Chinese microprocessor companies, Yingzhong Technology and Shanghai Zhaoxin have jointly launched a slew of new PCs, including desktops, AIOs, notebooks, mini-PCs and industrial computers based on the Chinese variants of the x86 processors, the KX-6000 series. These chips are based on the 16nm process node and feature up to 8 cores running at a modest 3GHz.
The latest lineup comes with an integrated graphics processor, support for dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory and design that’s three times as more efficient than the preceding chip family.
The integrated graphics supports 4K UHD video decoding and comes with multiple display interfaces including DP, HDMI, and VGA. The SoC itself comes with PCIe 3.0, SATA III and USB 3.1 support for high-speed I/O and data transactions.
The top-end chip, the KX-U6880A packs eight cores and eight threads with a clock speed of 3GHz and a TDP of 70W. There is a bunch of low-power variants too, namely the KX-6740A, KX-6640A and the KX-664MA which include four cores and an operating clock in the 2.2GHz to 2.7GHz range. These processors have a TDP varying from 25W to 45W, similar to Intel and AMD’s U and H series parts.
The notebooks unveiled by Zhaoxin a few days back is a big step up from the previous iterations and feature a modern design. You’re looking at an ultrabook form-factor with narrow bezels and performance comparable to Intel’s early Skylake designs.
While the multi-threaded performance comes close to Intel’s Core i5-7400, the single-threaded capabilities are a cause for concern. An IPC increase along with higher operating frequencies in subsequently smaller nodes should help with the latter.
While Zhaoxin’s new KX-6000 series won’t be breaking any records, it’s a testament to China’s determination to break free from the yoke of US chipmakers. A few more generations, and we might just start seeing Chinese-manufactured processors across multiple regions.
