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QOTW: Is AMD back on track with the upcoming Zen CPU?

by Tarinder Sandhu on 8 May 2015, 16:31

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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AMD revealed more product details than usual during its annual Financial Analyst Day this week. Part of the call was set aside to discuss, for the first time, the potential of the all-new Zen core that will power the company's high-end CPUs from next year onwards.

The Zen project is spearheaded by legendary CPU architect Jim Keller whose list of design credentials include the Intel-beating AMD K8 architecture and Apple A4 and A5 SoCs.

Zen promises 40 per cent more instruction-per-clock-cycle throughput via the use of simultaneous hyperthreading implemented in a grounds-up architecture. PowerPoint presentations rarely fail to impress, but do you believe that AMD can give Intel a good run for its money for next year's performance processors?

It's an important point, too, because it can be successfully argued that Intel's current performance hegemony has stifled the need to push desktop CPU performance to the next level. Your thoughts and comments, as usual, are welcome in the section below.



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HEXUS Forums :: 33 Comments

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I'll believe it when I see it.

Fairly confident Intel has been deliberately holding back in the outright performance sector for quite some time, and instead focussing on better efficiency.
It's been ‘next year’ for the last few years from AMD, as much as I like AMD they've been dragging their heels far too much of late and I'd say 40% over current gen would only just about match current intel offerings clock per clock.

Also I can see Intel just popping out a 10-12core 2011 and even adding a 6 core into the more mainstream versions without any major effort even if AMD did get something on par.
Biscuit
Fairly confident Intel has been deliberately holding back in the outright performance sector for quite some time, and instead focussing on better efficiency.

Because even lower end CPUs are fine for most purposes, consumers have gone all mobile intensive and things like smaller form factors or higher server density are big driving factors in purchasing decisions. There are still high Watt, high clocked CPUs out there.
That they've ‘announced’ a foray back into the performance CPU market is a good thing.

That they've announced a release date a year or more in the future was stupid. What they've done is bought some time to figure out how to try to counter any consumer move Intel can make in the wake of the new E7 Xeons, and how that can be translated into even more horsepower on the the new Skylake architecture. It also translates into yet another cycle of Moore's law, which most engineers agree is still valid until at least 7nm… did they really want to hand that advantage over to the company that's NOT losing money hand over fist, quarter after quarter?

And with all due respect to Mr. Keller, but the K8 was over 12 years ago, and mobile processors don't a legend maintain.
kingpotnoodle
Because even lower end CPUs are fine for most purposes, consumers have gone all mobile intensive and things like smaller form factors or higher server density are big driving factors in purchasing decisions. There are still high Watt, high clocked CPUs out there.

I'm not sure if you are deliberately elaborating on what i'm saying or if you are trying to make a different point?