An alleged company slide by motherboard maker GIGABYTE leaked a few interesting tidbits about the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" Socket AM5 desktop processor powered by the "Zen 5" microarchitecture. To begin with, we're getting our first confirmation that the "Zen 5" common CCD used on "Granite Ridge" desktop processors and future EPYC "Turin" server processors, is built on the 4 nm EUV foundry node by TSMC, an upgrade from the 5 nm EUV node that the "Zen 4" CCD is built on. This could be the same version of the TSMC N4 node that AMD had been using for its "Phoenix" and "Hawk Point" mobile processors.

AMD is likely carrying over the client I/O die (cIOD) from the "Raphael" processor. This is built on the TSMC 6 nm DUV node. It packs a basic iGPU based on RDNA 2 with 2 compute units; a dual-channel DDR5 memory controller, and a 28-lane PCIe Gen 5 root complex, besides some SoC connectivity. AMD is rumored to be increasing the native DDR5 speeds for "Granite Ridge," up from the DDR5-5200 JEDEC-standard native speed, and DDR5-6000 "sweetspot" speed of "Raphael," so the cIOD isn't entirely the same.

Der8auer has picked up Intel's latest TEC cooler, built in conjunction with EKWB, and unceremoniously plopped it right into an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU. Well, not completely unceremoniously - there were many accommodations that had to be made in order to achieve this. For one, as this is a solution designed specifically for Intel CPUs and sockets, Der8auer had to Frankenstein his way through a number of cooling parts to be able to adapt the TEC solution to the AM4 socket. Not only that, but Intel's TEC requires deep software control for it to work properly - software control which only works with Intel silicon, of course. Der8auer thus had to have a second machine running an Intel 10900K CPU to control the software on the Intel cryo cooler.

All in all, the results were interesting, to say the least. The 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X saw single-core-load CCD temperatures in the 90 °C department with the TEC solution disabled - which promptly dropped down to only 50 °C with the cryo cooler actually operating. With a game load, the 5959X achieved up to 5.050 GHz in single-cores on its automatic boost profile. The entire chip often boosted to 4.8 - 4.9 GHz on all cores at once (with variances between the CCDs) whilst under this cooling solution and workload. With the TEC operating in its unregulated mode - which means, with no considerations for CPU operating temperature and power usage for the cooling process - saw the Ryzen 9 5950X achieving 2 °C core temperature results, and boosted frequencies up to a staggering 5323 MHz on all cores - before crashing. An interesting piece of work which you catch on video after the break; one can rest assured that most PC cooling specialists are already working on their own TEC-based cooling solutions following Intel's achievement in this field.

It would seem that a number of players have received their Zen 3 samples, considering the amount of performance leaks that have surfaced just in the past two days. The new AMD Zen 3 processors carry a huge weight on their shoulders - demonstrating AMD's touted leadership in CPU performance in all metrics, whilst justifying their increased pricing against Zen 2 offerings. Many rivers of ink (and some tears) have flown in regards to pricing of the new AMD processors, so it all pertains to performance considerations on whether that pricing is justified or not.

Leaker extraordinaire TUM_APISAK has leaked some benchmarks on AMD's upcoming Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X CPUs - namely, in Geekbench 5. In this round of leaks - which are, admittedly, originating from two different systems), the 12-core, 24-thread AMD Ryzen 9 5900X scores 1605 points in single-core and 12869 in the Multi-core benchmarks. The 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X, on the other hand, scores 1575 points in single and 13605 points in Multi-core workloads. The Ryzen 9 5900X's higher base clocks may be responsible for the higher single-core score; however, the Ryzen 9 5959X pulls ahead - expectedly - in the Multi-core portion of the benchmark. Comparing scores between the Zen 3 5950X and the Zen-based 3950X (via AnandTech), which carry the same amount of cores, the 5950X offers a 18% and 12% advantage, respectively, in the single and multi-threaded tests - not a far cry from AMD's touted 19% IPC uplift.

AMD just released an update on their upcoming processor launches this year. First revealed at E3, just a few months ago, the Ryzen 9 3950X is the world's first processor to bring 16-cores and 32-threads to the consumer desktop space. The processor's boost clock is rated at "up to 4.7 GHz", which we might now actually see, thanks to an updated AGESA software that AMD released earlier this month. Base clock for this $749 processor is set at 3.5 GHz, and TDP is 105 W, with 72 MB cache. While AMD said "September" for Ryzen 9 3950X back at E3, it looks like the date got pushed back a little bit, to November, which really makes no difference, in the grand scheme of things.

The second big part of today's announcement is that AMD is indeed working on "Rome"-based third generation Threadripper processors (probably the industry's worst-kept secret), and that these CPUs will also be launching in November, right in time to preempt Intel from having any success with their upcoming Cascade Lake-X processors. Official information on AMD's new HEDT lineup is extremely sparse so far, but if we go by recent leaks, then we should expect new chipsets and up to 32-cores/64-threads.AMD's full statement is quoted below.

AMD is giving finishing touches to its 3rd generation Ryzen socket AM4 processor family which is slated for a Computex 2019 unveiling, followed by a possible E3 market availability. Based on the "Matisse" multi-chip module that combines up to two 8-core "Zen 2" chiplets with a 14 nm I/O controller die, these processors see a 50-100 percent increase in core-counts over the current generation. The Ryzen 5 series now includes 8-core/16-thread parts, the Ryzen 7 series chips are 12-core/24-thread, while the newly created Ryzen 9 series (designed to rival Intel Core i9 LGA115x), will include 16-core/32-thread chips.

Thai PC enthusiast TUM_APISAK confirmed the existence of the Ryzen 9 series having landed himself with an engineering sample of the 16-core/32-thread chip that ticks at 3.30 GHz with 4.30 GHz Precision Boost frequency. The infamous Adored TV leaks that drew the skeleton of AMD's 3rd generation Ryzen roadmap, referenced two desktop Ryzen 9 parts, the Ryzen 9 3800X and Ryzen 9 3850X. The 3800X is supposed to be clocked at 3.90 GHz with 4.70 GHz boost, with a TDP rating of 125W, while the 3850X tops the charts at 4.30 GHz base and a staggering 5.10 GHz boost. The rated TDP has shot up to 135W. We can now imagine why some motherboard vendors are selective with BIOS updates on some of their lower-end boards. AMD is probably maximizing the clock-speed headroom of these chips out of the box, to preempt Intel's "Comet Lake" 10-core/20-thread processor.

AMD announced its second-generation Ryzen Threadripper high-end desktop (HEDT) processor series, succeeding its lean and successful first-generation that disrupted much of Intel's Core X HEDT series, forcing Intel to open up new high-core-count (HCC) market segments beyond its traditional $1000 price-point. AMD's 16-core $999 1950X proved competitive with even Intel's 12-core and 14-core SKUs priced well above the $1200-mark; and now AMD looks to beat Intel at its game, with the introduction of new 24-core and 32-core SKUs at prices that are sure to spell trouble for Intel's Core X HCC lineup. The lineup is partially open to pre-orders, with two SKUs launching within August (including the 32-core one), and two others in October.

At the heart of AMD's second-generation Ryzen Threadripper is the new 12 nm "Pinnacle Ridge" die, which made its debut with the 2nd Generation Ryzen AM4 family. This die proved to introduce 3-5 percent IPC improvements in single-threaded tasks, and multi-threaded improvements with an improved Precision Boost II algorithm, which boosted frequencies of each of 8 cores on-die. The Threadripper is still a multi-chip module, with 2 to 4 of these dies, depending on the SKU. There are four of these - the 12-core/24-thread Threadripper 2920X, the 16-core/32-thread Threadripper 2950X; the 24-core/48-thread Threadripper 2970WX, and the flagship 32-core/64-thread Threadripper 2990WX.

Hardware diagnostics and reporting utility HWBot has added preliminary support for AMD's upcoming Threadripper II CPU lineup, the high core-count, up to 32-cores and 64-threads monster CPUs. The 2990X is the cream of the crop with its full configuration, and its TDP is again being reported at 250 W, upwards 70 W from last generation's flagship 1990X - a 100% increase in computing resources that is accompanied by what can only be referred to a "very limited" 38% increase in reported TDP, whilst delivering a 3.4 GHz base clock.

The 2970X, which has a 24-core, 48-thread configuration, maintains the 180 W of the previous 16-core flagship, while the new "mainstream" (isn't it crazy to call a 16-core, 32-thread CU mainstream?) 2950X is rated at only 125 W compared to the same 180 W of previous-gen Threadrippers. Of course, TDPs do mean what they mean - and sometimes that is very little, especially when comparing across manufacturers - but it still puts in perspective how much AMD managed to improve not only core counts and density, but also power envelope, on TSMC's new 12 nm process.

A storepage for AMD's upcoming 32-core, 64-thread monster of a CPU Threadripper 2990X popped up at Canadian hardware etailer CanadaComputers. The processor, listed for $2399 CAD, converts to some $1850 US dollars and doesn't stray too far from its earlier cameo over at German Cybersport.de.

The chip over at Canada Computers is being sold in a "in-store back order" template, so this pricing is likely close to the final mark - it does make sense that AMD would edge out its profits a little more on this behemoth of a CPU. Packaging seems to be a regurgitated, first-gen Threadripper box - it's unlikely AMD would simply keep the product packaging from first gen, especially since AMD themselves are branding these "Threadripper II". We still don't have confirmation on actual TDP - Cyberport listed some 180 W, CanadaComputers lists 250 W.