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

[Orcvader]

So SMT, 40% more IPC and 14nm FinFET, this is sounding very promising. However, there was no mention of speed so hopefully it's at a reasonable level enough for overall performance to keep up with Intel.

 

[Tonester0011]

Think I have seen elsewhere they need 80%?

Saw 40% bandied about on this other place as the bare min too, not looking good.

In IPC, yeah they're a good 80% behind HW.
40% is a big improvement and gets them at around SB IPC. It's a step in the right direction, it's the bare minimum needed

I wonder though, will AMD Reps start using their own CPUs instead of Intel after Zen launch?

 

[Gerard]

If the performance is up to snuff they just need to get oem's onboard, hopefully intels dirty tricks from the past remain in the past and we get a level playing field for sales.

 

[Davedree]

 

[Orangey]

Would be nice to know what exactly to expect from Zen+, the angle of ascent seems to indicate 10-15% extra only.

 

[Gerard]

Reviews should be interesting as the marketing literature from companies is normally bs plus best case scenario then 10% added.

 

[Orcvader]

Would be nice to know what exactly to expect from Zen+, the angle of ascent seems to indicate 10-15% extra only.

It doesn't seem to be aimed at 2017 either, hoping it won't be too far away from Zen's release.

 

[humbug]

In IPC, yeah they're a good 80% behind HW.
40% is a big improvement and gets them at around SB IPC. It's a step in the right direction, it's the bare minimum needed

I wonder though, will AMD Reps start using their own CPUs instead of Intel after Zen launch?

your having a laugh, Haswell is about 30 to 40% faster than piledriver.

 

[Boomstick777]

I think people are right to be sceptical (Bulldozer) but to say 40% IPC improvement won't be enough to catch Intel is just ignorant.

Of course that will catch up to Intel, Intel's own chips have been 3% - 5% IPC improvements each year since Sandybridge, hardly anything to write home about either.

A chip that has 40% more IPC than Excavator with 8 cores / 16 threads will be very fast and much faster than 4770K etc, especially in multi-threaded programs and likely DX12 gaming.

Now we just need to see if AMD actually delivers that 40%, but if they do it will be enough to be relevant once again.

 

[Tonester0011]

You do know what IPC is?

 

[ALXAndy]

I have faith in Jim Keller.

Totally. Man, I'm so happy with this news. I've got everything crossed, would make a fannytastic upgrade for my 3970x

 

[Boomstick777]

You do know what IPC is?

Instructions per clock.

The number of instructions per second and floating point operations per second for a processor can be derived by multiplying the instructions per cycle and the clock speed (measured in cycles per second or Hertz) of the processor in question. The number of instructions per second is an approximate indicator of the likely performance of the processor.

The number of instructions executed per clock is not a constant for a given processor; it depends on how the particular software being run interacts with the processor, and indeed the entire machine, particularly the memory hierarchy. However, certain processor features tend to lead to designs that have higher-than-average IPC values; the presence of multiple arithmetic logic units (an ALU is a processor subsystem that can perform elementary arithmetic and logical operations), and short pipelines. When comparing different instruction sets, a simpler instruction set may lead to a higher IPC figure than an implementation of a more complex instruction set using the same chip technology; however, the more complex instruction set may be able to achieve more useful work with fewer instructions.

More info here can be found here >>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructions_per_cycle

Hope this helps

 

[humbug]

You do know what IPC is?

Instructions per clock cycle, piledriver is about 40% behind Haswell.

Haswell is about 10% better than sb

 

[ALXAndy]

Instructions per clock cycle, piledriver is about 40% behind Haswell.

Haswell is about 10 to 15% better than sb

/dreams

So basically an AMD chip that goes head to head with the 5960x for a much cheaper price.......

If that happened I would be sooooooo happy

 

[Boomstick777]

/dreams

So basically an AMD chip that goes head to head with the 5960x for a much cheaper price.......

If that happened I would be sooooooo happy

 

[humbug]

/dreams

So basically an AMD chip that goes head to head with the 5960x for a much cheaper price.......

If that happened I would be sooooooo happy

If true 8 cores yes, but AMD have to hit that +40%

 

[ALXAndy]

Hahaha that actually made me lol properly out loud

 

[Martini1991]

your having a laugh, Haswell is about 30 to 40% faster than piledriver.

IPC? It's in excess of 50%. Or at least can be.
But that's besides the point.

It's a pointless argument, as you can throw around all the figures any of you want.

The proposed Zen looks to be very good, but I'll put up my reservations on price. AMD don't price the way they do because they're a good company, it's because they're in a position of weakness.

 

[Boomstick777]

The proposed Zen looks to be very good, but I'll put up my reservations on price. AMD don't price the way they do because they're a good company, it's because they're in a position of weakness.

Agreed, price changes everything. At the same time if they command a good price point, good on em. I'll pay for quality product if they have it. Now we just have about a year and a half to wait and see

 

[Tonester0011]

The price is representative of actual performance.
They're not pricing low because they care, they price it depending on what the market will pay.