AMD today announced the retail channel pricing of its upcoming Ryzen 7000X3D "Zen 4" line of high-performance Socket AM5 desktop processors. These processors introduce the 3D Vertical Cache (3DV cache) technology, which the company claims has a significant impact on gaming performance, making them perform competitively with 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors, including the fastest i9-13900K, and possibly even the i9-13900KS. AMD announced retail availability from February 28, 2023 for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D launches on April 6, 2023.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-core/16-thread processor is priced at USD $449. The 12-core/24-thread Ryzen 9 7900X3D is priced at $599. The flagship 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 7950X3D is priced at $699. The 7800X3D launches at a $50 higher price than the $399 price that the Ryzen 7 7700X launched at, before settling down at $349. The 7900X3D launches at $599, which again is a $50 premium over the launch price of the Ryzen 9 7900X—currently going for $475. The top-dog 7950X3D launches at the same $699 price that the 7950X launched at, which has its price slashed all the way down to $575.A video presentation by AMD follows.

The product pages of the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 7 7800X3D "Zen 4" processors went online, which say that the two chips are unlocked for overclocking. This normally implies that the processor has an unlocked base-clock multiplier, which makes it easy to overclock. The previous-generation Ryzen 7 5800X3D processors came with locked base-clock multipliers, making them complicated to overclock. Both the 16-core/32-thread 7950X3D and the 8-core/16-thread 7800X3D come with a TDP rating of 120 W, which for the 7950X3D is significantly lower than the 170 W that the 7950X is rated at. It's also worth noting that the T-junction max (TJmax) value is lower, at just 89°C, compared to 95°C of the 7950X and 7700X.

Slated for a February 2023 market release, the two chips introduce stacked 3D vertical cache technology (3DV cache). The 7800X3D comes with 64 MB of 3DV cache stacked on top of the 32 MB of on-die L3 cache, taking its L3 cache size to 96 MB, and total cache (L2+L3) to 104 MB. On the other hand, the 7950X3D and the 12-core/24-thread 7900X3D only come with the 3DV cache memory on one of the two "Zen 4" CCDs. The first CCD has 96 MB of L3 cache (including the 3DV cache), while the second CCD is a standard "Zen 4" CCD with just 32 MB of on-die L3 cache. For these chips, the L3 cache adds up to 128 MB, and total cache to 140 MB for the 7900X3D, and 144 MB for the 7950X3D.Update Jan 24th: AMD updated their product pages to remove this field altogether. It looks like we'll have to wait a bit for AMD to finalize its specs.

At the 2023 International CES, ASUS ROG announced several of its upcoming gaming notebooks across several form-factors. ASUS was one of the very few gaming PC brands to show off upcoming products based on an AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors besides those based on 13th Gen Intel Core processors. The star-attraction is the ROG Flow Z13 (GZ301-2023), an ultraportable gaming tablet that folds into a notebook—a very rare device. It packs a 13-inch 16:10 ROG Nebula display with 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution, 165 Hz, 3 ms response time, and NVIDIA G-SYNC. Under the hood, the ROG Flow Z13 rocks an Intel Core i9-13900H 6P+8E processor, GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU with Advanced Optimus. The device puts out a 170° kick stand, and a detachable full-size keyboard.

The 2023 ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is the company's fastest gaming notebook to be powered by an AMD processor. The 14-inch conventional form-factor notebook packs a 2560 x 1600 pixels mini-LED display with 165 Hz refresh-rate, 3 ms response time, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and G-SYNC. The main muscle is an AMD Ryzen 7000 series processor (very likely from the "Phoenix Point" Ryzen 7045 series), and a GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU. While not an AMD Advantage laptop, ASUS has given this its own in-house ROG Intelligent Cooling system that incorporates vapor-chamber base plates and liquid-metal TIM.

The online datasheets of some of the first AMD Ryzen 7040 series "Phoenix Point" mobile processors went live, detailing the processor's I/O feature-set. We learn that AMD has decided to give PCI-Express Gen 5 a skip with this silicon, at least in its mobile avatar. The Ryzen 7040 SoC puts out a total of 20 PCI-Express Gen 4 lanes, all of which are "usable" (i.e. don't count 4 lanes toward chipset-bus). This would mean that the silicon has a full PCI-Express 4.0 x16 interface for discrete graphics, and a PCI-Express 4.0 x4 link for a CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slot; unlike the "Raphael" desktop MCM and the "Dragon Range" mobile MCM, whose client I/O dies put out a total of 28 Gen 5 lanes (24 usable, with x16 PEG + two x4 toward CPU-attached M.2 slots).

Another interesting aspect about "Phoenix Point" is its memory controllers. The SoC features a dual-channel (four sub-channel) DDR5 memory interface, besides support for LPDDR5 and LPDDR5x. DDR5-5600 and LPDDR5-7600 are the native speeds supported. What's really interesting is the maximum amount of memory supported, which stands at 256 GB—double that of "Raphael" and "Dragon Range," which top out at 128 GB. This bodes well for the eventual Socket AM5 APUs AMD will design based on the "Phoenix Point" silicon. Older Ryzen 5000G "Cezanne" desktop APUs are known for superior memory overclocking capabilities to 5000X "Vermeer," with the monolithic nature of the silicon favoring latencies. Something similar could be expected from "Phoenix Point."

Lexar extended its latest-generation ARES RGB memory enthusiast product design to the DDR4 segment, with its ARES RGB DDR4 memory series. Available in 16 GB (2x 8 GB) dual-channel kits, these modules come with an Intel XMP 2.0 profile for DDR4-4000, and come with software-controllable RGB LED illumination. Over in the DDR5 camp, we see Lexar show off its DDR5-6000 memory module that's been validated on the AMD Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" platform, with an AMD EXPO profile that enables the advertised speeds, timings, and AMD-specific sub-timings. On Intel machines, the included XMP 3.0 profile enables the relevant timings and sub-timings besides the DDR5-6000 speed. There's a non-RGB version of the ARES DDR5 series at lower speed variants, at DDR5-5200 (JEDEC-standard SPD).

Here's the first look at the retail PIB package of an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor with 3D Vertical Cache technology. These chips come in box design that's distinct from the rest of the Ryzen 7000 lineup. Bright orange and silver accents make up the front face of the box, with "3D Vertical Cache technology" being mentioned prominently. With the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, the PIB package design was probably found to look too similar to the rest of the lineup and practically indistinguishable from those of the 5000G "Cezanne" desktop APUs, which is probably why AMD took this route.

It's very likely that we'll see Socket AM5 desktop APUs based on the "Phoenix Point" monolithic silicon later this year, with its 12 CU RDNA3 iGPU and 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" CPU that has a 32 MB on-die L3 cache. These processors will have yet another distinguishable retail PIB packaging. AMD's then technical marketing director, Robert Hallock, assured us that the company will continue to invest in desktop APUs (processors with powerful iGPUs), despite Ryzen 7000 desktop processors coming with a low-power iGPU as standard.

Here are some of the first pictures of the yet-unnamed PCIe Gen 5-based NVMe SSD by ADATA XPG. Built in the M.2-2580 form-factor, the drive features a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 host interface and NVMe 2.0 protocol. At its core is a Silicon Motion SM2508 series controller, coupled with the latest generation 3D TLC NAND flash over a large number of flash channels; and a faster DRAM cache. The drive offers sequential transfer rates of up to 14 GB/s reads, with up to 12 GB/s writes. and 2 million IOPS 4K random transfers. It comes in capacity-based variants, with 8 TB being the largest one.

The most striking aspect about this drive is its active cooling solution. A ridged aluminium monoblock heatsink is used to cool the SM2508 controller. nestled in its center is what appears to be a miniature 10 mm lateral fan. The heatsink has surface-crystallization treatment to increase surface area for heat dissipation. A die-cast aluminium top-plate and 3-sided backplate sandwich the fan-heatsink and the main PCB. The fan is tightly controlled by temperature, and ADATA claims you should barely notice it. To use the drive to its fullest, you'll either need an AMD Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" platform that has dedicated PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slots wired to the processor, or an Intel 700-series chipset motherboard that puts out a Gen 5 M.2 slot by subtracting lanes from the Gen 5 PEG slot.

ASUS today announced the all-new TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition, an all-AMD gaming laptop with a redesigned chassis and an incredibly immersive 16-inch display. The TUF Gaming A15, A17, F15 and F17 laptops also make a triumphant return, sporting the latest silicon from AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA to power players into the next generation of gaming performance.

TUF A16 Advantage Edition announced
Built for serious gaming with subtle styling, the TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a sleek gaming laptop built to demolish the competition. Powered completely by AMD, the TUF Gaming A16 features up to an AMD Ryzen 9 Zen 4 processor and AMD Radeon RDNA 3 mobile graphics. "AMD and ASUS have partnered to deliver our latest 'Zen 4' and RDNA 3 technologies into the most innovative form factors," said Jason Banta, CVP and GM OEM PC. "The TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition delivers blistering gaming performance and outstanding power efficiency in a sleek portable chassis."

AMD today announced its new Ryzen 7000X3D high-end desktop processors to much fanfare, with availability slated for February 2023, you can read all about them in our older article. In our coverage, we noticed something odd about the cache sizes of the 12-core 7900X3D and 16-core 7950X3D. Whereas the 8-core, single-CCD 7800X3D comes with 104 MB of total cache (L2+L3), which works out to 1 MB L2 cache per core and 96 MB of L3 cache (32 MB on-die + 64 MB stacked 3DV cache); the dual-CCD 7900X3D and 7950X3D was shown with total caches of 140 MB and 144 MB, while they should have been 204 MB or 208 MB, respectively.

In our older article, we explored two possibilities—one that the 3DV cache is available on both CCDs but halved in size for whatever reason; and the second more outlandish possibility that only one of the two CCDs has stacked 3DV cache, while the other is a normal planar CCD with just the on-die 32 MB L3 cache. As it turns out, the latter theory is right! AMD put out high-resolution renders of the dual-CCD 7000X3D processors, where only one of the two CCDs is shown having the L3D (L3 cache die) stacked on top. Even real-world pictures of the older "Zen 3" 3DV cache CCDs from the 5800X3D or EPYC "Milan-X" processors show CCDs with 3DV caches having a distinct appearance with dividing lines between the L3D and the structural substrates over the regions of the CCD that have the CPU cores. In these renders, we see these lines drawn on only one of the two CCDs.

Besides the sensational Ryzen 7000X3D processors taking the fight to Intel's "Raptor Lake," AMD expanded the desktop Ryzen 7000 even downwards, with the introduction of three new 65 W processor SKUs that include boxed stock coolers. These include the Ryzen 5 7600 6-core/12-thread, the Ryzen 7 7700 8-core/16-thread, and the Ryzen 9 7900 12-core/24-thread. There's no 16-core part in this segment. These processors come with TDP values set at just 65 W, and PPT values in the range of 90 W to 120 W, and so their clock speeds and maximum boost speeds are lower compared to the 7000X series, with more aggressive power-management.

The 7600 boosts up to 5.10 GHz, and packs a 65 W-capable Wraith Stealth boxed cooling solution. The 7700 boosts up to 5.30 GHz, and the 7900 up to 5.40 GHz. Both the 7700 and 7900 include a Wraith Prism RGB cooler that can handle thermal loads of up to 140 W. The three chips are priced lower than their 7000X series cousins, with the 7600 going for USD $229, the 7700 at $329, and the 7900 at $429. The three chips are drop-in compatible with existing Socket AM5 motherboards without needing any BIOS update.

AMD today launched two distinct kinds of mobile processors, the Ryzen 7045 "Dragon Range" serves the 45 W H- and HX-segments of performance and enthusiast notebooks with CPU core counts of up to 16-core/32-thread; while the U-segment, P-segment, and a portion of the H-segment (ranges of 15 W, 28 W, and 35 W), will be led by the Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix Point." Unlike the "Dragon Range" MCM, "Phoenix Point" is a monolithic silicon built entirely on the TSMC 4 nm EUV foundry node, and introduces a wealth of process-level and system-level power-management features.

AMD "Phoenix Point" combines an 8-core/16-thread CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, with a powerful iGPU based on the latest RDNA3 graphics architecture, and a feature-packed AI acceleration engine based on the XDNA architecture AMD built after the Xilinx acquisition. The CPU component is a fully-fledged "Zen 4" CCX, with 8 CPU cores featuring 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache per-core, and sharing a large 32 MB L3 cache. This is an increase from the previous generation "Rembrandt" and "Cezanne" dies that had a reduced 16 MB L3 shared among the eight "Zen 3" or "Zen 3+" CPU cores.

AMD today announced its Ryzen 7000X3D "Zen 4" desktop processors with 3D Vertical Cache technology. With these, the company is claiming to have the world's fastest processors for gaming. The company claims to have beaten the Intel Core i9-13900K "Raptor Lake" in gaming, by a margin it feels comfortable to remain competitive with against even the upcoming Core i9-13900KS. At the heart of these processors is the new "Zen 4" 3D Vertical Cache (3DV cache) CCD, which features 64 MB of L3 cache stacked on top of the region of the "Zen 4" CCD that has the on-die 32 MB L3 cache. The 3DV cache runs at the same speed as the on-die L3 cache, and is contiguous with it. The CPU cores see 96 MB of transparent addressable L3 cache.

3DV cache is proven to have a profound impact on gaming performance with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D "Zen 3" processor that helped it beat "Alder Lake" in gaming workloads despite "Zen 3" being a generationally older microarchitecture; and AMD claims to have repeated this magic with the 7000X3D "Zen 4" series, enabling it to beat Intel "Raptor Lake." Unlike with the 5800X3D, AMD don't intend to make gaming performance a trade-off for multi-threaded creator performance, and so it is introducing even 12-core and 16-core SKUs, so you get gaming performance alongside plenty of muscle for creator workloads.

AMD today solved the biggest challenge affecting its mobile processor family against Intel—CPU core-counts in the high-end HX-segment, with the introduction of the new Ryzen 7045HX series "Dragon Range" mobile processors. Based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, these processors offer core-counts of up to 16-core/32-thread, and target enthusiast gaming notebooks and mobile workstations. The processors debut the new "Dragon Range" multi-chip module (MCM). This is essentially a non-socketed version of the desktop "Raphael" MCM built in a mobile-friendly BGA package with a thin substrate and no IHS, with up to two 5 nm "Zen 4" 8-core CCDs, and a 6 nm cIOD (client I/O die).

The "Dragon Range" MCM uses the same chiplets as desktop "Raphael" Ryzen 7000 processors, and so its I/O is similar. The cIOD puts out a dual-channel (4 sub-channel) DDR5 memory interface, and a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 interface for discrete graphics, along with two PCI-Express 5.0 x4 links for up to two Gen 5 NVMe SSDs. The platform core-logic (chipset) is functionally similar to the desktop AMD B650E. All processor models in the series come with a TDP of 45 W, and a package power tracking (PPT) of "at least" 75 W. Each "Zen 4" CPU core comes with 1 MB of dedicated L2 cache, and each CCD has 32 MB of L3 cache.

We are coming to you live from the 2023 International CES! AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su is kicking things off with her Keynote address, where her company is expected to announce its next generation Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" mobile processors, a much broader range of Ryzen 7000 desktop processors, including the fabled X3D processors; and much more!02:29 UTC: The show is about to begin with AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su taking centerstage, as CEA inaugurates its 2023 show.02:38 UTC: "Intelligence needs computing power"

A few months ago, AMD has launched its highly anticipated Ryzen 7000 series of processors based on Zen 4 architecture. However, the company only launched the "X" SKUs (example being 7900X) for now, while the remaining ones are awaiting a launch date. Today, we have information from VideoCardz that confirm AMD's new launch on January 10th, when team red plans to update its remaining processor family with Ryzen 7000 series non-X SKUs. There will be three initial models to choose from Ryzen 9 7900 (12C/24T), Ryzen 7 7700 (8C/16T), and Ryzen 5 7600 (6C/12T). These SKUs follow the traditional Zen 4 path; however, the only distinction from their "X" counterparts is the reduced TDP to 65 Watts, down from up to 170 Watt TDP in some of those models.

A leaked slide from AMD's product presentation regarding these SKUs is a comparison between AMD's own Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 9 7900, where the Zen 4 variant successfully beat the older SKU by a significant percentage. Pricing and further details are listed on the slides below.

AMD won't release its Ryzen Threadripper 7000WX "Storm Peak" workstation processors any time before September 2023, suggests a reliable source with AMD leaks. The push to Q3 probably has to do with giving AMD enough "Zen 4" CCD volumes to ship high-margin EPYC "Genoa" server processors first, before the company can turn its attention to the HEDT and workstation markets.

While all indications are that AMD give the "Zen 4" Threadripper a similar treatment this generation as it did with the "Zen 3," by confining it to the workstation segment with only Threadripper 7000WX SKUs that could be OEM-exclusives before crawling their way to the retail market; the source has an interesting theory, that the company could even target the client HEDT market with these chips. The company will also adequately segment the Threadripper 7000WX SKUs apart from EPYC "Genoa" processors.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 6.85 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Engineer 6.85 software, a professional diagnostic and benchmarking solution for corporate IT technicians and engineers; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business 6.85 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Network Audit 6.85 software, a dedicated network audit toolset to collect and manage corporate network inventories.

The new AIDA64 update introduces AVX-512 optimized stress testing for AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors, and supports the latest AMD and Intel CPU platforms as well as the new graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by both AMD and NVIDIA.

DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 Extreme v6.85

AMD is planning to give its Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" Socket AM5 desktop processor lineup a significant expansion in January, as rival Intel plans to do the same with its 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake." AMD's lineup expansion will be in both directions—toward the higher end with its 7000X3D series; and toward the lower end, with its 7000 non-X series. It is now becoming clear that the 7000 non-X series will see a retail-channel launch, and won't be relegated to the OEM/SI channel. This would mean boxed versions of these processors, probably including a stock cooling solution.

The Ryzen 7000 non-X series in the retail channel is expected to include the 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 7600, the 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 7700, and the 12-core/24-thread Ryzen 9 7900. The defining feature of these SKUs is their significantly lower TDP of just 65 W, which would put their PPT (package power tracking) value around 90 W. Their maximum boost frequencies are still north of the 5 GHz-mark, with the 7600 boosting up to 5.10 GHz, the 7700 going up to 5.30 GHz and the 7900 up to 5.40 GHz, however their base frequencies are significantly lower, with the 7600 around 3.80 GHz, the 7700 and 7900 between 3.60-3.80 GHz. The three are expected to feature aggressive power-management to meet their lower power limits, which should also lower their cooling requirements. Wccftech predicts that AMD could announce these processors in its January 4 International CES Keynote address, followed by availability on January 10. In related news, the 7000X3D could see an announcement in the same January 4 keynote, but with a slightly later product availability date.

AMD is firing full cylinders to release a new line of Ryzen 7000-series "Zen 4" Socket AM5 desktop processors featuring 3D Vertical Cache, at the earliest. Faced with a significant drop in demand due to the slump in the PC industry, and renewed competition from Intel in the form of its 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors, the company is looking to launch the Ryzen 7000X3D desktop processors within January 2023, with product unveiling expected at AMD's 2023 International CES event. The 3D Vertical Cache technology had a profound impact on the gaming performance of the older "Zen 3" architecture, bringing it up to levels competitive with those of the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors, and while gaming performance of the Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors launched till take match or beat "Alder Lake," they fall behind those of the 13th Gen "Raptor Lake," which is exactly what AMD hopes to remedy with the Ryzen 7000X3D series.

In a report, Korean tech publication Quasar Zone states that AMD is planning to release 16-core/32-thread, 12-core/24-thread, and 8-core/16-thread SKUs in the Ryzen 7000X3D series. These would use one or two "Zen 4" chiplets with stacked 3D Vertical Cache memory. A large amount of cache memory operating at the same speed as the on-die L3 cache, is made contiguous with it and stacked on top of the region of the CCD (chiplet) that has the L3 cache, while the region with the CPU cores has structural silicon that conveys heat to the surface. On "Zen 3," the 32 MB on-die cache is appended with 64 MB of stacked cache memory operating at the same speed, giving the processor 96 MB of L3 cache that's uniformly accessible by all CPU cores on the CCD. This large cache memory positively impacts gaming performance on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in comparison to the 5800X; and a similar uplift is expected for the 7000X3D series over their regular 7000-series counterparts.

Lenovo started offering the Ryzen 9 7900 and Ryzen 7 7700 processors as options for its prebuilt desktops, confirming that the 7900 and 7700 will be OEM-exclusives, at least initially. That doesn't mean these chips won't make it to the retail channel, as OEM-only parts from AMD in the past have somehow found their way to retailers, who bought them in trays, and sold them piecemeal as combos with motherboards and CPU coolers. The 7900 is a 12-core/24-thread part, just like its retail-channel sibling, the 7900X. The 7700 is an 8-core/16-thread part, again, similar to the 7700X. Not much else is known about these chips, except for their base frequency of just 3.60 GHz (compared to 4.70 GHz for the 7900X, and 4.50 GHz for the 7700X). Both chips are expected to feature a lowered TDP, with just 65 W for the 7700 (down from 105 W for the 7700X), and possibly 65 W or 105 W for the 7900 (down from 170 W for the 7900X).

TechPowerUp in partnership with Team Group are giving away six pieces of Team Group T-Force gaming hardware. We've actually been at this since November 14, and entries close tomorrow, November 25. That leaves you with a day to fill up a tiny form and answer a couple of quizzy questions on Team Group; for a chance to win a T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-6400 CL40 32 GB (2x 16 GB) memory kit, or one of five Vulcan Z 1 TB SSDs! The Delta RGB DDR5 would be a great addition to your next-generation desktop build, as its DDR5-6400 frequency goes great with the latest "Raptor Lake" and "Zen 4" processors! The Vulcan Z 1 TB makes for a decent game storage drive to add some room to your game library. Both look great when powered up and viewed through a tempered glass panel! Hurry up!

For more details, and to participate, visit this page. Entries close November 25 (tomorrow).

AMD Ryzen 7000-series "Zen 4" desktop processors got their first round of price-cuts on leading retailer Newegg, as the company has a hard time justifying their launch-prices in the wake of Intel's 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" and declining demand in the PC components market. The new pricing sees the top Ryzen 9 7950X 16-core/32-thread chip priced at USD $574, down from $700 (an 18% price-cut). The 12-core/24-thread Ryzen 9 7900X sees its price go down from $550 to $474 (down 14%).

The 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 7700X gets a $50 price-cut sending its price down from $400 to roughly $350. The 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 7600X gets a similar $50 cut, which means the chip can now be had for roughly $250, down from its $300 launch price. All four SKUs face stiff competition from the aggressively priced 13th Gen Core SKUs, which include the i9-13900K, the i7-13700K, and the i5-13600K. Prices of Socket AM5 motherboards are another big put-off as they're a major contributor to platform costs, which is restricted to DDR5 memory. The Intel platform currently includes entry-level chipset options, as well as motherboards with DDR4 support.

AMD will build "Zen 4" based Ryzen Threadripper processors in an attempt to meet competition from Intel, which is rumored to launch HEDT processors of its own based on "Sapphire Rapids." While Intel's chip tops out at 60-core/120-thread and has a constellation of task-specific hardware-accelerators, AMD will arm its processors with raw CPU core-count, going as high up as 96-core/192-thread. The company has assigned the codename "Storm Peak" for these chips.

The Ryzen Threadripper 7000-series "Storm Peak" processor engineering samples surfaced on the Einstein@Home user database. As many as three OPNs have surfaced, "AMD Eng Sample: 100-000000884-21_N" and "AMD Eng Sample: 100-000000884-20_Y," which are 96-core/192-thread; and the "AMD Eng Sample: 100-000000454-20_Y," which is 64-core/128-thread. "Storm Peak" is likely just a variation of EPYC "Genoa," geared for higher frequencies.

AMD, in its technical presentation for the new Radeon RX 7900 series "Navi 31" GPU, gave us an elaborate explanation on why it had to take the chiplets route for high-end GPUs, devices that are far more complex than CPUs. The company also enlightened us on what sets chiplet-based packages apart from classic multi-chip modules (MCMs). An MCM is a package that consists of multiple independent devices sharing a fiberglass substrate.

An example of an MCM would be a mobile Intel Core processor, in which the CPU die and the PCH die share a substrate. Here, the CPU and the PCH are independent pieces of silicon that can otherwise exist on their own packages (as they do on the desktop platform), but have been paired together on a single substrate to minimize PCB footprint, which is precious on a mobile platform. A chiplet-based device is one where a substrate is made up of multiple dies that cannot otherwise independently exist on their own packages without an impact on inter-die bandwidth or latency. They are essentially what should have been components on a monolithic die, but disintegrated into separate dies built on different semiconductor foundry nodes, with a purely cost-driven motive.

A reliable source with CPU and platform leaks, ECSM_Official, made some new predictions about release timelines of upcoming desktop processors, and how 2023 could play out for Intel and AMD. 2022 is done, with no new desktop processor SKUs expected to launch from either brands. Intel is expected to flesh out its 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" desktop processor family in Q1 2023, with the addition of "locked" non-K SKUs spanning all four brand extensions (i3/i5/i7/i9). Besides these, Intel is expected to launch its new flagship, the Core i9-13900KS, with boost frequencies hitting the 6 GHz mark, in an attempt to ward off the threat from "Zen 4" with 3D Vertical Cache, a technology that springboarded "Zen 3" gaming performance to match that of "Alder Lake."

Both the i9-13900KS and AMD Ryzen 7000X3D processors are expected to launch toward the middle of H1-2023 (March-April). AMD is only expected to launch 6-core/12-thread and 8-core/16-thread SKUs with the 3DV cache technology. These would be single-CCD packages. There's no word on dual-CCD ones with 12-core or 16-core counts, so a Ryzen 9 7950X3D is not on the horizon. AMD is expected to debut its entry-level A620 motherboard chipset in Q2-2023. This chipset reportedly lacks CPU overclocking capability, is expected to lack PCIe Gen 5, and caps memory speed to DDR5-4800.