TechPowerUp Interviews David McAfee, GM of Client Channel Business, On the State of AMD Ryzen and Radeon

[Tek-Check]

The link on the cpu side has been Gen5 x4 from the 7000 series. They never developed the chipset to make full use of the link. Maybe it's too expensive to make it 5.0

Yes, the Gen5 PHY link has been there on IOD, of course, but not used as Gen5. At some point, the chipset itself will need to be upgraded with at least one extra x4 link, as daisy-chaining chipsets wastes x8 lanes. New chipset will most likely come to AM6.

As a minimum, I expect to see one more x4 Gen5 link on a new IOD, which will be on N4, to alleviate current x4 link used for USB4 controller. So, x32 Gen5 lanes on Zen6 means GPU+2 NVMe+USB4+chipset link, which is more mature solution than now.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Somehow I missed this entirely and caught wind of it on Reddit of all places. I stopped using Reddit around the time I joined this forum. And it's absolute cinema. I won't kick the hornet's nest any longer, because I know I have driven some of the AMD fans on this place to the brink and they're out for blood, so I'll just drop this here, peruse it and see the takes of AMD's own core fanbase.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/1ieq50f

 

[Tek-Check]

I think they might go a different direction and might be referring to AM6. Maybe they realised that the threaripper/epyc form factor is too big and expensive to maintain for workstations after launching the SP6 socket. Maybe and hopefully AM6 bridges that gap between the "basic" desktop features from AM5 and workstation/edge server needs of SP5/SP6

Possibly, we don't know at the moment. He mentioned the 'consistency of platforms' without addressing the elephant in the room - new IOD on Zen6.

There will be a new IOD on TSMC's N4 for Zen6 CPUs. This means they will introduce new hardware and connectivity options before transitioning to AM6 platform. This will allow them to trial and troubleshoot any new features on the mature platform before rolling out this IOD back again on future 'Zen7' and AM6.

As you can see below, IOD on Zen2/Zen3 had 32 Gen4 PCIe lanes (SerDes PHY), but only 24 were enabled on AM4 platform. On AM5, they could not pack all 28 Gen5 lanes into the top row and there is one x4 PHY below. This should change on the new IOD due to logic shrink, and we might see both more and all PCIe lanes back into the same row.

IOD on Zen 2/3​	IOD on Zen 4/5​

New IOD will increase in transistor density due to shrink from N6 to N4, so that more functional blocks can be etched on it. Zen6 IOD will most likely have standard upgrades:

1. new, faster Infinity Fabric PHY. It will be either classic upgrade to 'GMI4' or a new solution used on Strix Halo die
2. more PCIe lanes, hopefully one extra x4, in total 32 lanes, just like IOD on Zen2/3 had
3. new and faster IMC, possibly ~6800 MT/s
4. new iGPU with either 2CUs or 4CUs; RDNA4?
5. new VCN media engine with better encoders and codec support
6. new DCN display engine; native UHBR20 support for DP80 Gbps
7. integrated USB4 PHY (like in Strix Point) to free up x4 link for another SSD (Intel integrated two TB4 ports into Arrow Lake silicon)

That's about it. The above would be the best case scenario.

Somehow I missed this entirely and caught wind of it on Reddit of all places. I stopped using Reddit around the time I joined this forum. And it's absolute cinema. I won't kick the hornet's nest any longer, because I know I have driven some of the AMD fans on this place to the brink and they're out for blood, so I'll just drop this here, peruse it and see the takes of AMD's own core fanbase.

What are you looking for with such comment? I am confused.

 

[Dr. Dro]

What are you looking for with such comment? I am confused.

Writing what I usually do without using my own words in order to prove a point. Criticism ranging from TPU's weak questioning, to AMD's conduct and even the fact that the people who always step in to defend are putting the "I'm tired boss" face by now.

Many have started to argue that I have "hatred" and that I'm running a "crusade" while denying that there is a problem. A problem that is very much real. But every time I address it, flinging starts. Maybe I should just stop talking about it and let the whole thing crumble under its own weight.

 

[Hecate91]

What are you looking for with such comment? I am confused.

They're just looking to malign AMD as usual, its amusing for someone that bragged about buying a 5090.
On the topic, not much of an interview besides some CPU discussion, I can understand people want to know about GPU's but it's been obvious AMD doesn't want to give Nvidia any upper hand with any details.

 

[Dr. Dro]

They're just looking to malign AMD as usual, its amusing for someone that bragged about buying a 5090.
On the topic, not much of an interview besides some CPU discussion, I can understand people want to know about GPU's but it's been obvious AMD doesn't want to give Nvidia any upper hand with any details.

I don't need to malign AMD, AMD is... inconsequential to me, especially since I already made my decision and acted upon it. They are already maligning themselves. Look at this interview. It's an indefensible cop-out. It is deflection after non-answer. This guy managed to speak without saying anything, it's mind-blowing. Why do they just keep on self-inflicting these wounds?

Really, I want to hear your justification for this... thing. Like, does he even believe the things he said? More importantly, do you believe the things he said? Not that I'm expecting an answer to this, of course. If you run even the slightest risk of sounding that you agree with any point that doesn't back AMD, you will ignore the post or attempt to discredit it.

 

[Tek-Check]

If you run even the slightest risk of sounding that you agree with any point that doesn't back AMD, you will ignore the post or attempt to discredit it.

Dude... we are grown ups here. If you really want to hear someone's opinion on anything, you will need to give them freedom to express themselves in the first place, regardless of whether you agree with them or not.

We are not going to play here by your imposed rules because you do not sound as if you came here to actually hear various opinions. Pass. Moving on.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Dude... we are grown ups here. If you really want to hear someone's opinion on anything, you will need to give them freedom to express themselves in the first place, regardless of whether you agree with them or not.

We are not going to play here by your imposed rules because you do not sound as if you came here to actually hear various opinions. Pass. Moving on.

Uh, I post "Please explain yourself" you read "You're shutting us down!". How did you even come to this conclusion? Anyway, strictly on topic: this interview is downright embarrassing.

 

[Hecate91]

AMD is... inconsequential to me

And yet you take every chance to bash on every AMD thread, even though you don't care.

If you run even the slightest risk of sounding that you agree with any point that doesn't back AMD, you will ignore the post or attempt to discredit it.

I am welcome to my own opinion here, as is everyone else actually discussing the topic, instead of looking to crap on your least favorite brand while being dismissive of others you could at least be mature here.
Also, no I don't really care what he said, it's just a PR post on upcoming products.