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

[Boomstick777]

Dayum Q4 2016 that's so far off. So basically all of 2016 would be a wash like 2015. Even the APU line is rumored to just be getting another generic refresh with Bulldozer in 2016, so there is nothing to look forward from AMD APU / CPU..

As long as AMD get a financial injection to hold them through until Zen and new GPU architectures they should be ok, very boring times though for AMD fans. Another year of nothing on the APU / CPU front..

By then Intel could have Broadwell - E and Kaby Lake already out and in circulation, with Skylake - E / Cannonlake on the horizon. Tough competition for Zen for sure.

So AMD's most interesting part for a while will be the Athlon X4 880K, don't see that as great money maker though, or a performance winner Great for budget gaming though.

 

[Boomstick777]

The Athlon X4 880K would be a great budget CPU, though the problem with it is that it's running on a chipset from 2011 - which lacks native USB3, SATA3, PCI-E V3, M.2/U.2, NVME, the list could go on forever.

I'd not recommend such a platform for a brand new PC to anyone, regardless of budget.

You wouldn't recommend to anyone regardless of budget, but it would be a great budget CPU... Make your mind up

Cheap FM2+ Mobo + Athlon X4 880K would be ideal for budget PC. The FM2+ does have USB 3.0 + PCIe 3.0 x16 etc anyway..

Horses for courses.

 

[Boomstick777]

Dbl post.

 

[Boomstick777]

The lackluster feature support of AMD mobos is an issue for me, not to fussed about CPU performance so long as it's decent but things like x4 M.2 support, sata 3, PCIe3.0, Number of sata ports, board presentation/looks. If these don't improve with Zen I'll have to look at intel, if I can even hold out upgrading that long.

Yeah we were talking about FM2+ though (Which does have USB 3.0, SATA 3, M.2 and PCIe 3.0 anyway)

Zen is coming with updated chipset, DDR4 etc. Different things.

You still on Phenom II? You have done well holding out this long already imho.

 

[Boomstick777]

GloFo has been responsible for AMD delays on everything for the past decade, GloFo are part of the reason AMD are in this mess.

Its about time AMD dumped them, it should have happened a long time ago.

Agreed, hopefully this means manufacture will be on time.

 

[Boomstick777]

Globalfoundries 14LPP Is On Time For AMD’s Zen – Volume Ramp To Start In Early 2016

Globalfoundries communicated the progress of its 14nm plans this past Saturday, asserting that its 14LPE FinFET process is on track for volume production this year, while its high performance 14LPP is set for qualification in the second half of the year with volume ramp set to take off early next year.

Read more: http://wccftech.com/globalfoundries-14nm-finfet-amd-zen-2016/#ixzz3n43RhntW

 

[Boomstick777]

The Athlon XP, 64 and X2 did do great things for AMD with close to a 50% market share at the time. It's not impossible to get back to that, but yeah, it's going to be uphill all the way for them.

Not really, it will either will be great and sell, or it will be a potato and AMD might exit the high end desktop / Server CPU market altogether.

A decent ZEN CPU will see instant adoption, a crap one could be the final straw for AMD's high end Desktop CPU market. There's no real middle ground..

Personally think AMD are well aware of the mistakes they made, and have brought in a great team to work on the now completed Zen design.

This will be decent and catapult AMD back into the game. So yeah CPU is being taken care off, tbh I'm more worried that AMD's new GPU's might not be able to keep up with a very dominant Nvidia as we move onto Pascal etc. Although the recent changes to the Radeon division might enable AMD to respond quicker going forward.

 

[Boomstick777]

It far to optimistic to say all AMD need to do is make a great chip.

AMD's success with it depends on Intel letting them, that's the monopoly Intel enjoy.

That is all AMD Have to do, make a great chip.

"If you build it, he will come"

Field of Dreams.

AMD haven't built a great chip in years, and have managed to sell some 'Ok' chips. A great chip would sell a ton.

 

[Boomstick777]

AMD Zen And K12 Designs Completed And Taped Out – On Track For 2016 And 2017 Availability

Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-zen-k12-taped/#ixzz3p0nk48kv

AMD’s next generation x86 and ARM high performance cores code named “Zen” and “K12” have reportedly taped out according to the linkedin profile of an AMD design engineer. Coincidentally AMD’s President and CEO Lisa Su had also announced at the company’s Q3 earnings call that the company’s design teams have successfully taped out several FinFET designs at multiple foundries in Q3 2015.

 

[Boomstick777]

I can see me buying it, even if the CPU side doesn't live up to expectations (and I believe it will, as the expectations aren't that high?).
Happy with the performance the 7850k gives, but looking forward to better IGP!
Hoping it comes out a good bit ahead of the current Iris Pro offerings.

The current rumor is that Zen CPU comes first in 2016, Zen APU (With IGPU) is coming 2017. Apparently next year is just another Bulldozer iteration with updated chipset / DDR4 support, basically just an updated refresh for the APU lineup. 2017 will bring the good Zen stuff for APU.

 

[Boomstick777]

Next year should be really good.

Fancy an 8 core Zen setup with a new AMD GPU and 4K monitor. A big system update. Hope AMD deliver otherwise it will have to be Intel / Nvidia again, really fancy a change to AMD this time. Come on guys don't disappoint.

 

[Boomstick777]

AMD Zen FX CPU Product Release Set For Q4 2016 – APUs Coming In 2017 With Comparable Performance To The PS4 And XBOX ONE

Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-zen-launch-q4-2016/#ixzz3sXJLf2VC

Zen is undoubtedly one of the most hotly anticipated AMD products announced for 2016 as it marks the company’s re-entry to the high performance x86 CPU segment with a brand new, clean slate, microarchitecture after a near complete absence of participation from the company in that segment for what now amounts to roughly half a decade.

Moving over to the APU and server side of the Zen equation. APUs and enterprise products based on the new Zen microarchitecture are planned for release sometime in 2017. We’ve also learned of a particularly exciting piece of information about AMD’s next generation APUs and that they will boast performance levels that are comparable with the Playstation 4 and XBOX ONE, even inside frugal notebook chips.

 

[Boomstick777]

I feel like we need to embargo WCCF until other, more reputable, publications corroborate these stories

WCCF get many things right, and usually long before other sites. Also being quoted by the more reputable sites these days.

Leave WCCF alone lol

 

[Boomstick777]

Early AM4 boards will be filled with APUs (Careezo and whatnot, not Zen).

But yes I imagine high-volume server customers will be trialing Zen around that time.

^^ This, can see some confusing this with Zen.

The early 2016 APU's will be based on Excavator cores and 28nm, both APU and CPU compatible with AM4.

I guess someone could pick up an APU alongside their AM4 and just throw in a Zen CPU or APU down the line, I expect these Excavator APU's won't be that competitive though, although might be fun to play with whilst waiting for the real deal Zen chips.

 

[Boomstick777]

For Zen and Bristol Ridge.. Hopefully this means Zen isn't to far off.

AMD have revealed their new Wraith CPU Stock Cooler

AMD have revealed their new Wraith CPU Stock Cooler, a CPU heatsink which is both cooler and quieter than AMD's current stock CPU cooler designs.

This cooler is bigger than their previous design and features a larger fan, which runs at a much lower speed and provides a higher static pressure in order to keep this heatsink much cooler than it's older generation counterpart.

This heatsink is expected to be bundles with high end CPUs and APUs from AMD's Bristol Ridge and Zen ranges of CPUs, giving AMD users a much better stock cooler experience before they more to larger aftermarket coolers for overclocking.

http://www.overclock3d.net/articles..._revealed_their_new_wraith_cpu_stock_cooler/1

 

[Boomstick777]

Single socket for the whole range of APU / CPU makes sense. Much better way of doing it, as buyers can jump onto at different levels and upgrade to higher end CPU only or vice versa.

Don't want to be overly positive but AMD looks like it has a great hand to play this year, with Zen, Polaris and the console wins. Things are looking up.

 

[Boomstick777]

I always think AMD is on the verge of dying but looking at the share price it has gone up from 2.09 to 3.60 (72% increase) in the last 3 months. If you look at the last year it has gone from 2.31 to 3.60 (56% increase) so by those measures AMD is on the up (at least in the short-term).

Nowhere near the numbers of Intel but considering the graphics cards have been rebadges for years and the significantly lower performance of the CPUs I find it surprising their share price has increased so much.

We need AMD to get back in the game as much better for the consumer when there is real competition.

AMD is back in the game, this is the reason their stock has gone up. They have diversified their portfolio, they are not the same old PC only company. AMD said they were diversify and get revenue from other than traditional PC market and they have done. Multiple console contracts, new ones in the pipeline, just won a big server contract (Share price jump likely because of this in particular)

Zen is incoming, as are new GPU's, but what is more impressive is that AMD have done what they set out to do and expanded their business. Long-term the future looks much brighter than if they were just to be making traditional PC CPU and GPU.

 

[Boomstick777]

Asus or Gigabyte for me. Also had a couple of good Epox boards back in the day.

Same here, these have been rock solid for me.

Oh and also,



http://wccftech.com/amd-zen-16-core-cpu-pictured/

 

[Boomstick777]

Thought this was really good. The presentation of the show etc. The performance of Zen and a lil Vega tease at the end. AMD have def stepped their game up imho.

 

[Boomstick777]

i did like the fact they were using Nv cards as well

Same, good stuff from AMD.