The LinkedIn profile of an AMD engineer has revealed the chipmaker’s CPU core roadmap for the next several years. The memo states that the development of the Zen 4 (at least the SMC) started sometime in 2021 and concluded in December 2020. Zen 4 was the first core to leverage the Pensando Policy and Services Manager (PSM) for telemetry and analytics and was implemented by this guy and his team, alongside verification and testing.
The Zen 4 core was codenamed Persephone. Internally, Zen 5 is known as Nirvana, and Zen 6 Morpheus. Zen 5 will feature enhanced Adaptive Voltage and Frequency Scaling for improved power efficiency. The development of the Zen 5 SMU went from Jan 2021 to December 2022. Zen 5 is said to be fabbed on TSMC’s 3nm process node, but the client cores may have to settle for 4nm.
AVFS or adaptive voltage and frequency scaling debuted back in 2015 with Excavator. It involves the implementation of unique, patented silicon speed capability sensors, and voltage sensors in addition to traditional temperature and power sensors. The speed and voltage sensors enable each individual APU to adapt to its particular silicon characteristics, platform behavior, and operating environment. By adapting in real-time to these parameters, AVFS can lead to up to 30 percent power savings.
The development of the Zen 5 SMU went from Jan 2021 to December 2022. The Ryzen 8000 processors leveraging the Zen 5 core are slated to land in the first half of 2024. Zen 5 will sport a revamped frontend with a wider issue (decoders, Instruction Cache, and mOp Qs). It will also integrate more of Pensando’s AI and machine learning IP for better clock scaling and power efficiency.
The development of Zen 6 or Morpheus began in January 2023 and is currently underway. Zen 6 is slated to adopt TSMC’s 2nm code. It’s still (way) too early to talk about Zen 6, as it’s unlikely to arrive anytime before 2026.
Source: WCCFTech.
