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[SantaC]

When asked about what kind of performance gain Milan's CPU core microarchitecture, which is known as Zen 3, will deliver relative to the Zen 2 microarchitecture that Rome relies on in terms of instructions processed per CPU clock cycle (IPC), Norrod observed that -- unlike Zen 2, which was more of an evolution of the Zen microarchitecture that powers first-gen Epyc CPUs -- Zen 3 will be based on a completely new architecture.


Norrod did qualify his remarks by pointing out that Zen 2 delivered a bigger IPC gain than what's normal for an evolutionary upgrade -- AMD has said it's about 15% on average -- since it implemented some ideas that AMD originally had for Zen but had to leave on the cutting board. However, he also asserted that Zen 3 will deliver performance gains "right in line with what you would expect from an entirely new architecture."

AMD Inks New Server CPU Deals; Data Center Chief Discusses Them and More

During a talk with TheStreet, AMD exec Forrest Norrod highlighted new supercomputer deals and an expanded partnership with AWS. He also suggested AMD's next-gen server CPUs will deliver healthy performance gains.

realmoney.thestreet.com

 

[GHG]

AMD are killing it at the moment.

Anyone know if Zen 3 will require new motherboards or whether they will potentially be compatible with the boards available right now?

 

[Rolling_Start]

AMD are killing it at the moment.

Anyone know if Zen 3 will require new motherboards or whether they will potentially be compatible with the boards available right now?

Plan is for Zen 3 - at least on the consumer side - is to be compatible with socket AM4. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean all AM4 chipsets from all vendors.

The latest X570 chipset is your best bet. It's very likely AMD4 will push out BIOS updates for this, and very likely that you mobo vendor would then integrate it and push it out to you as a consumer.

Early AM4 chipsets from early 2017 might not get updated as they'll be over three years old when Zen lands. The chipsets might not even be fundamentally compatible with what the new architecture needs.

 

[GHG]

Plan is for Zen 3 - at least on the consumer side - is to be compatible with socket AM4. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean all AM4 chipsets from all vendors.

The latest X570 chipset is your best bet. It's very likely AMD4 will push out BIOS updates for this, and very likely that you mobo vendor would then integrate it and push it out to you as a consumer.

Early AM4 chipsets from early 2017 might not get updated as they'll be over three years old when Zen lands. The chipsets might not even be fundamentally compatible with what the new architecture needs.

Thanks for the info.

Currently planning to do a 3700x build in the next few months but I'm not sure whether to go for a b450 or x570 so this is good to know.

 

[Great Hair]

Any good, terrific matx B450 or older/newer chipset board anyone can recommend? Looking for one with support for the 3900X and perhaps 3950X.

 

[SantaC]

Plan is for Zen 3 - at least on the consumer side - is to be compatible with socket AM4. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean all AM4 chipsets from all vendors.

The latest X570 chipset is your best bet. It's very likely AMD4 will push out BIOS updates for this, and very likely that you mobo vendor would then integrate it and push it out to you as a consumer.

Early AM4 chipsets from early 2017 might not get updated as they'll be over three years old when Zen lands. The chipsets might not even be fundamentally compatible with what the new architecture needs.

Most of the vendors has rolled out the zen 2 bios for even the lowest of chipsets. I am seing B350 getting them.

 

[Xdrive05]

I have a B450 Tomahawk. Fingers crossed for good compatibility!

Btw, a version of Zen 3 is what is expected to be in the new consoles, right?

 

[SantaC]

I have a B450 Tomahawk. Fingers crossed for good compatibility!

Btw, a version of Zen 3 is what is expected to be in the new consoles, right?

No, it's zen 2 in the consoles.

 

[kraspkibble]

I have a B450 Tomahawk. Fingers crossed for good compatibility!

Btw, a version of Zen 3 is what is expected to be in the new consoles, right?

nope. Zen 2.

Zen 3 will be out months before next gen consoles so Zen 2 will be outdated by the time next gen consoles arrive. In fact Zen 4 will be just around the corner when they turn up.

Also, what ever CPU they put in next gen consoles will be far significantly weaker than any Zen 2 cpu you can buy now for PC (3600-3950X). They will only share the same architecture. I would guess next years APU or low end "4xxxG" will be closer to what you should expect. We have Zen 2 desktop cpus right now. However, the low end 3200G/3400G are actually Zen+ and NOT Zen 2. So, next year when we get Zen 3 desktop we will get Zen 2 apu and cpus like the "4200G" or "4400G".

 

[mckmas8808]

nope. Zen 2.

Zen 3 will be out months before next gen consoles so Zen 2 will be outdated by the time next gen consoles arrive. In fact Zen 4 will be just around the corner when they turn up.

Also, what ever CPU they put in next gen consoles will be far significantly weaker than any Zen 2 cpu you can buy now for PC (3600-3950X). They will only share the same architecture. I would guess next years APU or low end "4xxxG" will be closer to what you should expect. We have Zen 2 desktop cpus right now. However, the low end 3200G/3400G are actually Zen+ and NOT Zen 2. So, next year when we get Zen 3 desktop we will get Zen 2 apu and cpus like the "4200G" or "4400G".

Very interesting.

 

[Rolling_Start]

nope. Zen 2.

Zen 3 will be out months before next gen consoles so Zen 2 will be outdated by the time next gen consoles arrive. In fact Zen 4 will be just around the corner when they turn up.

Also, what ever CPU they put in next gen consoles will be far significantly weaker than any Zen 2 cpu you can buy now for PC (3600-3950X). They will only share the same architecture. I would guess next years APU or low end "4xxxG" will be closer to what you should expect. We have Zen 2 desktop cpus right now. However, the low end 3200G/3400G are actually Zen+ and NOT Zen 2. So, next year when we get Zen 3 desktop we will get Zen 2 apu and cpus like the "4200G" or "4400G".

I'm not sure I'd use the term "outdated". There won't be anything newer in an APU, and next gen console chips are likely to be in production in the millions of units per month around the time Zen starts trickling out to retail.

And next gen console APUs are likely to be very big chips compared to Zen 3 chiplets or even Zen 2 APUs, so that's something to take into account from an engineering perspective.

In terms of raw processing power, Zen 2 in console should be ahead of the 3600 or any six core Zen 2 variant. It might also have the advantage of being part of a monolithic chip with lower memory access latency. There may also be tradeoffs with L3 size vs latency that suit consoles too. Certainly, the bandwidth situation will be better than for any Zen 2 APU - the most directly comparable part at the time.

I figure Zen 3 will be a good upgrade path for anyone on a decent quad core right now. For now a quad core is fine for gaming - late 2020 or early 2021 when games are starting to lean on 8 cores, you can jump to 8 or 16 core Zen 3. That's my plan anyway.