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*** AMD "Zen" thread (inc AM4/APU discussion) ***

Soldato
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^^

You crazy bro :p

Up to 16GB HBM, 16 CPU cores with updated graphics architecture. This APU looks like a monster !

The CPU's will no doubt be impressive as well, but this APU looks awesome if spec is legit.
 
Soldato
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4x DDR4 channels... I guess that's what you need if you want to feed 16 CPU cores O_o

It would be nice to have a reason to follow developments at AMD again, hope this turns into something cool :)
 
Associate
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I wouldn't hold out too much hope guys. As much as I'd like AMD to kick some arse and bring competition back into the market they've got such a tough battle on their hands that I doubt they'll be able to do it :(

But by all means AMD please prove me wrong :D
 

bru

bru

Soldato
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I can only assume that the specs listed are the theoretical best the architecture can do and not an actual chip, as why on earth would anyone need an APU with a 16GB on board video memory and the ability to access 1TB of ram, let alone any of the server stuff, not forgetting that server chips don't need an on board GPU.

The specs have potential though, with some nice ideas if they can pull it all off.
 
Associate
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I can only assume that the specs listed are the theoretical best the architecture can do and not an actual chip, as why on earth would anyone need an APU with a 16GB on board video memory and the ability to access 1TB of ram, let alone any of the server stuff, not forgetting that server chips don't need an on board GPU.

The specs have potential though, with some nice ideas if they can pull it all off.

Servers can potentially make great use of GPUs including onboard - it's what the HSA stuff is about.
 
Soldato
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I can only assume that the specs listed are the theoretical best the architecture can do and not an actual chip, as why on earth would anyone need an APU with a 16GB on board video memory and the ability to access 1TB of ram, let alone any of the server stuff, not forgetting that server chips don't need an on board GPU.

The specs have potential though, with some nice ideas if they can pull it all off.

Exactly.

This would likely represent a full spec server/commercial part rather than a consumer APU.

This gives us an idea of what the architecture is capable of though.

I would expect 6/8 core CPU with upgraded GPU and 2GB/4GB+ HBM for consumer though. This could be seriously impressive and truly provide a good gaming experience without the need for a dedicated GPU. AMD's hard work with fusion could really pay off when this lands. I will put something together with an APU like this for sure.
 
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I can only assume that the specs listed are the theoretical best the architecture can do and not an actual chip, as why on earth would anyone need an APU with a 16GB on board video memory and the ability to access 1TB of ram, let alone any of the server stuff, not forgetting that server chips don't need an on board GPU.

The specs have potential though, with some nice ideas if they can pull it all off.

From my limited knowledge, having good onboard graphics alone allows the server to use GPU hardware acceleration without dedicated cards, which take up much more space and power while giving off more heat. Three things you don't want in a server. HSA makes taking advantage of GPU's parallel processing much more efficient and I believe much easier to code for - see Libra Office benchmarks with HSA enabled on the current APUs in comparison to Intel.

Personally, I'm holding off building a desktop until the next generation of APUs are out as I'd like to ditch discrete graphics altogether to keep power/noise/size down, but have the option of a bit of gaming and decent hardware acceleration /HSA for other tasks. Intel's current offerings don't quite cut it yet on the GPU side and the APUs are pretty slow on the CPU side.

This chip, if true, would be perfect. Not sure I'd ever need 32 threads, but sure would be nice to future proof it! I hope Zen has strong single core performance!
 
Associate
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Looks exactly what this will be. You're not going to get a 16 core CPU with decent single threaded performance.

I fail to see how you are so sure that AMD single thread performace will be poor. Do you have inside AMD information? Are AMD not switching back to SMT from CMT? If we get Ivybride single core performance and 6-8 cores then AMD will have done well and I will upgrade my Trinty APU to a Zen APU.
 
Caporegime
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Common sense tells you you're not going to get single threaded performance compared to a current desktop chip, which I guess is what he's asking, and this doesn't look like a gaming CPU.

The clock speeds wouldn't be possible to allow this without it running hotter than hell, unless you had a very aggressive turbo mode, also it'd be a whopping great die to allow a 16 core chip with good single core performance.

AMD aren't great at single threaded performance as it is, I can't see how they're going to come out with some 16 core monster that will turn that round.
 
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