AMD is slowly preparing the launch of the latest and greatest Ryzen processor family based on the Zen 4 CPU core design. Among various things that are getting an overhaul, the Raphael processor generation is now getting revamped temperature reading and better power management circuitry. According to an Igor's Lab report, AMD has prepared a few new improvements that will make temperature reading and power management easier for PC enthusiasts. Currently, the reported CPU temperature is called Tcontrol (Tctl), which is what the cooling solution sees. If Tctl is high, the fans spin up and cool the system. If Tctl is low, the fans slow down to reduce noise.

With Raphael, the CUR_TEMP (current temperature) output part of Tctl has been upgraded to reflect a much smoother curve, and avoid jittering with fans as they are not spiking so suddenly anymore. This is helping contribute to the noise output and has made it run at a consistent fan speed in the system. Another note about Raphael is a new power management technique. AMD has designed the AM5 platform to avoid sudden power spikes, to maintain maximum efficiency over time. It is a design decision made from the very start, and the CPU will try to constrain itself in the TDP range that it is configured for. For more details about the circuitry, please head over to the Igor's Lab article.

The first desktop processors to implement AMD's "Zen 4" microarchitecture will feature integrated graphics as standard across the lineup, according to a Chips and Cheese report citing leaked AMD design documents. Currently, most of the Socket AM4 desktop processor lineup lacks integrated graphics, and specialized "G" SKUs with integrated graphics dot it. These SKUs almost always come with compromises in CPU performance or PCIe I/O. With its 5 nm "Raphael" Socket AM5 desktop processor, AMD is planning to change this, in a bid to match up to Intel on the universality of integrated graphics.

Built in the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, the "Raphael" silicon combines "Zen 4" CPU cores along with an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. This would be the first time AMD updated the SIMD architecture of its Ryzen iGPUs since 2017. The RDNA2-based iGPU will come with a more advanced DCN (Display CoreNext) component than current RDNA2-based discrete GPUs, with some SKUs even featuring DisplayPort 2.0 support, besides HDMI 2.1. By the time "Raphael" is out (2022-23), it is expected that USB4 type-C would gain popularity, and mainstream motherboards as well as pre-built desktops could ship with USB4 with DisplayPort 2.0 passthrough. AMD relies on a discrete USB4 controller with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring, for its first Socket AM5 platform.

Corsair DIY Marketing Director, George Makris recently confirmed in a recent video that DDR5 memory could "conceivably could run much hotter than DDR4" due to voltage regulation being moved to the memory modules from the motherboard. This was reiterated by Corsair Memory Product Manager, Matt Woithe, who notes that they are prepared to handle this increased heat in Corsair DDR5 modules using their Dual-path Heat Xchange (DHX) technology. The next generation of memory also mandates the inclusion of on-die EEC which while not confirmed by Corsair will also add to the power budget of the modules. Corsair is expecting to release their first DDR5 memory modules towards the end of this year which will coincide with the launch of Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake processors. AMD fans will need to wait until 2022 with the launch of Zen 4 to take advantage of the new DDR5 memory modules.

AMD is slowly preparing to launch its next-generation processors based on the new AM5 socket. The new lineup of processors will be based on the upgraded Zen 4 architecture that is said to bring multiple microarchitecture improvements and enhancements, equaling to a possible high-performance increase. Today, according to ExecutableFix, the person who provided us with renders of AMD's upcoming AM5 socket designed for next-generation Raphael processors. As we previously reported, AM5 is doing away from PGA and switching to LGA type instead, where pins are delivered on the socket, not the CPU like we used to see with AMD processors.

The LGA-1718 socket, pictured in the renders below, looks like a simple retention mechanism, where there is one metal arm to hold the lid down under pressure. If it turns out to be true, this implementation will be a very positive upgrade over the past PGA socket found on AM4 and before. We can look forward to seeing what AMD will deliver once the launch of Raphael processors gets closer.

As of 16:11 UTC today (29/07), the AMD stock has broken through the $100 stock-price glass ceiling, and is at $103.91, up 1384% from the $7 stock price in late-2016, prior to the company's competitive breakthrough with the "Zen" architecture. The latest rally comes in the wake of AMD's latest Q2-2021 financial results, where it clocked a 99% growth in YoY revenue. In the call, AMD mentioned that it is on track to maintaining its performance leadership, on the backs of the new "Zen 4" CPU architecture, RDNA3 graphics-, and CDNA2 compute architecture.

AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su, in the company's Q2-2021 financial results call, confirmed that the company is on-track to launch the Zen 4 CPU microarchitecture and RDNA3 graphics architecture, in 2022. Zen 4 would herald the first major desktop platform change since the original Zen architecture, with the introduction of a new CPU socket, and support for DDR5 memory. The RDNA3 graphics architecture, meanwhile, is expected to nearly triple SIMD resources over the previous generation, and introduce even more fixed-function hardware for raytracing.

In the meantime, AMD is preparing a counter to Intel's 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" processor, in the form of Zen 3 with 3D Vertical Cache, which is also being referred to as the Zen 3+ architecture. These processors feature additional last-level cache, and the company claims a 15% gaming performance uplift, which should help it close the gaming performance gap with Intel, and win on sheer core-count of its big cores. It remains to be seen if Zen 3+ remains on Socket AM4 or if it debuts AM5, as AMD will be under pressure to match "Alder Lake" in platform I/O, which includes DDR5. Dr Su also confirmed that AMD has started shipping the Instinct MI200 "Aldebaran" compute accelerator based on the CDNA2 architecture. AMD's first MCM GPU with two logic dies, "Aldebaran" takes the fight to NVIDIA's top A100 series compute accelerators, and has already scored wins with ongoing HPC/supercomputing projects.

We have recently seen several reputable rumors confirming that AMD's Zen 4 Raphael desktop processors will be limited to 16 cores with 2 compute units. There were previous rumors of a 24 core model with 3 compute units however that now seems unlikely. While the core counts won't increase some skews may see a TDP increase up to 170 W which should offer some performance uplift. AMD is expected to debut their 5 nm Zen 4 Raphael desktop processors in 2022 which will come with support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5. The processors will switch to a new AM5 LGA1718 socket and will compete with Intel's Alder Lake-S successor Raptor Lake which could feature 24 cores.

The release notes for the latest version of famous system utility HWiNFO have spilled the beans on an update to Intel's XMP. Currently at version 2.0, XMP (eXtreme Memory Profile) is a technology that allows the system-level BIOS to run DDR memory at speeds higher than those allowed by JEDEC, the governing specifications body for all things memory. It extends the performance profiles usually made available via SPD (Serial Presence Detect). An update to Intel's XMP (XMP 3.0) for DDR5 memory is referred to in the release notes for version 7.05 of the software. Not much more to look at here - it remains to be seen what changes are actually a part of XMP 3.0, and if any increased utility will be added to these profiles. Remember, however, that nor Intel nor AMD (via its A-XMP implementation) enable warranty coverage should XMP be enabled in your system.

Other relevant updates for the application include advanced early support for Zen 4 systems (looking at you, AMD), as well as per-core temperature monitoring for Zen-based CPUs. There are other additions to the supported hardware, which you can find in the screenshot below.

AMD's Zen 4 based systems are still in development, however, the company is already distributing firmware to give the new core design proper support once it arrives. By doing this, software providers are already able to distribute software with support for Zen 4 architecture. One of those examples is HWiNFO, popular monitoring, and diagnostics tool. In the pre-release of its upcoming version 7.05, which you can already download, the tool lists "Enhanced early support of some Zen4-based systems". This means that the software would likely be capable of monitoring a few components of the Zen 4 system, as the temperature for example. While we are not sure what the "enhanced" really means, only time will tell, as we await the launch of AMD's next-generation systems. You can download the pre-release 7.05 version of HWiNFO here, and you can check out the changelog below.

Intel's strategy toward increasing CPU core counts could be to dial up the counts of smaller low-power CPU cores, according to a "Moore's Law is Dead" leak about the next-generation "Raptor Lake" mainstream processor. The chip is said to have 8 larger high-performance cores, and a whopping 16 low-power cores. The eight bigger performance cores will be "Raptor Cove," the successor to "Golden Cove," featuring higher IPC and more instruction sets, although the report only references this as an enhancement to "Golden Cove." The sixteen smaller low-power cores, however, are expected to remain "Gracemont," carried over from "Alder Lake-S." The "Raptor Lake-S" processor is slated for a Holiday 2022 release, and being touted as a competitor to AMD's "Zen 4" based desktop processor.

AMD is expected to debut its next-generation "Zen 4" microarchitecture and RDNA3 graphics architectures around the same time, in 2022, according to internal company roadmaps seen by Broly_X1 on Twitter, who has leaked AMD roadmaps before. The "Zen 4" microarchitecture in particular sees AMD debut processors based on the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, and the company's first implementation of an EUV node. With "Zen 4" in 2022, the company could target a so-called "Zen 3+" microarchitecture launch later in 2021, which combines the "Zen 3" CCD with 64 MB of 3D Vertical Cache, a feature that enables a 15% gaming performance uplift, the company claims.

The RDNA3 graphics architecture could see a greater deal of effort toward improving real-time raytracing performance, with more fixed-function hardware dedicated to raytracing. The architecture could see an even bigger generational performance uplift than the one seen between RDNA and RDNA2, according to a PCGamesN report. Across the fence, "Zen 4" and RDNA3 will be squaring off against Intel's "Meteor Lake" and NVIDIA's "ADA Lovelace" architectures, respectively. RDNA3 finishes tape-out toward the end of 2021, as the 5 nm EUV node is already available to AMD for prototyping.

AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su takes centerstage to demonstrate the latest from AMD. These include announcements from nearly all of the company's business lines, including Ryzen processors, EPYC enterprise processors, Radeon graphics, and more.02:14 UTC: AMD is all about high-performance - Dr Su02:15 UTC: Nearly 100 EPYC based server solutions, and over 400 EPYC-powered cloud instances, by 2022

AMD is preparing to switch things up a bit with its upcoming AM5 platform. The new platform is said to bring significant changes to the design of the socket and the CPU package, where we will see some new design choices and decisions. For starters, all of the processors made for the AM5 platform will come in a land grid array (LGA) configuration, very similar to that of Intel. Thanks to the rendering of ExecutableFix, we got to see exactly how will the new LGA design look like. And today, we get to see more details of the AMD's upcoming Raphael processor's integrated heat spreader (IHS) design.

The IHS serves the purpose of spreading the heat away from the die and dissipating it efficiently. However, IHS designs can sometimes be very interesting. According to this rendering from ExecutableFix, AMD's upcoming Raphael design, based on Zen 4 core, will feature a unique IHS design, which can be seen below.

Today, we have talked about AMD's upcoming Raphael lineup of processors in the article you can find here. However, it seems like the number of leaks on AMD's plans just keeps getting greater. Thanks to the "itacg" on Weibo, we have learned that AMD's Ryzen 8000 desktop series of processors are reportedly codenamed as Granite Ridge. This new codename denotes the Zen 5 based processors, manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm (N3) node. Another piece of information is that AMD's Ryzen 8000 series APUs are allegedly called Strix Point, and they also use the 3 nm technology, along with a combination of Zen 5 and Zen 4 core design IPs. We are not sure how this exactly works out, so we have to wait to find out more.

AMD's second processor microarchitecture on the Socket AM5 platform, the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," could introduce a 20% IPC gain over its predecessor, according to a report by Moore's Law is Dead. The processor debuts the company's "Zen 4" microarchitecture, which clocks IPC gains over the rumored "Zen 3+" microarchitecture that the Ryzen 6000 "Rembrandt" processor debuts with, on Socket AM5. The upper limit of AMD's core-counts appear to remain at 16-core for the flagship part. With "Zen 4" CCDs (8-core chiplets) being built on 5 nm, the source predicts a 50% performance/Watt gain. The chips could also introduce AVX-512 support. The Ryzen "Raphael" processor is due for 2022.

The AMD embedded roadmap for 2020 - 2023 was recently leaked and reveals some interesting information about AMD's upcoming Zen 4 based EPYC server processes. The current generation 7003 series of Zen 3 EPYC processors offer up to 64 cores and 128 threads with a TDP range of 120 W - 280 W. The next-generation EPYC 7004 "Genoa" Zen 4 processors will push the maximum core count to 96 cores and 192 threads with a maximum TDP of 320 W. The Zen 4 based EPYC processors will move to a 12 chiplet design up from the current 8 chiplet design which allows for the core increase that will increase the physical size of the processors and require a new SP5 socket. The new EPYC 7004 series processors will also support the latest features such as 12 channel DDR5-5200 ECC memory and PCIe Gen5.

AMD in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed that its wafer supply agreement with GlobalFoundries has been amended. Under the new terms, AMD places orders for wafers from GlobalFoundries up to 2024, with purchase targets set for each year leading up to 2024. Beyond meeting these targets, AMD is free from all other exclusivity commitments. The agreement was previously amended in January 2019, setting annual purchase targets for 2019, 2020, and 2021, while beginning a de-coupling between AMD and GlobalFoundries. This enabled the company to source 7 nm (or smaller) chips, such as CCDs and GPUs, from other foundries, such as TSMC, while keeping GlobalFoundries exclusive for 12 nm (or larger) nodes.

The updated wafer supply agreement unlocks many possibilities for AMD. For starters, it can finally build a next-generation sIOD (server I/O die) on a more efficient node than GlobalFoundries 12LP, such as TSMC 7 nm. This transition to 7 nm will be needed as the next-gen "Genoa" EPYC processor could feature future I/O standards such as DDR5 memory and PCI-Express Gen 5, and the switching fabric for these could be too power-hungry on 12 nm. The "Zen 4" CPU core complex dies (CCDs) of "Genoa" are expected to be built on TSMC 5 nm.

The rumor mill keeps crushing away; in this case, regarding AMD's plans for their next-generation Zen designs. Various users have shared pieces of the same AMD roadmap, which apparently places AMD in an APU-focused landscape come their Ryzen 7000 series. we are currently on AMD's Ryzen 5000-series; Ryzen 6000 is supposed to materialize via a Zen 3+ design, with improved performance per watt obtained from improvements to its current Zen 3 family. However, Ryzen 7000-series is expected to debut on AMD's next-gen platform (let's call it AM5), which is also expected to introduce DDR5 support for AMD's mainstream computing platform. And now, the leaked, alleged roadmaps paint a Zen 4 + Navi 2 APU series in the works for AMD's Zen 4 debut with Raphael - roadmapped for manufacturing at the 5 nm process.

The inclusion of an iGPU chip with AMD's mainstream processors may signal a move by AMD to produce chiplets for all of its products, and then integrating them in the final product. You just have to think about it in the sense that AMD could "easily" pair one of the eight-core chiplets from the current Ryzen 5800X, for example, with an I/O die (which would likely still be fabricated with Global Foundries) an an additional Navi 2 GPU chiplet. It makes sense for AMD to start fabricating GPUs as chiplets as well - AMD's research on MCM (Multi-Chip Module) GPUs is pretty well-known at this point, and is a given for future development. It means that AMD needed only to develop one CPU chiplet and one GPU chiplet which they can then scale on-package by adding in more of the svelte pieces of silicon - something that Intel still doesn't do, and which results in the company's monolithic dies.

We have seen a number of announcements from key industry players about the introduction of DDR5 memory but today's news from Chinese company Jiahe Jinwei marks the beginning of DDR5 mass production. The company announced that DDR5 RAM from Micron had arrived at its facilities and that memory module production could begin. Jiahe Jinwei is the fourth largest memory manufacturer in China and owns memory brands such as Guangwei and Asgard which have recently announced DDR5 modules with capacities of up to 128 GB and speeds reaching 4,800 MHz. Intel is expected to launch their 12th Generation Alder Lake processors later this year with DDR5 support while AMD will introduce support with Zen 4 processors on a new AM5 socket.

The next-generation "Zen 4" CPU microarchitecture powering AMD's 4th Gen EPYC "Genoa" enterprise processors, will support 512-bit AVX instruction sets, according to an alleged company slide leaked to the web on the ChipHell forums. The slide references "AVX3-512" support in addition to BFloat16 and "other ISA extensions." This would make "Zen 4" the first AMD microarchitecture to support AVX-512. It remains to be seen which specific instructions the architecture supports, and whether all of them are available to both the enterprise and client implementations of "Zen 4," or whether AMD would take an approach similar to Intel, in only enabling certain "relevant" instructions on the client parts. The slide also mentions core counts being "greater than 64" corresponding withour story from earlier today.

AMD's next-generation EPYC enterprise processor that succeeds the upcoming 3rd Gen EYPIC "Milan," codenamed "Genoa," is expected to be the first major platform update for AMD's enterprise platforms since the 2017 debut of the "Zen" based "Naples." Implementing the latest I/O interfaces, such as DDR5 memory and PCI-Express gen 5.0, the chip will also increase CPU core counts by 50% over "Milan," according to ExecutableFix on Twitter, a reliable source with rumors from the semiconductor industry. To enable the goals of new I/O and increased core counts, AMD will transition to a new CPU socket type, the SP5. This is a 6,096-pin land grid array (LGA), and the "Genoa" MCM package on SP5 is imagined to be visibly larger than SP3-generation packages.

With the added fiberglass substrate real-estate, AMD is expected to add more CPU chiplets to the package, and ExecutableFix expects the chiplet count to be increased to 12. AMD is expected to debut the "Zen 4" microarchitecture in the enterprise space with "Genoa," with the CPU chiplets expected to be built on the 5 nm EUV silicon fabrication node. Assuming the chiplets still only pack 8 cores a piece, "Genoa" could cram up to 96 cores per socket, or up to 192 logical processors, with SMT enabled.

While AMD has only released a few Zen 3 processors which are still extremely hard to purchase for RRP we are already receiving leaks on their successors. Zen 3 Milan processors will likely be the final generation of AM4 processors before the switch to AM5. AMD appears to be preparing a bridging series of processors based on the Zen 3+ architecture before the release of Zen 4. Zen 3+ is expected to be AMD's first AM5 CPU design and should bring small IPC gains similar to the improvements from Zen to Zen+ in the range of 4% - 7%. The Zen 3+ processors will be manufactured on TSMC's refined N7 node with a potential announcement sometime later in 2021.

Zen 4 is expected to launch the next year in 2022 and will bring significant improvements potentially up to 40% over Zen 3 after clock boosts according to ChipsandChesse. A Zen 4 Genoa engineering sample reportedly performed 29% faster than an existing Zen 3 CPUs at the same clock speeds and core counts. The Zen 4 architecture will be manufactured on a 5 nm node and could potentially bring another core count increase. This would be one of the largest generational improvements for AMD since the launch of Ryzen if true. Take all this information with a heavy dose of skepticism as with any rumor.

2021 is shaping up to be a big year for Intel in the DIY desktop space, with the company preparing to launch not one, but two generations of desktop processors. Having announced them in January, the 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake-S" desktop processors in the LGA1200 package, will release to market in March, with the company claiming a restoration in gaming performance leadership away from AMD's Ryzen 5000 series. Sources tell Uniko's Hardware that the company will announce its 12th Gen successor, the Core "Alder Lake-S" in September 2021.

"Alder Lake-S" will be Intel's first mainstream desktop processor built on its new 10 nm SuperFin silicon fabrication process. The chip is expected to be a "hybrid" processor, combining an equal number of larger "Golden Cove" cores, and smaller "Gracemont" cores, to offer significantly improved energy efficiency. Built in the new Socket LGA1700 package, "Alder Lake-S" is expected to feature more general-purpose SoC connectivity than LGA1200 chips. It will also herald new platform standards, such as DDR5 memory and possibly even mainstreaming of ATX12VO. The processor will launch alongside new Intel 600-series chipset. AMD's response is expected to be the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, a new silicon built on the 5 nm process, and the new AM5 socket that introduces DDR5 memory support.

AMD is always in development mode and just when they launch a new product, the company is always gearing up for the next-generation of devices. Just a few months ago, back in November, AMD has launched its Zen 3 core, and today we get to hear about the next steps that the company is taking to stay competitive and grow its product portfolio. In the AnandTech interview with Dr. Lisa Su, and The Street interview with Rick Bergman, the EVP of AMD's Computing and Graphics Business Group, we have gathered information about AMD's plans for Zen 4 core development and RDNA 3 performance target.

Starting with Zen 4, AMD plans to migrate to the AM5 platform, bringing the new DDR5 and USB 4.0 protocols. The current aim of Zen 4 is to be extremely competitive among competing products and to bring many IPC improvements. Just like Zen 3 used many small advances in cache structures, branch prediction, and pipelines, Zen 4 is aiming to achieve a similar thing with its debut. The state of x86 architecture offers little room for improvement, however, when the advancement is done in many places it adds up quite well, as we could see with 19% IPC improvement of Zen 3 over the previous generation Zen 2 core. As the new core will use TSMC's advanced 5 nm process, there is a possibility to have even more cores found inside CCX/CCD complexes. We are expecting to see Zen 4 sometime close to the end of 2021.

AMD's Executive Vice President Rick Bergman in an interview with The Street shed some light on the company's future plans for Zen 4 and RDNA 3, even as we are still reeling from (or coming in to) Zen 3 and RDNA 2's launches. Speaking on RDNA 3, Rick Bergman mentioned the company's commitment to achieve the same 50% performance-per-watt increase they achieved with RDNA 2, and had some interesting takes on the matter of why this is actually one of the most important metrics:

Rick BergmanIt just matters so much in many ways, because if your power is too high -- as we've seen from our competitors -- suddenly our potential users have to buy bigger power supplies, very advanced cooling solutions. And in a lot of ways, very importantly, it actually drives the [bill of materials] of the board up substantially. This is a desktop perspective. And invariably, that either means the retail price comes up, or your GPU cost has to come down. We focused on that for RDNA 2. It's a big focus on RDNA 3 as well.