AMD "Zen" CPU Prototypes Tested, "Meet all Expectations"

MxPhenom 216 · Nov 3, 2015

So is Zen going to be on a new socket? Also a new chipset to go with it with native USB 3.0 and PCIe 3.0 support, and all the new current stuff that has been going into Intel boards?

john_ · Nov 3, 2015

It is 4 years from the introduction of Bulldozer architecture and from that day until today I still can't believe their colossal stupidity.

ThomasDM · Nov 3, 2015

Saw the news a couple of days ago. The source is basically some random guy on the Internet claiming he talked to someone who allegedly worked at AMD and heard from an ex-colleague that Zen is doing great.

Here's the original source:

By: lurker (lurker9000.delete@this.realemail.mail), October 29, 2015 3:12 pm

Regarding Zen performance, a guy who worked for AMD (at least his linkedin profile says that) and who, as he claims, worked on designing L2 cache for Zen and K12 said that their focus was to be competitive against Intel. He no longer works there but apparently his old colleague who still works there said Zen chips have already been tested and so far "it has met all expectation" and they "haven't found any significant bottlenecks". Apparently they haven't finalized the specifications for the clocks and TDP, but their partners in server market are "very excited".
It's not much detail, but I think if there was a problem from having only 2 AGUs, it would count as a significant bottleneck.
Also this is my first post ever, I just usually lurk here and this is the first time I have something useful to add to the discussion. Please no bully.

http://www.realworldtech.com/forum/?threadid=154302&curpostid=154823

Fiery · Nov 3, 2015

MxPhenom 216 said:
So is Zen going to be on a new socket? Also a new chipset to go with it with native USB 3.0 and PCIe 3.0 support, and all the new current stuff that has been going into Intel boards?

Yes, correct. AM4 is set to be rolled out in cca. 6 months from now, with the Bristol Ridge APU that still uses Excavator cores. Bristol Ridge is basically a desktop Carrizo on steroids. How much steroids? Hard to tell at this point, but I wouldn't expect much of a performance gain over the current Carrizo. Then, around the end of next year Summit Ridge CPU, using up to 8 Zen cores should be rolling out as a high-end desktop offering -- competing with the likes of Broadwell-E. Then, in the middle of 2017 we should see the first APUs using Zen cores, most likely 4 Zen cores, as Raven Ridge. All those 3 processors use the same AM4 platform with the Promontory chipset (well, FCH, so a single-chip chipset, just like Intel PCHs).

AMD will also roll out some very interesting many-core (16? 24? 32? we'll see) server CPUs as well, probably only in 2017, along with a Zen-inspired ARM core based APU for Android devices. Exciting times ahead, but it all will ride on how great Zen performs. It will make or break AMD.

Oh, and let's not forget Stoney (or Stoney Ridge), a low-end APU that will also arrive in the new AM4 socket (and also BGA). Imagine a Carrizo cut in half, that will be basically it. The point? Hard to tell. Probably some very low-power parts for ultrabooks and tablets, taking over the role of Jaguar/Puma core based APUs...

RejZoR · Nov 3, 2015

While I did jump to X99 platform early and didn't wait for Zen, I'm happy Zen is turning out the way AMD wanted. Because that's good for us consumers and AMD in general. Looking forward for the benchmarks

AsRock · Nov 3, 2015

dorsetknob said:
I would Sooner Wait for Information from sources not connected to AMD publicity machine its been proven not to be Trusted

Sadly lately only to true.

DeadSkull · Nov 3, 2015

Hopefully Intel won't throw a pansy fit and throw billions at OEM pc makers forcing them to ignore AMD chips.

That's what happened when K7 and K8 lineup was dominating. AMD couldn't get any marketshare because all the OEM PC makers were forced to enter exclusionary contracts with Intel, aka Intel pulled a Mafia move.

RejZoR · Nov 3, 2015

And same happened with K7 and same happened with AXP's and same happened with Athlon64's etc etc. That's why AMD never really gets any decent share which is load of crocked BS. Still, at the end of the day, we face the price/performance ratio dilemma and that's why I have an Intel CPU in my PC even though I sometimes absolutely hate Intel for what they do.

cdawall · Nov 3, 2015

DeadSkull said:
Hopefully Intel won't throw a pansy fit and throw billions at OEM pc makers forcing them to ignore AMD chips.

That's what happened when K6 was dominating. AMD couldn't get any marketshare because all the OEM PC makers were forced to enter exclusionary contracts with Intel, aka Intel pulled a Mafia move.

That issue was a lot more prevalent during K7 and K8 days. K6 1/2/3 were all very close performers to intel and k6-2 honestly sucked.

Dave65 · Nov 3, 2015

didn't we hear the same hype from AMD when Bulldozer was on the horizon?
I hope for AMD's sake it is a true winner..

rooivalk · Nov 3, 2015

DeadSkull said:
Hopefully Intel won't throw a pansy fit and throw billions at OEM pc makers forcing them to ignore AMD chips.

That's what happened when K6 was dominating. AMD couldn't get any marketshare because all the OEM PC makers were forced to enter exclusionary contracts with Intel, aka Intel pulled a Mafia move.

I don't remember K6 dominating?

Maybe the price? but Celeron 300A @ 450Mhz seems a better deal.

Dent1 · Nov 3, 2015

rooivalk said:
I don't remember K6 dominating?

Maybe the price? but Celeron 300A @ 450Mhz seems a better deal.

Yeah because 1 old chart with 1 specific game proves your point.

Tom's Hardware 1997:

"The K6 233 will be priced lower than the Pentium MMX 200 and it's faster than this CPU in almost every respect"

"The current choice is only 'K6 or Pentium Pro' . Even when the Pentium II comes out officially (I know you can buy it already, but you can't buy boards, haha) it will be much too expensive for its little performance increase over the Pentium Pro."

"The Pentium Pro is a very good CPU and its internal L2 cache is making it unique. However the K6 is still even cheaper than that, it is just as fast"

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel,22-10.html

The Celeron 300A came out a full year after the K6. By then AMD was readying the K6-2.

buildzoid · Nov 3, 2015

MxPhenom 216 said:
So is Zen going to be on a new socket? Also a new chipset to go with it with native USB 3.0 and PCIe 3.0 support, and all the new current stuff that has been going into Intel boards?

Kaveri support PCI-e 3.0 natively.

Ferrum Master · Nov 3, 2015

Dent1 said:
Yeah because 1 old chart with 1 specific game proves your point.

I also don't remember it dominating really. OK Thunderbird was the first 1GHz stone but truly K8 was the first one to mop the floor with P4.

First of all no motherboards could hold a candle to i440BX and later i815, only when nforce2 came AMD got a good performing chipset.

cdawall · Nov 3, 2015

Dent1 said:
Yeah because 1 old chart with 1 specific game proves your point.

Tom's Hardware 1997:

"The K6 233 will be priced lower than the Pentium MMX 200 and it's faster than this CPU in almost every respect"

"The current choice is only 'K6 or Pentium Pro' . Even when the Pentium II comes out officially (I know you can buy it already, but you can't buy boards, haha) it will be much too expensive for its little performance increase over the Pentium Pro."

"The Pentium Pro is a very good CPU and its internal L2 cache is making it unique. However the K6 is still even cheaper than that, it is just as fast"

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel,22-10.html

One CPU? K6-2 sucked balls. Intel didn't really limit anything from AMD back then it was k7/k8 when there were issues.

Dent1 · Nov 3, 2015

cdawall said:
One CPU? K6-2 sucked balls. Intel didn't really limit anything from AMD back then it was k7/k8 when there were issues.

My point is the K6s were pretty dominate. It wasn't the sided Intel affair we see today.

cdawall · Nov 3, 2015

Dent1 said:
My point is the K6s were pretty dominate. It wasn't the sided Intel affair we see today.

K7 and K8 dominated. K6-2 wasn't really competitive and K6-3 wasn't stable.

DeadSkull · Nov 3, 2015

rooivalk said:
I don't remember K6 dominating?

Maybe the price? but Celeron 300A @ 450Mhz seems a better deal.

My bad.

K7 and K8 so from 01 to 06 when Core architecture first showed up AMD had excellent competitive performance.

lilhasselhoffer · Nov 3, 2015

This is PR fluff.

Tell me objectively:
1) What these expectations were.
2) What percentage of the initial goal is sufficient to "meet" them.
3) Quantify how production parts will match to the limited sample batches.

The entire article is AMD trying to say that Zen will be amazing. They're promising us this after they said the same about bulldozer, and they think we're stupid enough to believe it without a single question. I'd be insulted, if I had any respect for the AMD PR department left.

I'm hoping that manufacturing and engineering can pull off a genuine win here. Lord knows, we don't need another two generations of Intel offerings that make very little progress. That said, I'm not dumb enough to take this at face value. I'll only accept it once AMD demonstrates some independent verification of their PR.

cdawall · Nov 3, 2015

Considering who designed it I will be astounded if they are a flop for performance.

GhostRyder · Nov 3, 2015

Assimilator said:
AMD CPU engineer: "It didn't catch fire when we applied power."
AMD CPU engineering manager: "That's a wrap folks, start shipping 'em!"
AMD marketing: "To put a positive spin on the product we're going to focus on its fireproof capabilities in our brochures."
AMD board: "RAMP UP TO FULL PRODUCTION IMMEDIATELY!!!"

Someone's still mad they only have 3.5gb of VRAM.

cdawall said:
Considering who designed it I will be astounded if they are a flop for performance.

I agree, mostly that this should be a competitive product especially if the price is right which is what they really need in the future. They need a chip that more OEM's will start putting in machines again that can offer consumers real advantages over other chips more than a better integrated GPU (Which is mostly only better on the mobile market).

Dent1 · Nov 3, 2015

I hope AMD doesn't fall into the trap in thinking high performance will solve all their problems. AMD's biggest issue is internal, too much spending, borrowing and repaying loans at high interest. Their second biggest issue is the failure to capture a wide audience marketing wise, and then thirdly its CPU performance. They need to find a way of bringing all these changes together.

HumanSmoke · Nov 3, 2015

lilhasselhoffer said:
This is PR fluff.

Yes, but by "leaking" through anonymous "sources", AMD have plausible deniability. The company have played it this way since the whole Barcelona fake benchmarks and overoptimistic hype debacle. Much easier to feed rumour sites and watch social media spread the gospel. You can pretty much guarantee that official performance expectations will be few and rather vague. The "leaked" performance will however be off the charts. Signal-to-noise ratio should be predictably very low.

A good indicator of the architectures actual performance will be HPC/Server/Data Center contracts being signed (or at least MoU's being announced) well in advance of any launch, just as big iron companies queuing up to jettison AMD ahead of Zambesi/Vishera's entrance was a portent of their relative attributes.

Musaab · Nov 3, 2015

Maybe AMD is rely going back? Maybe we can see K7/K8 era again? Maybe we are looking a K9? Maybe Lisa Su is not BSing like the other AMD CEOs. I am waiting.

alucasa · Nov 3, 2015

Well, it would be nice to build an AMD rig. I think it's been years... Actually, I haven't touched AMD after i7-920. I am stuck with Nvidia for GPU tho due to CUDA rendering.

System Name	Ryzen Reflection
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master
Cooling	2x EK PE360 \| TechN AM4 AMD Block Black \| EK Quantum Vector Trinity GPU Nickel + Plexi
Memory	Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem 2x16GB B-Die 3600 @ 14-14-14-28-42-288-2T 1.45v
Video Card(s)	Zotac AMP HoloBlack RTX 3080Ti 12G \| 950mV 1950Mhz
Storage	WD SN850 500GB (OS) \| Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (Games_1) \| Samsung 970 Evo 1TB (Games_2)
Display(s)	Asus XG27AQM 240Hz G-Sync Fast-IPS \| Gigabyte M27Q-P 165Hz 1440P IPS \| Asus 24" IPS (portrait mode)
Case	Lian Li PC-011D XL \| Custom cables by Cablemodz
Audio Device(s)	FiiO K7 \| Sennheiser HD650 + Beyerdynamic FOX Mic
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850
Mouse	Razer Viper v2 Pro
Keyboard	Corsair K65 Plus 75% Wireless - USB Mode
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit

System Name	3 desktop systems: Gaming / Internet / HTPC
Processor	Ryzen 5 5500 / Ryzen 5 4600G / FX 6300 (12 years latter got to see how bad Bulldozer is)
Motherboard	MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max (1) / MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max (2) / Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3
Cooling	Νoctua U12S / Segotep T4 / Snowman M-T6
Memory	32GB - 16GB G.Skill RIPJAWS 3600+16GB G.Skill Aegis 3200 / 16GB JUHOR / 16GB Kingston 2400MHz (DDR3)
Video Card(s)	ASRock RX 6600 + GT 710 (PhysX)/ Vega 7 integrated / Radeon RX 580
Storage	NVMes, ONLY NVMes/ NVMes, SATA Storage / NVMe boot(Clover), SATA storage
Display(s)	Philips 43PUS8857/12 UHD TV (120Hz, HDR, FreeSync Premium) ---- 19'' HP monitor + BlitzWolf BW-V5
Case	Sharkoon Rebel 12 / CoolerMaster Elite 361 / Xigmatek Midguard
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Chieftec 850W / Silver Power 400W / Sharkoon 650W
Mouse	CoolerMaster Devastator III Plus / CoolerMaster Devastator / Logitech
Keyboard	CoolerMaster Devastator III Plus / CoolerMaster Devastator / Logitech
Software	Windows 10 / Windows 10&Windows 11 / Windows 10

System Name	Main rig
Processor	Intel Core i7-6700K (stock)
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z170X-UD3
Cooling	something big :)
Memory	4x 8GB HyperX DDR4-2133
Video Card(s)	Asus Strix-GTX960-DC2-2GD5
Storage	Intel 750 400GB NVMe + Samsung 830 512GB SSD + Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB SATA3
Display(s)	Dell 1905FP
Case	Cooler Master Stacker
Audio Device(s)	some integrated HD Audio
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro 600W
Mouse	Logitech G400
Keyboard	Logitech Internet Navigator SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) + AIDA64 Engineer :-)
Benchmark Scores	who cares? ;-)

System Name	Max LGA775 SLI
Processor	Q9650 @ 4.401Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte EP45-UD3P
Cooling	NH-D14
Memory	G.Skill DDR2 "Pi" 9600
Video Card(s)	GTX 285 SLI (756/1692/1350)
Storage	Crucial C300 128Gb SSD, 4 x 1Tb HD
Display(s)	Samsung T260, T260HD
Case	HAF 932
Power Supply	Antec TPQ-1200
Software	Windows 7 x64 Ultimate

System Name	All the cores
Processor	2990WX
Motherboard	Asrock X399M
Cooling	CPU-XSPC RayStorm Neo, 2x240mm+360mm, D5PWM+140mL, GPU-2x360mm, 2xbyski, D4+D5+100mL
Memory	4x16GB G.Skill 3600
Video Card(s)	(2) EVGA SC BLACK 1080Ti's
Storage	2x Samsung SM951 512GB, Samsung PM961 512GB
Display(s)	Dell UP2414Q 3840X2160@60hz
Case	Caselabs Mercury S5+pedestal
Audio Device(s)	Fischer HA-02->Fischer FA-002W High edition/FA-003/Jubilate/FA-011 depending on my mood
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime 1200w
Mouse	Thermaltake Theron, Steam controller
Keyboard	Keychron K8
Software	W10P

AMD "Zen" CPU Prototypes Tested, "Meet all Expectations"

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer

john_

ThomasDM

Fiery

FinalWire / AIDA64 Developer

RejZoR

AsRock

TPU addict

DeadSkull

RejZoR

cdawall

where the hell are my stars

Dave65

rooivalk

Dent1

buildzoid

Ferrum Master

cdawall

where the hell are my stars

Dent1

cdawall

where the hell are my stars

DeadSkull

lilhasselhoffer

cdawall

where the hell are my stars

GhostRyder

Dent1

HumanSmoke

Musaab

alucasa

System Name	Daves
Processor	AMD Ryzen 3900x
Motherboard	AsRock X570 Taichi
Cooling	Enermax LIQMAX III 360
Memory	32 GiG Team Group B Die 3600
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 5700 xt Red Devil
Storage	Crucial MX 500 SSD and Intel P660 NVME 2TB for games
Display(s)	Acer 144htz 27in. 2560x1440
Case	Phanteks P600S
Audio Device(s)	N/A
Power Supply	Corsair RM 750
Mouse	EVGA
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe
Software	Windows 10 Pro

Processor	Ryzen 3600
Motherboard	B450
Cooling	Scythe Ashura
Memory	Team Dark Z 3200 8GB x2
Video Card(s)	MSI 390
Storage	WD 2TB + WD Green 640GB
Display(s)	Samsung 40JU6600 @ 200% scaling
Case	Coolermaster CM 690 II
Audio Device(s)	Fiio E10K, Graham Slee Solo II SRG, Sennheiser HD6XX, AKG K7XX, ATH WS1100is
Power Supply	Corsair HX650
Mouse	Rival 700
Keyboard	Corsair K70, Razer Tarantula

System Name	My baby
Processor	Athlon II X4 620 @ 3.5GHz, 1.45v, NB @ 2700Mhz, HT @ 2700Mhz - 24hr prime95 stable
Motherboard	Asus M4A785TD-V EVO
Cooling	Sonic Tower Rev 2 with 120mm Akasa attached, Akasa @ Front, Xilence Red Wing 120mm @ Rear
Memory	8 GB G.Skills 1600Mhz
Video Card(s)	ATI ASUS Crossfire 5850
Storage	Crucial MX100 SATA 2.5 SSD
Display(s)	Lenovo ThinkVision 27" (LEN P27h-10)
Case	Antec VSK 2000 Black Tower Case
Audio Device(s)	Onkyo TX-SR309 Receiver, 2x Kef Cresta 1, 1x Kef Center 20c
Power Supply	OCZ StealthXstream II 600w, 4x12v/18A, 80% efficiency.
Software	Windows 10 Professional 64-bit

System Name	TITAN Slayer / CPUCannon / MassFX
Processor	i7 5960X @ 4.6Ghz / i7 3960x @5.0Ghz / FX6350 @ 4.?Ghz
Motherboard	Rampage V Extreme / Rampage IV Extreme / MSI 970 Gaming
Cooling	Phanteks PHTC14PE 2.5K 145mm TRs / Custom waterloop / Phanteks PHTC14PE + 3K 140mm Noctuas
Memory	Crucial 2666 11-13-13-25 1.45V / G.skill RipjawsX 2400 10-12-12-34 1.7V / Crucial 2133 9-9-9-27 1.7V
Video Card(s)	3 Fury X in CF / R9 Fury 3840 cores 1145/570 1.3V / Nothing ATM
Storage	500GB Crucial SSD and 3TB WD Black / WD 1TB Black(OS) + WD 3TB Green / WD 1TB Blue
Display(s)	LG 29UM67 80Hz/Asus mx299q 2560x1080 @ 84Hz / Asus VX239 1920x1080 @60hz
Case	Dismatech easy v3.0 / Xigmatek Alfar (Open side panel)
Audio Device(s)	M-audio M-track / realtek ALC 1150
Power Supply	EVGA G2 1600W / CoolerMaster V1000 / Seasonic 620 M12-II
Mouse	Mouse in review process/Razer Naga Epic 2011/Razer Naga 2014
Keyboard	Keyboard in review process / Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2014/Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2011
Software	Windows 7 Ultimate / Windows 7 ultimate / Windows 7 ultimate
Benchmark Scores	cinebench 15.41 3960x @ 5.3ghz Wprime32m 3.352 3960x @ 5.25ghz Super PI 32m: 6m 42s 472ms @5.25ghz

System Name	HELLSTAR
Processor	AMD RYZEN 9 5950X
Motherboard	ASUS Strix X570-E
Cooling	2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock.
Memory	4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX. Water block. Crossflashed.
Storage	Optane 900P[Fedora] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO+SN560 1TB(W11)
Display(s)	Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO
Audio Device(s)	SMSL RAW-MDA1 DAC
Power Supply	Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk
Keyboard	Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch
Software	FEDORA 41

System Name	SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor	i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard	Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
Cooling	RX 360mm + 140mm Custom Loop / Dell Stock
Memory	Corsair RGB 16gb DDR4 3000 CL 16 / DDR3 128gb 16 x 8gb
Video Card(s)	GTX Titan XP (2025mhz) / Asus GTX 950 (No Power Connector)
Storage	Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s)	Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case	Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
Audio Device(s)	Realtec ALC1150 (On board)
Power Supply	Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Logitech G19S
Software	Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016

System Name	MoneySink
Processor	2600K @ 4.8
Motherboard	P8Z77-V
Cooling	AC NexXxos XT45 360, RayStorm, D5T+XSPC tank, Tygon R-3603, Bitspower
Memory	16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600C8
Video Card(s)	GTX 780 SLI (EVGA SC ACX + Giga GHz Ed.)
Storage	Kingston HyperX SSD (128) OS, WD RE4 (1TB), RE2 (1TB), Cav. Black (2 x 500GB), Red (4TB)
Display(s)	Achieva Shimian QH270-IPSMS (2560x1440) S-IPS
Case	NZXT Switch 810
Audio Device(s)	onboard Realtek yawn edition
Power Supply	Seasonic X-1050
Software	Win8.1 Pro
Benchmark Scores	3.5 litres of Pale Ale in 18 minutes.