Zen developers were given "total freedom," says AMD engineer

[HEXUS]

The processor was designed "from scratch" to be the best it can be.

Read more.

[Corky34]

Just curious but in the first slide it mentions High-Bandwidth low latency cache system, is that possibly pointing towards HBM cache? Would HBM cache even been possible, or an advantage over traditional cache?

[ValkyrieTsukiko]

Just curious but in the first slide it mentions High-Bandwidth low latency cache system, is that possibly pointing towards HBM cache? Would HBM cache even been possible, or an advantage over traditional cache?

HBM would make for a sort of next level cache (L4?) as it bridges gap between cache and system memory or could provide a specific cache to Gcards since HDM is really used for gcards currently. it's interesting to see how these techs may merge in the future.

[Gunbuster]

Might be similar to the 128mb of L4/GPU ram on the Broadwell desktop parts.

[DizConnected]

Lets hope they develop an awesome chipset to go along with the amazing CPUs/APUs/GPUs coming next year!

[malfunction]

Just curious but in the first slide it mentions High-Bandwidth low latency cache system, is that possibly pointing towards HBM cache? Would HBM cache even been possible, or an advantage over traditional cache?

HBM would make for a sort of next level cache (L4?) as it bridges gap between cache and system memory or could provide a specific cache to Gcards since HDM is really used for gcards currently. it's interesting to see how these techs may merge in the future.

Might be similar to the 128mb of L4/GPU ram on the Broadwell desktop parts.

Might be a play to or a requirement of the next generation of consoles too. So the PC version might not end up with a massive HBM cache but the console version might have a lot of 'cache' / embedded memory more for a powerful APU / all in one type solution.

Exciting if it really is a ground up design though (unless that's just marketing BS). Could really shake things up (fingers crossed). 40% more IPC is impressive but I wonder how that compares to the latest Intel chips.

[DanceswithUnix]

Might be similar to the 128mb of L4/GPU ram on the Broadwell desktop parts.

Cache on Bulldozer series chips is rubbish, I think they just mean they made sure they got it right this time.

[jag272]

Exciting if it really is a ground up design though (unless that's just marketing BS). Could really shake things up (fingers crossed). 40% more IPC is impressive but I wonder how that compares to the latest Intel chips.

Agreed, back when I was researching to build my PC late last year, people were saying intel's IPC was 40% better and thats what really made them better. If that is indeed true, I can't imagine AMD's statement there isn't deliberate. That said however, that info was before Skylake so it may have improved further since then.

To be fair though, considering were currently in the place where most non-industry software isn't utilising new CPUs fully (certainly not for games), even if AMD match speeds but with a lower price tag, it would be a win for them, especially if they maintain their higher core count. Would be nice to see them pull out ahead however.

[crossy]

Interesting to hear the comments that folks are hoping that Zen will match Skylake etc. Personally I'm hoping for something just that little bit better - even if that means that the Zen parts are at the same price level as Intel's offerings.

No, what would get me reaching for my wallet is Zen part that gave AMD's "traditional" approach of a lot of cores for a reasonable price, coupled with improvements in the efficiencies of each of those cores. There's jobs - like media encoding - where those extra cores really make a difference. On the other hand, Intel's "straightline performance" means it's pretty much the sensible choice for a gaming rig - even though AMD's FX's might offer more core for your buck, albeit ones that have a stratospheric TDP (Vishera).

I really, really hope that Zen turns out to be as good as the AMD fans would have believe - since the thought of Intel having the market to itself isn't one that appeals to me in the slightest.

[DanceswithUnix]

I was looking on the Novatech website this morning, and found this rather interesting: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...ocessors/?i=48

Processors they sell, sorted by popularity. The obvious Intel candidates at the top make it seem legit, but the FX processors are higher than I would have expected.

[DanceswithUnix]

Interesting to hear the comments that folks are hoping that Zen will match Skylake etc. Personally I'm hoping for something just that little bit better - even if that means that the Zen parts are at the same price level as Intel's offerings.

Current Intel chips have evolved to where they are, if AMD can create something just a fast in the first spin I will be very impressed. It would be nice if they can pull out a neat party trick, but personally I would be happy with being able to get a high end chip for less than the £300 that Intel is currently asking.

[marshalex]

Current Intel chips have evolved to where they are, if AMD can create something just a fast in the first spin I will be very impressed. It would be nice if they can pull out a neat party trick, but personally I would be happy with being able to get a high end chip for less than the £300 that Intel is currently asking.

This is the point, currently as Intel have no competition they can charge full whack for each new chip they release. Just look at how much each of the K series chips for each release have slowly increased in price over the years (~£160 for SB i5 K and ~£200 for Skylake i5 K).

If they can bring out something that stimulates some competition then it's better for everyone so fingers crossed Zen is the AMD chip we've been waiting for

[Goobley]

I was looking on the Novatech website this morning, and found this rather interesting: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...ocessors/?i=48

Processors they sell, sorted by popularity. The obvious Intel candidates at the top make it seem legit, but the FX processors are higher than I would have expected.

I believe the FX chips are so high up because they have a high nominal frequency and core count for the cost, which makes them very attractive to people who judge on those numbers rather than benchmarks.

[DanceswithUnix]

I believe the FX chips are so high up because they have a high nominal frequency and core count for the cost, which makes them very attractive to people who judge on those numbers rather than benchmarks.

Somewhere like Amazon I could agree, but Novatech isn't where I would expect the man off the street to go, and their top selling i5 is the 4460 not a high clock version.

Asrock seem to be doing some new motherboards as well. I have often gnashed teeth at the lack of good uATX motherboards for AM3+, but now I see there is http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970M%20Pro3/

[DR]

I was looking on the Novatech website this morning, and found this rather interesting: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...ocessors/?i=48

Processors they sell, sorted by popularity. The obvious Intel candidates at the top make it seem legit, but the FX processors are higher than I would have expected.

I wonder if that includes SI builds or CPUs on their own.

[shaithis]

Processors they sell, sorted by popularity. The obvious Intel candidates at the top make it seem legit, but the FX processors are higher than I would have expected.

8 cores! I am sure that alone has sold a lot of them, regardless of whether it was the best performance/£ for the purchaser...in fact it's even that hideous 9xxx model. The 6300 should really be the first AMD CPU in that list and is still amazing VFM for a great deal of users.