Snippets from well-known leakers are suggesting that 2024 goes to be an thrilling 12 months for CPU lovers, as AMD’s forthcoming Zen 5 and Zen 5c architectures appear like they will be pushing core counts to new data. The subsequent collection of EPYC server chips might even have as many as 192 cores, 384 threads in a single package deal.
That is in response to the same old cohort of dependable leakers, InstLatX64, Kepler_L2, and Harukaze5719 (through Guru3D), who posted their claims on a Twitter thread. If a number of the phrases are a bit complicated, then let me clarify—AMD’s CPUs have a number of cores, all sharing a standard slice of L3 cache, in a bunch known as a CCX (Core CompleX). The chiplet that homes the CCX is named a CCD (Core Complicated Die) and accommodates one or two CCXs, relying on the era of structure.
The primary design to be set out like this, Zen 2, has two four-core CCXs per CCD. Desktop Ryzen fashions, such because the Ryzen 9 3950X, have two CCDs beneath the warmth spreader, for a complete of 16 cores, 32 threads. AMD’s Zen 2 EPYC chips have as much as 4 CCDs, for a most of 32 cores, 64 threads.
That modified barely for Zen 3 and for these chips, the CCX includes eight cores. Ryzen fashions nonetheless topped out at two CCDs (16 cores, 32 threads) however AMD elevated the restrict for Zen 3 EPYC processors, which might have as much as eight CCDs (64 cores, 128 threads). The present Zen 4 structure is precisely the identical however final 12 months AMD launched a compact model of that design known as Zen 4c.
The discount in die space taken up by the CCXs meant that two of those might be packed into every CCD chiplet, so although Zen 4c EPYC processors are nonetheless restricted to eight CCDs, the general package deal is residence to 128 cores, 256 threads.
And now it seems like AMD goes to push the core rely restrict even additional, with EPYC fashions topping out at 12 CCDs for a staggering 192 cores, 384 threads. There isn’t any signal that Zen 5 Ryzen chips could have greater than 16 cores however you by no means know, as AMD might really feel that it might steal a few of Intel’s thunder by providing a desktop CPU with greater than 24 cores, the quantity within the Core i9 14900K.
| Structure | Cores per CCX | CCXs per CCD | Max variety of CCDs | Max core / thread rely |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zen 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 64 / 128 |
| Zen 4 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 64 / 128 |
| Zen 4c | 8 | 2 | 8 | 128 / 256 |
| Zen 5 | 8 | 1 | 16 | 128 / 256 |
| Zen 5c | 16 | 1 | 12 | 192 / 384 |
| Zen 6 | 32? | 1? | 8? | 256 / 512? |
Harukaze5719 and Kepler_L2 additionally declare that Zen 6, which continues to be within the growth section, could have as much as 32 cores per CCD, in addition to smaller eight-core and 16-core CCD variants.
Gaming PCs clearly do not want as many CPU cores as that, partly as a result of the most recent consoles all have eight-core, 16-thread processors, however largely as a result of video games simply do not lend themselves to being closely multithreaded. You are higher off utilizing a CPU that has excessive clock speeds and a pile of low latency cache to hurry issues alongside, similar to the wonderful Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
Workstations and servers, although, are a special kettle of fish, and there are many functions the place you may throw as many cores and threads as you may them, they usually’ll nonetheless be wanting extra. By way of pure core rely, AMD has Intel properly and actually beat within the server market, as the most important Xeon processor you should purchase (the Xeon Platinum 8592+) ‘solely’ has 64 cores, 128 threads. AMD’s EPYC 9754 breezes previous these counts with 128 cores, 256 threads.
If Zen 5 and 5c are going to lift the bar once more, then Intel might discover itself shedding extra floor to AMD within the extremely worthwhile knowledge heart trade. This 12 months’s Computex occasion is barely a month away now, so it in all probability will not be lengthy earlier than AMD spills all of the beans on its new designs.
