The ever-popular YouTube ‘leak’ channel, Moore’s Law is Dead, has recently shared some technical details and performance expectations for AMD’s upcoming Zen 5 and Zen 6 CPU architectures. According to the channel, these new architectures are expected to bring more modest performance gains compared to the previous rumors. In this article, we will delve into the details and analyze what these new architectures have to offer.
AMD’s current Ryzen 7000 CPUs utilize the Zen 4 architecture, which was considered a relatively modest improvement over Zen 3. Zen 4 offered an average of 13% performance gains, in terms of IPC (instructions per clock), over Zen 3. However, Zen 5, codenamed Nirvana, is projected to deliver only 10% to 15% IPC gains, according to Moore’s Law is Dead. While these gains are worthwhile and can compound over time, they do not appear to be as exciting as the previous generations.
Looking even further into the future, Zen 6 is expected to be a more ‘derivative’ architecture, adding another 10% IPC gains on top of Zen 5. This would result in a cumulative IPC gain of 26.5% from Zen 4 to Zen 6, assuming the top end of the scale for Zen 5. Again, these gains are not groundbreaking but can contribute to overall performance improvements.
While IPC is an essential metric for CPU performance, there are other aspects that should be considered. Moore’s Law is Dead mentions various upgrades and enhancements in the leaked information. These include an increase from 6 to 8-wide instruction dispatch, six ALUs (Arithmetic Logic Units) per core instead of four, and significant improvements in AVX floating-point performance. While the leaked details suggest these upgrades, the forecasted IPC gains still remain relatively modest.
One notable change mentioned in the leaks is the introduction of a new 16-core complex. AMD’s current core complexes top out at eight cores, so this would be a significant upgrade. However, it is uncertain whether the new 16-core complex will consist of full Zen 5 cores or smaller, low-power Zen 5c cores. Additionally, Zen 6 is rumored to feature 32-core complexes, but the exact composition remains unclear. It is possible that these larger core complexes may be reserved for lighter weight c-class cores, as they would need to be scaled down for lower core count chips.
Another intriguing detail mentioned in the leaks is the introduction of new packaging techniques for Zen 6. Previous Zen-series desktop CPUs utilized an IO die and up to two core complexes or compute dies laid out next to each other. However, Zen 6 is said to stack the compute dies on top of the IO die, aiming to reduce latency and match the performance of a single monolithic die for all components. It remains to be seen whether this packaging technique will deliver the promised benefits and what impact it will have on overall performance.
It’s important to note that the leaked information pertains to AMD’s Epic server CPUs, rather than Ryzen desktop chips. While the core complexes for Epic and Ryzen CPUs have typically been identical, there may be some differences in architecture and specifications for each platform. Additionally, AMD’s Zen ‘c’ cores are closer in performance to its full-power Zen cores compared to Intel’s Performance and Efficiency cores. These nuances should be taken into account when interpreting the leaked information and making comparisons.
The leaked details regarding AMD’s Zen 5 and Zen 6 CPU architectures suggest more modest performance gains compared to the previous generations. While IPC improvements are projected for both architectures, they are not as substantial as some of the rumors may have suggested. However, it is important to remember that these leaked specifications are subject to change, and the final CPUs that go on sale could differ in performance. As Zen 5 is expected to arrive next year, and Zen 6 in 2025 or 2026, it will be interesting to see how these architectures fare against Intel’s upcoming Arrow Lake CPUs, slated for release in the same timeframe.
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