradition. That tradition is to offer six cores with Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) doubling the thread count to a dozen. This time, however, those six cores that boost up to 4.4GHz, are based on AMD’s brand-new Zen 2 architecture, and they’re built using TSMC’s leading 7nm FinFET process.

We have already seen the success that Zen 2 on 7nm has brought in the eight-core Ryzen 7 3700X and the twelve-core Ryzen 9 3900X flagship, so what can it do for this mid-range part?

Although it is easy to view the Ryzen 5 3600X as half a Ryzen 9 3900X, it would be more accurate to perceive the processor as a cut down Ryzen 7 3700X/3800X. The 95W-TDP hexacore utilises a single CCD, comprised of two core complexes (CCXs). This means that one core per CCX is disabled, but AMD retains the full whack of L3 cache that is shared between each core within the CCX.

Just like the other Zen 2 processors, Ryzen 5 3600X features a segregated IO die that most notably contains the memory controller and is fabbed on older (cheaper), arguably more mature 12nm process technology.

Infinity Fabric is the interconnect that keeps things communicating smoothly. Just like with all other Zen-based CPUs, the Infinity Fabric frequency is tied to the memory clock (up to a maximum of 1800MHz by default for Zen 2), hence higher-speed RAM up to 3600MHz should show latency and performance benefits outside of just memory-intensive workloads. Expensive sticks of RAM may be hard to justify at this market segment, but we’d certainly advise looking for 3000MHz DDR4 kits as a minimum.

CPU AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Intel Core i7 9700K
Intel Core i5 9600K
CPU Architecture Zen 2 Zen 2 Zen 2 Zen+ Coffee Lake Coffee Lake
CPU Socket AM4 AM4 AM4 AM4 LGA 1151 rev. 2 LGA 1151 rev. 2
Core / Threads
12 / 24 8 / 16 6 / 12 8 / 16 8 / 8 6 / 6
Base Frequency 3.8GHz 3.6GHz 3.8GHz 3.7GHz 3.6GHz 3.7GHz
All-Core Frequency Up to 4.6GHz Up to 4.4GHz Up to 4.4GHz Up to 4.3GHz 4.6GHz 4.3GHz
Boost Frequency Up to 4.6GHz Up to 4.4GHz Up to 4.4GHz Up to 4.3GHz 4.9GHz 4.6GHz
Unlocked Core Multiplier Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity)
L3 Cache 64MB 32MB 32MB 16MB 12MB 9MB
Max. Memory Channels
2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4)
Max. Memory Frequency (Native)
2667 to 3200MHz 2667 to 3200MHz 2667 to 3200MHz 1866 to 2933MHz 2666MHz 2666MHz
CPU PCIe Lanes 16+4+4 PCIe Gen 4 16+4+4 PCIe Gen 4 16+4+4 PCIe Gen 4 16+4+4 PCIe Gen 3 16 PCIe Gen 3 16 PCIe Gen 3
Manufacturing Process 7nm 7nm 7nm 12nm 14nm++ 14nm++
TDP 105W 65W 95W 105W 95W 95W
MSRP $499 $329 $249 $329 $374-385 $262-263
UK Street Price (July 2019) £480 £320 £240 £240 Approx. £380 Approx. £220

As AMD promised all those years ago, the new Ryzen 5 3600X processor is supported by the AM4 platform. There are a few caveats to watch out for, however, as older B350/X370 and B450/X470 motherboards will need a BIOS update to work with the chip. I wouldn’t bother looking at A320 motherboards if you’re spending £240 on a Ryzen 5 processor, even if there are BIOS situations where the chip may be compatible. B450 solutions are worth the extra money in this scenario.

Likewise, I don’t think X570 motherboards, which start at £160, are generally a good idea for Ryzen 5 3600X buyers. Saving £60-80 by going for a solid B450 option is smarter, even if you do lose out on PCIe Gen 4.0 support (unless the suggestions of backwards compatibility are extended more widely). We must, however, point out that Ryzen 3000-compatible BIOSes with some older boards have proven flaky in our testing. That’s not to say that the BIOS stability of many X570 boards is much of an improvement at the time of writing.

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Researchers observe marketshare growth for AMD ahead of Zen 2 launch https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/researchers-observe-marketshare-growth-for-amd-ahead-of-zen-2-launch/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/researchers-observe-marketshare-growth-for-amd-ahead-of-zen-2-launch/#respond Fri, 10 May 2019 16:00:36 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=412711 AMD has been doing extremely well in the CPU market over the last couple of years, as the launch of the Zen architecture brought some much needed competition back to the forefront. We are currently awaiting the launch of Zen 2, which will push AMD CPUs over to the 7nm process but in the meantime, …

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AMD has been doing extremely well in the CPU market over the last couple of years, as the launch of the Zen architecture brought some much needed competition back to the forefront. We are currently awaiting the launch of Zen 2, which will push AMD CPUs over to the 7nm process but in the meantime, researchers have shared details on AMD's current market share, which has been growing.

According to statistics from Mercury Research (via ExtremeTech), AMD's share of the desktop x86 processor market now sits at 17.1 percent in Q1 2019, which is up from 15.8 percent in Q4 2018 and an improvement of 4.9 percent year-on-year.

AMD also made some gains in the x86 notebook processor market, going from 8 percent in Q1 2018 to 13.1 percent in Q1 2019. The only area where AMD did see a dip was in the x86 server market, where it fell from 3.2 percent in Q4 2018 to 2.9 percent in Q1 2019. However, if you look at the year-on-year result, AMD still has a bigger stake this year than it did in Q1 2018, when it reportedly had a 1 percent unit share.

Of course, these numbers are likely to change over the year ahead. AMD will be moving over to the Zen 2 architecture across desktop and server chips. There will also be a generational leap in process nodes, as we move from 12nm on Zen+ CPUs to 7nm on Zen 2. Intel will be fighting back with its own processors though, with 10nm chips coming from team blue starting in June, with a move over to 7nm projected in 2021.

KitGuru Says: Computex is coming up in just a couple of weeks, so we can expect to hear a lot more about Zen 2, alongside new Ryzen and EPYC processors. Are many of you planning on upgrading your PC this year? Will you be looking to get a 3rd Gen Ryzen? 

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Early PlayStation 5 APU details surface online https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/matthew-wilson/early-playstation-5-apu-details-surface-online/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/matthew-wilson/early-playstation-5-apu-details-surface-online/#respond Mon, 21 Jan 2019 13:12:07 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=401695 Over the last year or so, there have been plenty of rumours swirling about the next generation of consoles from both Sony and Microsoft. At this point, insiders have given us a rough idea of Microsoft's plans but we still know very little about the PlayStation 5. Over the weekend, that changed a bit, with …

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Over the last year or so, there have been plenty of rumours swirling about the next generation of consoles from both Sony and Microsoft. At this point, insiders have given us a rough idea of Microsoft's plans but we still know very little about the PlayStation 5. Over the weekend, that changed a bit, with some details on the PS5's specs making their way online.

According to TUM_APISAK, a chip leaker, the APU that will power the PS5 is codenamed ‘Gonzalo' and has the following product code attached to it: 2G16002CE8JA2_32/10/10_13E9. That string of numbers and letters looks meaningless at first but based on past product codes, some details can be drawn out.

For starters, we are going to be looking at eight CPU cores once again, although this time around it will be based on Zen+ or potentially Zen 2 architecture, which is a big improvement over Jaguar. In terms of speed, we seem to be looking at a 3.2GHz clock speed. Right now, the current estimation is that the GPU will also be clocked at 1GHz or over, which will be an improvement over the PS4 Pro's 900MHz GPU clock speed.

There is still a lot of guess work involved in determining how powerful the PS5 will be, for instance, we still don't know if the GPU will be based on AMD's upcoming Navi architecture- although that is the most likely outcome as the PS4 Pro is based on Polaris.

Currently, we are expecting to hear about the PlayStation 5 at some point in 2020, alongside two new Xbox consoles from Microsoft.

KitGuru Says: We seem to have a better idea of what the PS5 will be targeting spec-wise. We're still quite a way off from the expected launch though, so there is still plenty of time for plans to change, or for new leaks/rumours to surface.

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The PS4 is reaching the ‘final phase’ of its life cycle, evidence points to Zen-based PS5 https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/matthew-wilson/the-ps4-is-reaching-the-final-phase-of-its-life-cycle-evidence-points-to-zen-based-ps5/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/matthew-wilson/the-ps4-is-reaching-the-final-phase-of-its-life-cycle-evidence-points-to-zen-based-ps5/#respond Tue, 22 May 2018 08:30:05 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=373943 A few weeks ago, the first PlayStation 5 rumours began popping up on the web. At the time, it was brushed off due to a few outlandish claims, such as a potential 2018 launch window, but some additional fuel was added to the fire this week. For starters, Sony has admitted that the PS4 is …

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A few weeks ago, the first PlayStation 5 rumours began popping up on the web. At the time, it was brushed off due to a few outlandish claims, such as a potential 2018 launch window, but some additional fuel was added to the fire this week. For starters, Sony has admitted that the PS4 is in the “final phase of its life cycle”.

Sony had a big meeting earlier today, with the Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki in attendance. During the meeting, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO, John Tsuyoshi Kodera, shared some insights into Sony's plans. He acknowledged that “the PlayStation 4 is in the final phase of its console life cycle”.

160907164132-ps4-upgrade-ps4-pro-780x439-e1478192596991.jpg

That would indicate that a PS5 is on the way sooner rather than later. However, it isn't the only piece of evidence currently floating around. The folks at Phoronix recently noticed that one of Sony's programmers recently began submitting code changes across multiple commits for ‘ZNver1 LLVM improvements'.

These code changes point towards a shift to a Zen architecture based system, which Sony is working on compiling software for. Currently, Sony doesn't have any Zen-based products on the market, so the theory goes that work on PlayStation 5 software has begun, with plans to launch with the Zen CPU architecture.

It is worth noting though that it is still very early to be talking about PlayStation 5. The PS4 still has a healthy line-up of games left in it for not just this year, but 2019 too. The Last of Us 2, Death Stranding and Ghosts of Tsushima might end up being the last big PS4 exclusives for the generation.

KitGuru Says: I don't think we'll be hearing about the PS5 officially until 2020, but it is still exciting to see that we are starting to head towards a new generation. Do you guys think 2020 would be a good launch window for the PS5? Or do you think this generation should last a bit longer?

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Zen architecture lead Jim Keller heads to Intel https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/zen-architecture-lead-jim-keller-heads-to-intel/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/zen-architecture-lead-jim-keller-heads-to-intel/#respond Thu, 26 Apr 2018 08:01:44 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=371514 After spearheading development on AMD's Zen architecture and a brief stint at Tesla, chip designer Jim Keller is heading to Intel.

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Jim Keller, one of the best chip designers in the business, is officially heading to Intel. In the past, he worked for AMD on the Athlon 64, before jumping over to Apple to develop the A4 and A5 SoCs found in the iPhone 4 and 4S. He eventually went back to AMD in 2012 to spearhead work on the Zen architecture. In 2016, he ventured over to Tesla and now, following in Raja Koduri's footsteps, he is landing at Intel.

In December, Intel managed to persuade Radeon Technologies head, Raja Koduri, to join the blue team. The assumption going around now is that he has managed to convince Keller to also jump on board, indicating that Intel is getting serious and shaking things up. While Raja is at Intel to work on GPUs, Keller will be joining the CPU team to create new chip designs.

intel2-1280x1024-e1479148280882.jpg

Over the last year, AMD has been giving Intel some serious competition with its Zen processors, which are spreading in the desktop, mobile and server markets. For years, Intel essentially had free reign over these areas. PCPer speculates that Intel could also be looking more closely at the ultra-mobile market to address the failings of its Atom processor, which didn't do enough to overthrow ARM.

When it comes down to it, hiring Jim Keller is a big shift in Intel's business, which will likely lead to more aggressive design and feature changes for its processors in the years to come.

KitGuru Says: We already knew that Zen was giving Intel a run for its money when they pushed up the release schedules for Skylake X and Coffee Lake. We'll be looking forward to seeing other changes at Intel in the years to come, as work gets underway on new CPU designs, in addition to GPUs. 

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AMD responds with its own technical assessment of CTS Labs’ research https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-responds-with-its-own-technical-assessment-of-cts-labs-research/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-responds-with-its-own-technical-assessment-of-cts-labs-research/#respond Wed, 21 Mar 2018 11:40:00 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=367915 AMD has officially responded with a technical assessment of the vulnerabilities published by CTS Labs' last week.

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Last week, security researchers over at CTS Labs made a big splash in the news after unveiling four key vulnerabilities found in AMD-based systems. There was plenty of controversy surrounding the way this information was disclosed and ‘hyped up', the situation also caught AMD by surprise, as they only had 24 hours notice before all the information went public. Now, AMD has had a chance to conduct its own technical assessment, which was published today.

AMD's CTO, Mark Papermaster, penned a blog post on the subject. The short version of the story is that yes, there were some vulnerabilities. However, “each issue cited can be mitigated through firmware patches and a standard BIOS update”. None of the fixes are expected to impact performance. In each case, all vulnerabilities required administrative access to exploit.

AMD-e1469202962516.jpg

Now for the long version. AMD's technical assessment has found that these vulnerabilities are not related to the Zen CPU architecture, but they are associated with the firmware managing the embedded security control processor (AMD Secure Processor) used in some processors, and the chipset used in some socket AM4 and TR4 motherboards.

All of the issues CTS Labs' flagged up require administrative access, which would grant a user unrestricted access to the system. At this point, an attacker would have a wealth of options available to them, which is why modern operating systems and enterprise-level systems have security controls in place, such as Microsoft's Windows Credential Guard.

AMD has grouped the vulnerabilities into three main categories and outlined what each one is capable of and their planned fix for it. For starters, Masterkey is an issue where an “attacker who already has compromised the security of a system” can corrupt flash. AMD Secure Processor currently does not detect this. To fix this, AMD will roll out a firmware patch via a BIOS update, no performance impact is expected.

Ryzenfall and Fallout are grouped together into category 2. This vulnerability is where an “attacker who already has compromised the security of a system, writes to AMD Secure Processor registers” and can exploit vulnerabilities in the interface between x86 and AMD Secure Processor. Administrative access is required to pull this off. This issue will be fixed through a firmware patch, which is delivered via a BIOS update.

Finally, category 3 is Chimera. Once again, an attacker would already need to compromise a system's security and gain admin access to exploit this one, if they get that far, they can install a malicious driver that exposes certain “promontory functions”. This grants access to physical memory through the chipset, which can be difficult to detect. Chimera will be fixed through a BIOS update, and no performance impact is to be expected.

All of these fixes are planned to roll out “in the coming weeks”, so hopefully by the end of April, this will all be patched up.

KitGuru Says: It seems that CTS Labs' did indeed find some vulnerabilities on AMD's platforms, though they all hinge on gaining administrative access first, which there are plenty of safeguards for. At any rate, fixes are coming and ultimately, this will make AMD systems more secure in the long run, which is of course, a good thing. 

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AMD’s Ryzen 7 2700X specs spotted, Ryzen 2000 series CPUs to launch in April https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amds-ryzen-7-2700x-specs-spotted-ryzen-2000-series-cpus-to-launch-in-april/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amds-ryzen-7-2700x-specs-spotted-ryzen-2000-series-cpus-to-launch-in-april/#respond Fri, 02 Mar 2018 11:08:06 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=365619 AMD began kicking off its Ryzen 2000 series roll out last month with the launch of its two Raven Ridge APUs. However, we are still waiting on the new series of CPUs to land, featuring the refined Zen+ architecture built on the 12nm process. These CPUs will be heading our way in April and today, …

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AMD began kicking off its Ryzen 2000 series roll out last month with the launch of its two Raven Ridge APUs. However, we are still waiting on the new series of CPUs to land, featuring the refined Zen+ architecture built on the 12nm process. These CPUs will be heading our way in April and today, we got our first look at the Ryzen 7 2700X.

Thanks to a new set of benchmark database leaks, we have details on the Ryzen 7 2700X, which will be the follow up to last year's Ryzen 7 1700X, one of the most popular processors in AMD's initial Zen line-up. The 2700X will feature 8 cores and 16 threads like its predecessor, but it will have have higher base and boost clock speeds.

As Videocardz points out, the Ryzen 7 2700X will have a 3.7GHz base speed and a 4.1GHz boost speed. This puts it at 100MHz faster than the Ryzen 7 1800X and 300MHz higher the Ryzen 7 1700X. It is worth noting that some tests showed a 4.2GHz boost speed for the 2700X, so it could end up being slightly higher be the time we get to launch in April.

AMD's Zen+, 12nm Ryzen 2000 series processors will be available in April. There is also a second generation of Threadripper processors on the way, which are slated to launch in the second half of this year.

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KitGuru Says: AMD has had a great year in the CPU market since launching Ryzen and it looks like 2018 is also shaping up to be solid. We'll be looking forward to getting our hands on Zen+ for testing in the coming months. Are many of you currently looking to build a new PC? Are you waiting for AMD's new CPUs to launch before jumping in?

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Performance numbers leak out for AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 5 2600 Zen+ CPU https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/performance-numbers-leak-out-for-amds-upcoming-ryzen-5-2600-zen-cpu/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/performance-numbers-leak-out-for-amds-upcoming-ryzen-5-2600-zen-cpu/#respond Wed, 21 Feb 2018 18:46:30 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=364737 Earlier this year, AMD debuted its CPU roadmap for 2018, kicking off with two new Ryzen 2000-series APUs, followed by new Ryzen CPUs based on the Zen+ architecture. We've seen the APUs already, so now it is only a matter of time before the new CPUs hit the market. That time could be quite soon …

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Earlier this year, AMD debuted its CPU roadmap for 2018, kicking off with two new Ryzen 2000-series APUs, followed by new Ryzen CPUs based on the Zen+ architecture. We've seen the APUs already, so now it is only a matter of time before the new CPUs hit the market. That time could be quite soon too, as the Ryzen 5 2600 has appeared in benchmarks, with a notable improvement over the Ryzen 5 1600.

The Ryzen 5 2600 has appeared in the SiSoft Sandra database and Geekbench. The Ryzen 5 2600 is listed as a six-core, 12-thread processor with a 3.4GHz base clock speed and a 3.8GHz boost speed. It operates at a 65W TDP and contains 16MB of L3 cache and 3MB of L2 cache. We also know that Ryzen 2000-series CPUs will be made on the 12nm process with a refined version of the Zen architecture known as Zen+.

The processor was tested on a system with 16GB of DDR4 memory and Windows 10 Pro on the AMD Myrtle platform, which is an in-house platform AMD uses to test its new CPUs. on Geekbench, The Ryzen 5 2600 scored 4,269 points in the single-core test and 20,102 points in the multi-core test.

This is a greater than 10 percent boost on single-core performance compared to the Ryzen 5 1600. It is also a greater than 20 percent difference on multi-core performance in this test.

KitGuru Says: Performance numbers are starting to make their way out, which would indicate that a launch isn't too far off. Are many of you planning on upgrading your CPU this year? Are you holding out for the Ryzen 2000 series?

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AMD set to roll out Ryzen 2 in Q1 2018 https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-set-to-roll-out-ryzen-2-in-q1-2018/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-set-to-roll-out-ryzen-2-in-q1-2018/#comments Wed, 13 Dec 2017 13:22:20 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=357675 AMD's Ryzen CPUs have been a huge success throughout 2017 but it is time to start looking towards the company's plans for next year. AMD has said in the past that we will see a Zen 1 refresh before the jump to Zen 2 architecture, and now it looks like we know when to expect …

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AMD's Ryzen CPUs have been a huge success throughout 2017 but it is time to start looking towards the company's plans for next year. AMD has said in the past that we will see a Zen 1 refresh before the jump to Zen 2 architecture, and now it looks like we know when to expect that to happen.

As part of a recent presentation, AMD began showing its lineup of Ryzen processors for 2018, which will kick off with Ryzen 2 in Q1. This means between January and March, we should see these processors launch. This is known as the ‘2000 series', with the Ryzen 7 1800X being bumped up to the Ryzen 7 2800X, the 1700X replacement will be the 2700X and so on.

Presentation slide via moepc.net

According to the folks at wccftech, these processors will be based on the 12nm process node. We should apparently expect new Ryzen 7 chips in late February, followed by Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 3 in March. Those timings could of course change over the next couple of months. As for specific improvements we should expect, support for higher DDR4 RAM frequencies and slightly higher clock speeds are said to be on the way.

These new Ryzen Zen+ processors will be pitted against Intel's Coffee Lake chips. Intel is set to release new Coffee Lake SKUs in the first half of 2018, with rumors indicating that we will see Z390 motherboards brought to the table alongside a new 8C/16T Core-i7.

KitGuru Says: While the Q1 release date seems set in stone due to AMD's presentation slides, there is still a lot of rumor surrounding the specs of AMD's 2018 Zen refresh. We should learn more soon enough though, as CES is just around the corner.

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Viglen gaming PC range appears on eBuyer https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/andrzej/viglen-gaming-pc-range-appears-on-ebuyer/ https://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/andrzej/viglen-gaming-pc-range-appears-on-ebuyer/#respond Mon, 04 Dec 2017 12:12:18 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=356426 Back in September, we reported that XMA was preparing to launch Viglen PCs in to the UK retail channel. Systems were on show at the EGX gaming event at the NEC and were well received by gamers. Now a full range of systems has appeared on eBuyer. How much impact can this established brand have …

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Back in September, we reported that XMA was preparing to launch Viglen PCs in to the UK retail channel. Systems were on show at the EGX gaming event at the NEC and were well received by gamers. Now a full range of systems has appeared on eBuyer. How much impact can this established brand have on the gaming market?

While the full range does include Intel-based systems, it is the AMD line-up that seems particularly wide-ranging, with Ryzen 5 1400 units from £779 through to a Ryzen 7 rig at just over £3,200. You can see the specs here.

When Lord Alan Sugar (of ‘The Apprentice' fame) sold Viglen Technology to XMA almost 4 years ago, it was projected that the newly formed £200 million turnover company would ultimately grow to £300m and beyond. A significant part of that plan involves bringing in gaming channel experts like Craig Connell, who has previously driven sales for ATI, Nvidia and AMD.

We have visited the Viglen team at XMA's headquarters and the systems they are developing certainly look the part, with ROG branding prevalent.

KitGuru says: While the spend-per-person on gaming machines may have increase in 2017, the number of actual units shipped doesn't seem to have increased. Looks like the market for gaming PCs will become even more competitive in 2018 if traditional brands like Viglen, backed by Westcoast Distribution, start to focus more on performance systems. We will bring one of these Ryzen systems into the KitGuru Lab shortly and render an independent opinion as to whether or not the Viglen power/quality/value formula is correct.

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HP Envy x360 with Ryzen and Vega APU spotted https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/hp-envy-x360-with-ryzen-and-vega-apu-spotted/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/hp-envy-x360-with-ryzen-and-vega-apu-spotted/#respond Tue, 17 Oct 2017 17:51:42 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=350710 AMD's Raven Ridge APU launch appears to be getting close, with HP amongst the first laptop makers to pick up the Ryzen 5 2500U with Vega graphics.

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It looks like AMD is getting closer to rolling out the very first Ryzen APUs as this week, a new laptop from HP was spotted, sporting the Ryzen 5 2500U with on-board Vega graphics. This is set to be AMD’s first notebook APU using the Zen architecture.

The leak initially occurred over on the HP website. The source page has since been taken down, but with this being the internet, screenshots were taken and saved well ahead of time. A screenshot of the entire web page was nabbed by Videocardz, showing that the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U will feature four cores, a 2GHz/3.6GHz base/boost speeds and 6MB of cache.

The Envy x360 15-bq101na is the notebook packing the APU. The laptop itself also comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, a 256GB PCIe SSD and integrated AMD Radeon Vega M graphics. The system is said to consume just 45 watts, so AMD may have nailed it on the efficiency front.

Unfortunately, we don’t know how well this APU performs in games, but previous benchmark leaks have shown that it offers 36 percent better single core performance compared to AMD’s last generation A12 APU. It also should have 48 percent better multi-core performance.

KitGuru Says: AMD will be targeting 1080p gaming with its Raven Ridge APUs. It will be especially interesting to see how Vega performs in this scenario compared to RX 500 series mobile GPUs.

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AMD discusses better IPC, overclocks and optimisation with future Ryzen processors https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-discusses-better-ipc-overclocks-and-optimisation-with-future-ryzen-processors/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-discusses-better-ipc-overclocks-and-optimisation-with-future-ryzen-processors/#comments Tue, 05 Sep 2017 17:06:09 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=345956 AMD promises to "keep the pressure on" with future Ryzen CPUs.

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AMD has been flying high on the success of Ryzen over the last few months but as we have previously heard, this is only the first step. AMD is already planning for its ‘Zen 2' and ‘Zen 3' based processors and this week during an interview at PAX West, AMD's desktop CPU marketing manager spoke a little bit about the company's focus for future Zen chips.

During a video interview posted by  Joker Productions, AMD's Don Woligroski, was asked about the potential for better overclocking and higher IPC on future Zen CPUs. Here's what he said:

“Zen, Ryzen, was the worst case scenario, it was a brand new architecture on a brand new node, so it was the worst case scenario we could have possibly had and its pretty good. You can get over 4GHz a bit, we're definitely working on improving, our engineers are really smart guys and things are looking better as we go along”.

Woligroski couldn't go into more specifics but AMD is preparing tweaks to get more out of Zen. The company isn't planning on Ryzen being a “one hit wonder”, it has been a successful 2017 but as Woligroski explains, AMD will “keep the pressure on” in 2018 and beyond.

One area where Ryzen did stumble this year was gaming. Ryzen 7 was a great chip but when it came to 1080p gaming in particular, it couldn't quite match the latest 7th generation Core i7. With that in mind, Joker asked Woligroski what AMD were planning to do to make sure game developers are taking advantage of the additional cores and threads found in Ryzen. A lot of it just comes down to engaging with developers directly:

“Thats a double-edged sword. For games that are already released I think our focus is making sure if they have a problem on Ryzen processors, which some do you'll see a big performance delta and be like ‘why? Ryzen's pretty fast' and we'll go to the developer. We did it for Dota 2 and Rise of the Tomb Raider and we just find out what was wrong.”

As for future games, the process is a little different. Now that more cores and threads are more common, developers will begin building for that. However, the company “certainly have engineers” that get handed out to development teams to help them take extra advantage of Ryzen. An example of this would be AMD's partnership with Bethesda, which saw Prey in particular optimised for more cores/threads.

At the moment, AMD has previously said that there will be another round of Zen processors based on the 14nm+ node before making the jump to Zen 2 and Zen 3, which will both take advantage of 7nm technology. This jump to 7nm is proving to be the “toughest in years” but we should see Zen 2 before 2020.

KitGuru Says: Now that AMD is back in the swing of competing with Intel, the company will want to keep the pressure on and avoid falling behind. Better IPC and higher overclocks seems like a good first step. 

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AMD is working on 7nm tech but it’s proving to be the toughest generational leap in years https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-is-working-on-7nm-tech-but-its-proving-to-be-the-toughest-generational-leap-in-years/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amd-is-working-on-7nm-tech-but-its-proving-to-be-the-toughest-generational-leap-in-years/#comments Tue, 25 Jul 2017 19:32:56 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=341534 We heard back in May that AMD was already preparing for the jump to 7nm CPUs in time for ‘Zen 2' and ‘Zen 3' some time in the next few years but it seems that the company is beginning to open up about the difficulties getting there. In an interview this week, AMD's CTO explained …

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We heard back in May that AMD was already preparing for the jump to 7nm CPUs in time for ‘Zen 2' and ‘Zen 3' some time in the next few years but it seems that the company is beginning to open up about the difficulties getting there. In an interview this week, AMD's CTO explained that 7nm is “the toughest” generational leap he has seen for years.

AMD CTO, Mark Papermaster, discussed the company's 7nm plans with EE Times this week, saying that the company had to “double” its efforts “across foundry and design teams” in the build up to 7nm. So far it's “the toughest” generational bump he has seen in a long time, requiring completely new CAD tools and changes to architecture.

Here is the full quote: “we had to literally double our efforts across foundry and design teams…It’s the toughest lift I’ve seen in a number of generations. The 7nm node requires new “CAD tools and changes in the way you architect the device and how you connect transistors. The implementation and tools change as well as the IT support you need to get through it”.

Now, 7nm is seen as “a long node” similarly to 28nm, which will allow teams to focus on micro-architecture rather than redesigning everything again for the next process node. While 7nm may end up lasting us quite some time, it is also going to take us a while to get there from the sounds of it.

KitGuru Says: 7nm technology is still a few years away but it's interesting to hear the inside perspective on it. Hopefully it will be worth the wait. For the time being though, we'll still be seeing 14nm and 14nm+. 

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AMD 12-core and 16-core high-end desktop SKUs spotted https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/paul-taylor/amd-12-and-16-core-server-skus-spotted/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/paul-taylor/amd-12-and-16-core-server-skus-spotted/#comments Fri, 12 May 2017 17:40:11 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=334260 AMD has a huge hole in its portfolio, it spans the height above its Ryzen 7 HEDT CPUs all the way up to Naples, the 32-core, 64-thread behemoth it plans to release for datacenter-class computing, and while we'd heard reports it was reserved for lighter server SKUs, it seems that isn't exactly the case. This …

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AMD has a huge hole in its portfolio, it spans the height above its Ryzen 7 HEDT CPUs all the way up to Naples, the 32-core, 64-thread behemoth it plans to release for datacenter-class computing, and while we'd heard reports it was reserved for lighter server SKUs, it seems that isn't exactly the case.

This week some engineering samples of CPUs on the ‘Whitehaven' platform leaked onto the web. Whitehaven seems to be an HEDT implementation of Snowy Owl. Videocardz.com reports it has picked up the scent of these new 16-core/32-thread CPUs, as well as several other AMD processors for mobile platforms and provides some interesting details on them.

Image credit: Videocardz

Four things stand out when we look at the ID strings on the CPUs:

The first most glaring feature is that two of these samples are running at 3.1/3.6 GHz  (base/boost) speeds, which is quite an impressive feat for such a complex CPU, even if its is built on a multi-chip module, like its bigger brother, Naples.

The second fact is that Alienware, known for its gaming PC street cred, is running a 12-core / 24-thread rig. Alienware is not known for server kit, so it reinforces the idea that Whitehaven is an HEDT platform. This CPU is running at a more conservative 2.7 GHz / 3.1 GHz (base/boost) speeds.

The third fact is that they are listed as Desktop parts, rather than Server parts. Again, AMD listed Snowy Owl as being a server CPU, but seems to have found a place for the ultimately powerful workstation.

The fourth and final is that there are second generation samples, so nearing qualification/engineering sample status, which is one step closer to market.

What's more, it seems that this sampling procedure is spot on with the company's earlier announcements, dating back to February 2016, which is quite the testament to the company's delivery execution. Back in February 2016 AMD had held a presentation where it had forecast the sampling and general release of these server CPUs in Q2 2017.

While these only tell us that the samples are out here, we can expect AMD's late May event to shine some light on the company's plans for HEDT and Server, before things start to get muddled.

KitGuru Says: It seems AMD is quick on its toes to do some course corrections. A while back the 12- / 16-core CPUs were reserved for Server scenarios. Now, it seems, AMD has found a niche for the Powerusers.

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AMD’s upcoming Raven Ridge APU details appear online https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/matthew-wilson/amds-upcoming-raven-ridge-apu-details-appear-online/ https://www.kitguru.net/tech-news/featured-tech-news/matthew-wilson/amds-upcoming-raven-ridge-apu-details-appear-online/#comments Wed, 10 May 2017 17:19:16 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=333691 Right now, AMD is busy preparing its next set of APUs, currently known as ‘Raven Ridge'. These are said to be the first based on the Zen architecture and now, it seems like the hardware is edging closer to being ready. This week, a Raven Ridge APU has been spotted on the SiSoftware benchmark database, …

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Right now, AMD is busy preparing its next set of APUs, currently known as ‘Raven Ridge'. These are said to be the first based on the Zen architecture and now, it seems like the hardware is edging closer to being ready. This week, a Raven Ridge APU has been spotted on the SiSoftware benchmark database, giving us a few new details about the upcoming chip.

This particular engineering sample was found on the SiSoftware database, showing a four core, eight thread SKU with a 3GHz base clock and 3.3GHz boost clock. The chip was listed as having 2MB of L2 cache and 4MB of L3 cache.

AMD_Zen_core.jpg

The GPU part of the chip is listed as having 11 Compute Units, each containing 64 Stream Processors, making for a total of 704 Stream Processors. The GPU runs at 800MHz and according to the listing, is rated for 572.6Mpix/s of performance.

While this is all good information, it is lacking some detail, we don't know what TDP this particular chip would run at, nor do we know if this is a desktop or mobile APU. All of that aside, previous rumours suggested that the first Zen-based APUs would release some time in the second half of 2017, so we should hear more over the coming weeks and months.

KitGuru Says: There are some rumours claiming that AMD's next desktop APU would also contain Vega graphics but there is no indication of that here. How many of you have used an APU before? Is it something you would recommend or do you think they need to improve? 

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AMD is holding a financial analyst day next week, report claims Vega, Navi and Zen+ will appear https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/amd-may-discuss-navi-vega-and-zen-at-an-event-next-week/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/matthew-wilson/amd-may-discuss-navi-vega-and-zen-at-an-event-next-week/#comments Mon, 08 May 2017 12:16:51 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=333316 2017 has been a very busy year for AMD already, but the company still has quite a bit to reveal to us from behind the scenes and some of that information may be coming as soon as next week. Earlier today, invites started going out for an AMD event on the 16th of May and …

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2017 has been a very busy year for AMD already, but the company still has quite a bit to reveal to us from behind the scenes and some of that information may be coming as soon as next week. Earlier today, invites started going out for an AMD event on the 16th of May and according to some sources, the RX Vega, Navi GPU architecture and Zen+ CPU may be discussed.

Officially, this event is being labeled as the AMD Financial Analyst Day, which doesn't sound too exciting on the surface. My email invitation confirms that CEO Lisa Su, CTO Mark Papermaster, and CFO Devinder Kumar will be hosting some talks there. However, according to anonymous sources cited by wccftech, Radeon Technology Group's Raja Koduri will also be there to discuss Vega and future GPU architecture, Navi.

As this is a financial analyst day, it will mostly be used as an opportunity to discuss AMD's business plans for the rest of the year, perhaps in hopes to win back some investors after share prices dipped last week. However, the unverified report claims that in addition to 2017 plans, AMD will also discuss some of its long-term strategies, which will involve Navi and Zen+.

We already know that the RX Vega is supposed to launch before the end of June, so perhaps we will hear something more concrete about that. If Navi is brought up, then it may get some sort of release window, as right now the most up to date public GPU roadmap shows it coming between 2018 and 2019.

This is primarily going to be a financial discussion, so I wouldn't expect anything too major in terms of announcements.

KitGuru Says: Either my invitation is underselling this event, or the reports doing the rounds are overselling it. Either way, we will find out on the 16th of May, when AMD's financial analyst day takes place.

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Linux patch provides Radeon RX Vega specs, highlights DNA of Raven Ridge https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/paul-taylor/linux-patch-provides-radeon-rx-vega-specs-highlights-dna-of-raven-ridge/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/paul-taylor/linux-patch-provides-radeon-rx-vega-specs-highlights-dna-of-raven-ridge/#comments Wed, 03 May 2017 18:08:59 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=332641 Following on from the first RX Vega benchmark leak earlier this week, a Linux graphics driver patch has released, in which traces of the GPUs specs have been found. Cracking open the driver and scrolling through its many, many lines of code reveals the number of shader engines, compute units, texture mapping units and ROPs …

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Following on from the first RX Vega benchmark leak earlier this week, a Linux graphics driver patch has released, in which traces of the GPUs specs have been found. Cracking open the driver and scrolling through its many, many lines of code reveals the number of shader engines, compute units, texture mapping units and ROPs embedded in Vega 10.

From the 64 compute units and 64 shader engines, you can reach the much-discussed 4096 stream processors Vega is said to have. There are still quite a few questions about the chip design, including a rumoured new direction in tile-based rendering which will save GPU processing power and make the chip more efficient than Fiji, AMD's last flagship GPU architecture.

AMD-Vega-10-Featured-e1474398784426.jpg

While Vega 10 was the highlight here, the folks over at ComputerBase.de spotted something we missed the first time around. There is a string of code found in the driver pertaining to Raven Ridge, AMD's next APU, based on Zen. It seems Raven Ridge may also feature a Vega-based iGPU, on top of Zen-based CPU cores.

While Vega still has no launch date, it is widely presumed to be launched at Computex 2017 right at the end of May.

KitGuru Says: It seems that AMD has taken quite a lot of what made Fury X a good GPU, and the Linux driver provides a more solid base for performance assumptions. However, there are still questions that need to be answered, especially if Vega is going to launch with multiple SKUs. 

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AMD Ryzen 5 Inbound: 6C12T and 4C8T CPUs Launch April 11th https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-5-inbound-6c12t-and-4c8t-cpus-launch-april-11th/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-5-inbound-6c12t-and-4c8t-cpus-launch-april-11th/#comments Thu, 16 Mar 2017 02:01:56 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=325410 AMD has announced its Ryzen 5 processors which will be launched and on shelves from April 11th 2017 in the form of two 4C8T parts and two 6C12T SKUs. Pricing will range from $169 to $249 USD, with the Ryzen 5 flagship 6C12T 1600X featuring a Precision Boost clock frequency up to 4.0GHz. After the …

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AMD has announced its Ryzen 5 processors which will be launched and on shelves from April 11th 2017 in the form of two 4C8T parts and two 6C12T SKUs. Pricing will range from $169 to $249 USD, with the Ryzen 5 flagship 6C12T 1600X featuring a Precision Boost clock frequency up to 4.0GHz.

After the disruption that Ryzen 7 has caused to the high-end prosumer market, taking on Intel's vastly more expensive HEDT LGA 2011-3 processors, AMD is aiming to lay its stamp in the more popular sub-$300 segment. According to the Austin-based chip vendor, twice as many people choose CPUs at a sub-$300 price point than at higher levels. Simply put, AMD is trying to disrupt the sub-$300 processor landscape by putting 4C8T parts up against higher-clocked 2C4T Core i3 SKUs and 6C12T offerings against Intel's 4C4T Core i5 range.

In addition to Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT), Ryzen 5 CPUs still have AMD's SenseMI goodies baked in. That gives the chips access to features such as Precision Boost and Extended Frequency Range (XFR) that allow increased clock speeds under the relevant usage scenarios. Unsurprisingly, the processors also use the same AM4 platform as higher-end Ryzen 7 parts, making them compatible with the current crop of X370, B350, and A320 chipset motherboards, in addition to X300 and A300 offerings when they arrive.

AMD is expecting Ryzen 5 chips to be paired with the more value-orientated B350 motherboards that still support overclocking, allowing Ryzen 5's unlocked CPU frequency multiplier to be put to good use. Of course, there's also no reason why the chips cannot be paired with a high-end X370 motherboard with a strong power delivery solution for enhanced overclocking.

CPU AMD Ryzen 7 1700 AMD Ryzen 5 1600X AMD Ryzen 5 1600 AMD Ryzen 5 1500X AMD Ryzen 5 1400 Intel Core i5-7600K Intel Core i3-7350K
CPU Codename Zen Zen Zen Zen Zen Kaby Lake Kaby Lake
Core / Threads
8 / 16 6 / 12 6 / 12 4 / 8 4 / 8 4 / 4 2 / 4
Base Frequency 3.0GHz 3.6GHz 3.2GHz 3.5GHz 3.2GHz 3.8GHz 4.2GHz
Boost Frequency 3.7GHz 4.0GHz 3.6GHz 3.7GHz 3.4GHz 4.2GHz n/a
Maximum Frequency 3.75GHz (50MHz XFR) TBC (likely 100MHz XFR) TBC (likely 50MHz or 100MHz XFR) 3.9GHz (200MHz XFR) TBC (likely 50MHz XFR) n/a n/a
Unlocked Core Multiplier Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity)
Total Cache 16MB L3 + 4MB L2 16MB L3 + 3MB L2 16MB L3 + 3MB L2 16MB L3 + 2MB L2 8MB L3 + 2MB L2 6MB L3 + 1MB L2 4MB L3 + 0.5MB L2
PCIe Lanes 16+4+4 16+4+4 16+4+4 16+4+4 16+4+4 16 16
CPU Socket AM4 AM4 AM4 AM4 AM4 LGA 1151 LGA 1151
Manufacturing Process 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm
TDP 65W 95W 65W 65W 65W 91W 60W
CPU Cooler Wraith Spire (LED) n/a Wraith Spire (no LED) Wraith Spire (no LED) Wraith Stealth (no LED) n/a n/a
MSRP $329 $249 $219 $189 $169 $242 $168-179
UK Street Price Approx. £330 Estimated £250 Estimated £220 Estimated £190 Estimated £170 Approx. £230 Approx. £170

Note: Table updated at 11am 16/03/2017 following additional information from AMD.

Ryzen 5 1600X is the only 95W TDP part in the current Ryzen 5 line-up. This is a factor of its clock speeds which are as high as the flagship 8C16T Ryzen 7 1800X at 3.6GHz Base, 4.0GHz Boost, and probably 4.1GHz XFR (yet to be confirmed by AMD). The pair of 6C12T Ryzen 5 SKUs look to sandwich Intel's 4C4T Core i5-7600K in terms of pricing.

Ryzen 5 1500X is interesting as AMD confirmed in its briefing that the part will feature 200MHz of XFR headroom rather than the typical 100MHz for X-suffix SKUs.

We asked AMD how the Ryzen 5 6C12T parts will be deployed from a design standpoint but we are yet to receive a reply. The six-core design will require two CPU Complexes (CCX) but AMD looks to have the option to disable one core per CCX or two cores on a single CCX. This choice may relate to yield of the four-core CCX modules or perhaps distribution of thermal energy within the die. Ryzen 5 six-core parts will have full access to the 8MB shared pool of L3 cache on each CCX, though the two disabled/removed cores will take their 512KB of L2 cache with them. This information is yet to be confirmed by AMD.

Update 16/03/2017: AMD has confirmed to us that the Ryzen 5 six-core processors will be a 3+3 design both with the full total of 16MB L3 cache and 512KB L2 Cache per core (3MB in total).

Depending on how the six-core chip is enabled, we may see a journey back to the old days for AMD users where there is an ability to unlock the disabled cores through the motherboard BIOS. That was a lot of fun for Phenom II users who could turn a dual- or tri-core into a full-fat quad.

The 4C8T Ryzen 5 1500X and 1400 are likely to use a single CCX without the need for data transfer across the Infinity Fabric. This could aid performance, perhaps in gaming, where the latency penalty incurred by inter-CCX communications may be having a negative influence on performance. The four-core parts are likely to be equipped with 8MB of shared L3 cache and 512KB of L2 cache dedicated to each of the four cores.

Update 16/03/2017: AMD has confirmed to us that the Ryzen 5 four-core processors will be a 2+2 design using a pair of CCX. Ryzen 5 1500X gets the full total of 16MB L3 cache (!) and 512KB L2 Cache per core (2MB in total). Whereas Ryzen 5 1400 gets 8MB of L3 cache and 512KB of L2 Cache per core (2MB in total). The dual CCX design will still rely upon Infinity Fabric for inter-CCX communications and data transfer.

AMD will be bundling Wraith CPU coolers with the three 65W TDP Ryzen 5 parts. Ryzen 5 1600 and 1500X get the same Wraith Spire that is bundled with the Ryzen 7 1700, though it does not feature the LED lighting of the Ryzen 7 version. We tested Wraith Spire with the Ryzen 7 1700 and found it to offer solid performance with capability for a moderate overclock. Wraith Stealth will be bundled with the Ryzen 5 1400 CPU.

Ryzen 5 processors will launch and be available to buy on April 11th 2017. AMD also confirmed that Ryzen 3 is scheduled for the second half of 2017.

KitGuru Says: Ryzen 5 is AMD's weapon to shake up the sub-$300 processor market. With pricing that puts Ryzen 5 in competition with Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs, it will be interesting to see the performance on offer. Are you excited to see a six-core, twelve-thread processor available for a little over £200?

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AMD’s 32-core Zen-based ‘Naples’ CPU aims to bring innovation and choice back to server market https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amds-32-core-zen-based-naples-cpu-aims-to-bring-innovation-and-choice-back-to-server-market/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/matthew-wilson/amds-32-core-zen-based-naples-cpu-aims-to-bring-innovation-and-choice-back-to-server-market/#comments Tue, 07 Mar 2017 22:14:17 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=324309 Now that AMD has worked its way through the Zen architecture launch with its mainstream Ryzen processors, the company can now start turning its attention to other markets. It has been around a year since we first heard whispers of AMD's lofty ambitions for Zen in the server/datacentre market but today, the company officially unveiled …

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Now that AMD has worked its way through the Zen architecture launch with its mainstream Ryzen processors, the company can now start turning its attention to other markets. It has been around a year since we first heard whispers of AMD's lofty ambitions for Zen in the server/datacentre market but today, the company officially unveiled its codenamed ‘Naples' CPU. This Zen-based chip carries 32-cores and aims to disrupt the status-quo by bringing some serious competition back to the server/datacentre space.

AMD has officially begun previewing its new Naples CPU, with will be available in Q2 2017, though ‘volume availability' will be building over the second half of the year through various OEM and channel partners. According to AMD, this preview is the company's first step into “re-asserting its position as an innovator in the datacentre and returning choice to customers in high-performance server CPUs”. AMD is aiming high with this chip too, going as far as to call it a “ground-breaking chip” that offers “a completely new approach” to dealing with the massive processing requirements of databases.

Key features of the Naples CPU include a highly scalable 32-core SoC design with support for two high-performance threads per core and industry leading memory bandwidth with support for up to 32 dimms on 16 memory channels in a dual socket server. This processor also has a fully integrated I/O with support for 128 lanes of PCIe, along with an optimised cache structure for efficiency.

AMD's current figures show Naples with a 45 percent core advantage over the Intel E5-2699A V4. It also claims to have 60 percent more input/output capacity and 122 percent more memory bandwidth.

KitGuru Says: AMD managed to impress us all with Zen in the mainstream CPU market, so it very well may end up doing just as well in the server/datacentre market. 2017 is certainly shaping up to be a great year for AMD. 

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AMD Ryzen 7 1800X CPU Review https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-7-1800x-cpu-review/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/amd-ryzen-7-1800x-cpu-review/#comments Thu, 02 Mar 2017 14:00:21 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=323595 AMD is back with a bang in the processor market. Is a 4.1GHz-capable 8C16T CPU for £490 too good to be true?

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The wait is finally over for what seems to be one of the most eagerly-anticipated pieces of computer hardware in recent history. Four years in the making and over 2 million engineering hours put into bringing it to life, AMD's Zen is finally here. Leading the pack for AMD's new Zen-based processors are three eight-core, sixteen-thread Ryzen 7 SKUs. Fabbed on Global Foundries' 14nm FinFET process and sporting a transistor count of 4.8 Billion, the new AM4-based chips are targeting prosumers who would have otherwise been tempted onto Intel's High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform.

With pricing starting at $329 (around £320), we can now finally say that CPUs with eight high-performance cores have hit a level that will be considered affordable to many, rather than a select few. First in line for review is the flagship Ryzen 7 1800X – an 8C16T, 95W TDP chip with a base clock of 3.6GHz, boost clock up to 4.0GHz, and a 4.1GHz Extended Frequency Range (XFR).

I'm still happy with my *insert Sandy Bridge or Haswell-based CPU model name here* quad-core processor” is perhaps the most common quote that I read any and every time we publish a new CPU-related article. Sandy Bridge was legendary, AMD's Piledriver couldn't compete in many respects, and Haswell offered a well-timed upgrade path.

With Intel's mainstream processors, that sell by the truck load to enthusiast PC builders, still limited to four physical cores, many people simply do not see the need to upgrade their ageing piece of silicon. Add in the ~£400 buy price for Intel's cheapest more-than-four-core enthusiast CPU and it's easy to see why so many people are holding on so tightly to their ‘good enough' processor and investing that upgrade budget elsewhere.

Of course that's not the entire picture, as many prosumers have already jumped to higher core count chips in order to improve productivity. It is, however, a fair even if somewhat crude depiction of the current mainstream, affordable CPU market. You want more than four cores from Intel? Be prepared to pay up. An eight-core Broadwell-E chip tick the right boxes for you? Don't expect any change out of a four-figure payment.

AMD is aiming to change that with Ryzen 7. Eight cores, sixteen threads thanks to Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT), and retail pricing spanning $329-499 (around £320-490) are some of Ryzen 7's notable head-turning points. You could quite comfortably add a high-performance graphics card or a decent 4K monitor to your shopping list simply by re-allocating the Ryzen 7 cost differential against Intel's 8-core HEDT offering. That six-core 6800K you were planning on dropping £400+ on; it now goes up against an 8C16T Ryzen 7 chip that is punching close to a 4GHz clock speed.

On the face of it, AMD is set to give the consumer processor market a significant shake-up with the introduction of its Zen-based 8C16T Ryzen 7 offerings.

We got our first look at Ryzen in-the-silicon last week at AMD's Ryzen Tech Day in San Francisco. The headline features, such as a 52% IPC increase versus Excavator and an 8C16T chip with a 95W TDP, had a large proportion of the technical press surprised. When the slides showing computational performance against Intel's $1000 8C16T LGA 2011-3 Core i7 were shown, the reaction changed from surprised to one that was bordering speechless.

In Ryzen 7, AMD is bringing more-than-four-core CPUs to a price point that is as low as a third of the purchase fee for Intel's comparable octa-core options. And the Austin-based chip vendor is doing so while reducing the TDP below triple figures to 95W – a 32% reduction compared to Intel's 6-, 8-, and 10-core consumer LGA 2011-3 offerings.

This is not the first time that we have seen affordable eight-core ‘enthusiast' CPUs – AMD released Bulldozer over 5 years ago, though we'll not get into the debate of exactly what determines a core. It is, however, an interesting change to the processor landscape to be faced with the prospect of a true 8-core CPU that doesn't have a four-figure dollar price and is being touted as offering performance that lives up to its core count.

CPU AMD Ryzen 7 1800X AMD Ryzen 7 1700X AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Intel Core i7 6950X Intel Core i7 6900K Intel Core i7 6800K Intel Core i7 7700K
CPU Codename Zen Zen Zen Broadwell-E Broadwell-E Broadwell-E Kaby Lake
Core / Threads
8 / 16 8 / 16 8 / 16 10 / 20 8 / 16 6 / 12 4 / 8
Base Frequency 3.6GHz 3.4GHz 3.0GHz 3.0GHz 3.2GHz 3.4GHz 4.2GHz
Boost Frequency 4.0GHz 3.8GHz 3.7GHz 3.5GHz 3.7GHz 3.6GHz 4.5GHz
Maximum Frequency 4.1GHz (XFR) 3.9GHz (XFR) 3.75GHz (XFR) 4.0GHz (TBM 3.0) 4.0GHz (TBM 3.0) 3.8GHz (TBM 3.0) n/a
Unlocked Core Multiplier Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x0.25 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity) Yes (x1 granularity)
Total Cache 16MB L3 + 4MB L2 16MB L3 + 4MB L2 16MB L3 + 4MB L2 25MB L3 + 2.5MB L2 20MB L3 + 2MB L2 15MB L3 + 1.5MB L2 8MB L3 + 1MB L2
Max. Memory Channels
2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4) 4 (DDR4) 4 (DDR4) 4 (DDR4) 2 (DDR4 & DDR3L)
Max. Memory Frequency
1866 to 2667MHz 1866 to 2667MHz 1866 to 2667MHz 2400MHz 2400MHz 2400MHz 2400MHz / 1600MHz
PCIe Lanes 16+4+4 16+4+4 16+4+4 40 40 28 16
CPU Socket AM4 AM4 AM4 LGA 2011-3 LGA 2011-3 LGA 2011-3 LGA 1151
Manufacturing Process 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm 14nm
TDP 95W 95W 65W 140W 140W 140W 91W
MSRP $499 $399 $329 $1723-1743 $1089-1109 $434-441 $339-350
UK Street Price Approx. £500 Approx. £400 Approx. £330 Approx. £1650 Approx. £1000 Approx. £400 Approx. £330

All Ryzen CPUs feature an unlocked multiplier that allows them to be overclocked without adjusting the BCLK, using a compatible motherboard chipset.

You can read our Ryzen 7 1700X review HERE and our Ryzen 7 1700 review HERE.

Ryzen 7 1800X Specifications:

  • 3.6GHz base frequency (up to 4.0GHz Precision Boost frequency).
  • Up to 4.1GHz XFR frequency.
  • Unlocked core ratio multiplier.
  • BCLK overclocking capability.
  • 8 cores, 16 threads.
  • 512KB of dedicated L2 cache per core and 8MB of shared L3 cache per 4-core module.
  • Dual-channel DDR4 1866-2667MHz native memory support (up to two DIMMs per channel).
  • 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes for PCIe slots, 4 PCIe 3.0 lanes for high-speed storage, 4 PCIe 3.0 lanes for connection to the chipset.
  • 95W TDP.
  • AM4 socket.
  • $499 pricing (~£490 UK e-tailer price).

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KitGuru @ AMD event: Ryzen CPUs set to hit Intel pricing hard https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/kitguru-amd-event-ryzen-7-cpus-set-to-hit-intel-pricing-hard/ https://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/luke-hill/kitguru-amd-event-ryzen-7-cpus-set-to-hit-intel-pricing-hard/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2017 16:59:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=322598 Kitguru has the pricing, we have had a hands on. Is 2017 THE COMEBACK OF AMD?

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I am reporting from an official AMD Ryzen event, getting the inside information directly from AMD themselves – you will be pleased to hear, no more rumours or leaks. Today is the day that many PC enthusiasts have been waiting patiently for – AMD has officially announced that their new Zen-based Ryzen processors will be available to pre-order starting February 22nd and will be shipped on March 2nd. Ryzen 7 brings to the table eight cores, sixteen threads, frequencies pushing through 4GHz, TDPs below 100W, and pricing ranging from $329 to $499 (~£320 to £490). In Ryzen 7, AMD’s return to the high-performance consumer CPU market looks set to be a highly disruptive one that could deal a significant sucker punch to its primary competitor.

AMD started the Zen design from scratch 4 years ago and set the goal of a 40% Instruction Per Clock (IPC) performance increase over Excavator. That figure turned out to be different to the performance improvement that AMD is actually quoting, which now stands at 52%. Over-achievement and higher-than-expected IPC boosts in the desktop CPU market are something that us enthusiasts have been starved of with recent releases from both chip vendors.

According to AMD, the performance improvement is a combination of the 2 million engineering hours put into the chip’s design as well as the onus being put on creating an architecture that scales from consumer PC applications to the datacentre. The result is a 4.8 Billion transistor chip fabbed on a 14nm process with over 2000 metres of signal wiring, in addition to the Ryzen logo etched onto its heatspreader.

Focusing on the naming system, Ryzen 7 will be used to indicate CPUs with 8 cores and 16 threads. Lower core count Ryzen 5 and 3 models will follow later this half. The Ryzen 7 SKUs launching on March 2nd will be:

  • Ryzen 7 1800X – 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.6GHz base speed, 4.0GHz boost speed, 4.1GHz maximum XFR speed, 95W TDP, $499 USD, £489.95 OCUK price.
  • Ryzen 7 1700X – 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.4GHz base speed, 3.8GHz boost speed, XFR support, 95W TDP, $399 USD, £379.99 OCUK price.
  • Ryzen 7 1700 – 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.0GHz base speed, 3.7GHz boost speed, no XFR support, 65W TDP, $329 USD, £319.99 OCUK price.

Update 22/02/17 17:10 GMT: Overclockers UK has confirmed Ryzen 7 pre-order pricing which we discuss HERE.

That ‘X’ prefix denotes support for eXtended Frequency Range (XFR) which allows a number of the CPU’s cores to operate at up to 1 multiplier bin higher if thermal and power threshold budgets are not saturated. The main difference between the 1700X and 1800X is related to operating frequency. The 1800X is essentially a cherry-picked chip that fits a more desirable voltage-frequency curve and can be expected to overclock higher than its 1700X counterpart.

AMD’s SenseMI is used on all Ryzen 7 CPUs and the entire Ryzen product stack has unlocked multipliers that can be utilised with the correct motherboard. 20MB of L2+L3 cache is available.

Now for the performance numbers shown by AMD. These numbers are using systems chosen and built by AMD and should therefore be interpreted with an element of caution before third party test data is available. However, many of the demos were shown in real time and I had chance to validate and run some of the demo benchmarks myself using systems in AMD’s showcase room.

To put it simply, the 8C16T, 3.6/4.0GHz, 95W TDP Ryzen 7 1800X manages to beat the 8C16T, 3.2/3.7GHz, 140W TDP Core i7-6900K in Cinebench multi-threaded performance. Furthermore, both CPUs are roughly equal in terms of Cinebench single-threaded performance (which puts Skylake architecture at an estimated 5-10% higher IPC performance than Zen). That $499 Ryzen 7 CPU can hang with, and outperform, an Intel chip more than twice its price.

Handbrake transcoding was also 10 seconds (around 14%) faster on the AMD chip when using AMD’s video file and conversion settings. AMD also ran Sniper Elite 4 at 4K and showed performance to be similar between the Broadwell-E chip and AMD’s Ryzen part. Based on Handbrake and Cinebench results, AMD is saying that Ryzen 7 1800X is the fastest 8-core desktop CPU on the market.

The $399 Ryzen 7 1700X takes on the $425 Intel Core i7-6800K and manages to beat in Cinebench multi-threaded by more than 35% in AMD’s test. Moving down to the cheapest Ryzen 7 chip, the $329 1700 is significantly faster than a comparable $350 Core i7-7700K in multi-threaded applications such as Cinebench rendering.

Just to reiterate the performance numbers being shown off by AMD, a $499 CPU is outperforming Intel’s second-fastest consumer chip at less than half the price. The $399 Ryzen 7 1700X is faster than Intel’s competing 6C12T Core i7-6800K option, and the 65W TDP Ryzen 7 1700 at $329 outperforms Core i7-7700K in multi-threaded workloads (though single-threaded performance at the level of Skylake architecture is very unlikely from the current generation of Zen micro-architecture). These points emphasise the suggestion of Ryzen causing disruption in the marketplace.

System integrators such as Overclockers UK and PC Specialist will have Ryzen-powered systems available from the March 2nd launch day, as will a double-digit number of other system builders (worldwide). More than 82 AM4-platform motherboards will be available on launch from the likes of ASRock, ASUS, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI (though there was no sign of any mini-ITX motherboards). AMD will also be launching the new Wraith coolers which include an RGB-equipped flagship part designed to handle the 95W TDP Ryzen CPUs that system integrators can purchase (but not end-users).

The final summary points are:

  • Ryzen 7 is 8 cores, 16 threads for the 3 SKUs.
  • Rated clock speeds range across the 3GHz spectrum and push into 4.1GHz for the flagship 1800X.
  • Pricing is significantly lower than performance-comparable Intel chips, based on AMD’s performance numbers – Ryzen 7 1800X (3.6/4.0GHz, XFR) is $499, Ryzen 7 1700X (3.4/3.8GHz, XFR) is $399, Ryzen 7 1700 (3.0/3.7GHz, 65W TDP) is $329.
  • Pre-orders start February 22nd 6PM UK time with the official release date being March 2nd (likely to be March 3rd delivery date for pre-orders).
  • The new RGB AMD Wraith cooler will be bundled with Ryzen chips (but not all SKUs and not the highest-end ones).

AMD CEO, Dr Lisa Su, said that the team “could not be more proud of Ryzen”. AMD has shown a large amount of positive data and performance metrics for Ryzen. And with lower core count and mobile Ryzen chips launching later this year, AMD is not taking its foot off the gas. Our March 2nd review will show how Ryzen 7 performs against Intel’s competitors in a wide range of benchmarks and usage scenarios.

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KitGuru Says: A promising indication of Ryzen performance has been shown by AMD. Are you waiting eagerly for third-party test results to find out exactly how the CPU performs? KitGuru will be here very soon to show you real world performance.

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