AMD has made a significant splash at Hot Chips this week by delving into the details of its new Zen 5 core architecture. This powerful architecture is already powering the impressive Ryzen AI 300 series “Strix Point” APUs for laptops and the new Ryzen 9000 series “Granite Ridge” CPUs designed for desktop use.
AMD has been on a remarkable journey with its Zen architecture, launching in 2017 to challenge Intel in unprecedented ways. Since then, AMD has consistently delivered significant performance gains with each new generation. Zen was quickly followed by Zen+, Zen 2, Zen 3, Zen 4, and now Zen 5. Zen 3 brought a 19% increase in IPC performance over Zen 2, while Zen 4 delivered another 14% IPC improvement over Zen 3. Now, Zen 5 boasts a remarkable 16% IPC performance increase over Zen 4, showcasing AMD’s unwavering commitment to pushing the limits of performance.
Along the way, the Zen architecture has continuously incorporated new features and improvements. These include the addition of AVX-512 (FP-256) instructions, increased cache sizes, X3D models, and the adoption of TSMC’s latest process nodes. AMD has seamlessly leveraged TSMC’s 7nm and 6nm process nodes for Zen 3 processors, the newer 5nm and 4nm nodes for its Zen 4 processors, and now utilizes the cutting-edge 4nm and 3nm process nodes for its Zen 5 chips.
AMD has defined clear design objectives for Zen 5. Zen 5 core complexes (CCXs) will be implemented in various products, including the Ryzen AI 300 series “Strix Point” APUs, the Ryzen 9000 series “Granite Ridge” desktop CPUs, and the 5th Gen EPYC “Turin” data center CPUs. In essence, AMD emphasizes that Zen 5 delivers on its commitment to delivering substantial performance gains, incorporating AVX512 with 512-bit FP datapaths for enhanced throughput and AI performance, and offering efficient, high-performance, and configurable solutions that scale. Zen 5, designed for peak performance, and Zen 5c, optimized for efficiency, both benefit from support for 4nm and 3nm process nodes.
AMD proudly highlights the “commanding performance” and “gaming leadership” of its new “Strix Point” and “Granite Ridge” CPUs, particularly Granite Ridge, while affirming its continued support for the current AM5 platform. With the enhanced compute power and efficiency across the entire chip, Strix Point offers a comprehensive, uncompromising AI PC solution. This statement rings true, as I am currently typing this on an ASUS Zenbook S16 laptop powered by the new Strix Point APU, and it truly is a remarkable piece of laptop technology.
