AMD provided a glimpse of its next-generation “Zen” processor core, highlighting how the new grounds-up architecture achieves the most stunning performance leap increase in generational performance in AMD’s history.
Also: AMD Zen Performance: everything you need to know
[...]
AMD reckons the performance of its top-end chip will be 40% greater than its previous high-end processor, but this is hardly surprising considering how long it’s been since the company refreshed its line-up.
This is partly down to the new 14nm process, which means more transistors can fit onto a given piece of silicon, resulting in improved performance without a big increase in power consumption.
Importantly, Zen chips will support “Simultaneous Multi-Threading”, similar to Intel’s Hyper-Threading tech. This allows for better distribution and handling of multiple tasks and means this particular chip will have 16 threads.
Things have been fairly slow going on the announcement front for AMD Zen. The company has started making some slightly more specific performance claims beyond its initial 40% figure, but we still don’t know exactly what sort of chip we’re looking at.
[...]
AMD’s Zen is the company’s first whole new processor design since they unveiled their inaugural Bulldozer technology some five years ago. Back then AMD processors put all their performance eggs in the multi-core basket, hoping over time it would pay off against Intel’s brute-force, high-frequency, single-threaded CPU performance. Unfortunately, for AMD, the industry today remains focused on speedy single-core performance over the more complicated, multi-threaded approach. And nowhere is that more evident than in gaming.
AMD have then gone back to the drawing board for their new x86 AMD processor architecture with Zen offering the promise of clawing back performance, and potentially market share, from their big blue Intel rivals. This time though their new CPU design represents more of a balancing act; nailing improved single-core throughput for existing game engines as well as catering to the multi-threaded approach newer graphics APIs, like DirectX 12 and Vulkan, are finally offering.
