Here's why AMD's Zen 4c cores are more than just an effective clone of Intel's Efficient cores.
. It all comes down to physical design targets. For full fat Zen 4, that includes supporting operating frequencies all the way up to 5.5Ghz and beyond. But for Zen 4c, the clock speed target was reduced to the low 3GHz region.
Turns out that makes a huge difference to how you lay a CPU core out. With lower clocks, you can make the internal structures much smaller with worrying about the interference and power leakages that come with high operating frequencies.And yet, the core remains functionally identical and offers the same IPC or performance per clock cycle as full Zen 4, save for cases where the L3 cache differential has a substantial impact.
But there's much more asymmetry between Intel's core types, differences in issue width and latencies and even instruction set. And, of course, Intel's Efficient cores do not support multi-threading. So, it's that bit more complicated to manage thread allocation and load balancing on Intel's hybrid design.Of course, given that Zen 4c cores run at significantly lower clocks, you'll still want to be careful how you schedule threads.
Anyway, with all this in mind, the next question is when we might see an AMD hybrid CPU in a desktop or laptop and what sorts of specifications you might expect. AMD has announced its first CPU with Zen 4c cores, a server chip known as Bergamo. That's a Zen 4c-only design with up to eight chiplets, each with 16 Zen 4c cores for a maximum total of 128 cores and 256 threads. But theoretically, it would be easy enough for AMD to package, say, one of its existing eight-core Zen 4 chiplets or CCDs with a 16-core Zen 4c chiplet, and thus offer a 24-core and 48-thread CPU for the desktop that would be pretty darn compelling.There's no immediate evidence that AMD is planning to launch such a hybrid Zen 4 chip.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
AMD's RX 7900 GRE is coming to China, but what's under the hood?The Golden Rabbit Edition is coming.
Read more »
AMD 'Zenbleed' bug allows Meltdown-like data leakageZen 2 flaw more simple than Spectre, exploit code already out there – get patching when you can
Read more »
Intel pushes AI reference kits to help sell its siliconIntel: Here, have some AI reference kits ... now please buy our silicon
Read more »
Intel discloses x86 and vector instructions for future chipsIntel adds fresh x86 and vector instructions for future chips
Read more »
AMD 3D V-Cache CPUs are coming to laptops, and they'll contend for the gaming crownI'm surprised we didn't see these chips sooner.
Read more »