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Ryzen 6000: Everything we know about what’s new from AMD

AMD’s Ryzen 6000 processors continue to generate great expectations, and it is understandable since according to the latest information this generation will be the one that will face Intel Alder-S, a line of high-performance processors that has managed to snatch the crown of single-wire performance and that, as we already told you at the time, is based on a more advanced, and more complete platform, thanks to the support of DDR5 memory and the new PCIE Gen5 standard.

Thanks to the good work that AMD did with the Ryzen 5000 processors, and the huge leap it achieved in terms of IPC with the Zen 3 architecture, the truth is that the Sunnyvale giant does not have it difficult to recover that crown. The difference between the Alder Lake-S processors and the Ryzen 5000 in terms of IPC It is not that bigSo in principle, the Sunnyvale company should just fine-tune the architecture of the new Ryzen 6000 a bit to lead the IPC again.

However, we must bear in mind that this new generation of high-performance processors from AMD will not be based on the Zen 4 architecture, but on a minor revision of its current architecture, tentatively known as Zen 3+. This change in plans is due, according to the most reliable sources that I have been able to consult, for a very simple reason: AMD needs to respond as soon as possible to Alder Lake-S, and the processors based on Zen 4 will not be ready until the end of next year .

With Zen 3+, AMD will be able to improve the IPC of its processors in no time, without having to introduce drastic changes at the microarchitecture level, and without having to launch a totally new platform. Timing is of the essence, given Intel’s leading position, which is why the Ryzen 6000 reportedly went into production in the middle of this month. If this is true, its presentation will take place at CES in 2022, and its launch will take place in February of that year.

Ryzen 6000: Same base as Ryzen 5000, but with 3D cache

Ryzen 6000

That would be, in essence, the most important change that the new Ryzen 6000 processors would bring, an increase in the amount of L3 cache that could skyrocket the CPI by up to 15%. That upgrade should be enough to put it at the level of the Alder Lake-S, or maybe a little higher. It is impossible to specify it exactly, since that “to” indicates that we are talking about a maximum value, and not an average value.

The Ryzen 5 6600X and Ryzen 7 6700X-6800X would have a single 8-core 16-thread chiplet, which means that, in total, they would have 96MB L3 cache, a figure that represents an increase of 64 MB of L3 cache compared to the equivalent Ryzen 5000 series. For their part, models with two chiplets (Ryzen 9 6900X and Ryzen 9 6950X) would be equipped with 192 MB L3 cache, 128MB more than the Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X.

The second important change will be given by the manufacturing process, and it is said that the Ryzen 6000 will use the TSMC 6nm node. This makes perfect sense, and fits perfectly with what AMD did when they released the Ryzen 2000s, based on the Zen + architecture (they used a slightly more advanced node and improved the IPC a bit).

We should not expect changes in the maximum number of cores, and not a significant increase in working frequencies. The most interesting thing in terms of performance will be, therefore, the difference that this increase in the amount of installed cache will make, and AMD may take the opportunity to finish fine-tuning the latencies a little more.

All in all, keep in mind that still we have no definitive information from AMD, beyond confirmation of the 3D cache, so everything we have seen, and what we will tell you next, could end up undergoing changes of greater or lesser entity.

Ryzen 6000

Ryzen 6000: Questions and Answers

To finish offering you all the information we have in a close, easy-to-consult and well-structured way, I have decided to focus the final part of this article as a set of questions and answers where I will group those that are, in my opinion, the most important doubts that you may have after reading the first half. If after finishing reading it you have any other questions, you can leave them in the comments and we will be happy to help you solve them.

Will the Ryzen 6000 use a totally new architecture?

No, they will keep the base we saw with Zen 3, but they will have two important innovations As we’ve already said, an increase in L3 cache thanks to 3D stacking, and the jump to TSMC’s 6nm node, which should slightly lower the cost per wafer, and improve efficiency.

What performance improvement can we expect?

Well around 15% more IPC in games, and at best. In other applications with less dependency on the L3 cache, the performance improvement should be less. On the other hand, we could also see a slight increase in the working frequency, which would result in a slight increase in gross power.

Will the Ryzen 6000 be compatible with AM4 motherboards?

In principle, yes. It would not make sense to launch this new generation of processors and leave all current motherboards unsupported, especially when the changes you are going to introduce are going to be so small. The end of the AM4 motherboards will take place with the arrival of the Ryzen 7000 processors, a generation that will use the Zen 4 architecture and that, according to the latest information, it will be manufactured at the 5 nm node.

Will the Ryzen 6000 come with new motherboards?

We can’t rule it out, but seems unlikely to me. I believe that this new generation of processors will be supported directly by current AM4 boards with 400 series and 500 series chipsets, and that therefore we should not expect major developments at the platform level. The support of DDR5 memory, and the PCIE Gen5 interface, will arrive with the AM5 socket, which will support Zen 4, that is, the Ryzen 7000 processors.

What ranges will AMD launch within this new generation?

Seeing the strategy that the company has followed with Zen 3, I would dare to say that we will only see mid-range and high-end modelsThat is, the lowest will be a Ryzen 5 6600X and the highest a Ryzen 9 6950X. I cannot rule out that we will see, in the end, inferior models, but it seems very unlikely to me.

Ryzen 6000

Will they be more expensive than the Ryzen 5000?

Well I think it will depend on three factors. The first will be the final performance that those Ryzen 6000 achieve, the second the prices that Intel’s Alder Lake-S have by then, and the third the situation of the semiconductor market. If the new AMD clearly outperforms, even by the least, Alder Lake-S, and the current situation of the semiconductor market continues (or worsens), the Ryzen 6000 could be a bit more expensive than the Ryzen 5000, unless Intel decides to lower prices.

Will it be worth upgrading to them?

The answer is a “It depends”. If we have a processor prior to the Ryzen 3000 and we already have a compatible motherboard, yes, they could be an interesting update to give our equipment a second life without having to change more components, that is, conserving the motherboard and RAM. However, if we have a Ryzen 3000 or higher, the answer is a resounding no, especially in the case that we have a Ryzen 5000, since the performance improvement that we will obtain will not compensate the investment that we will have to make.

When can we buy a Ryzen 6000?

If all the forecasts we have seen are met, it is most likely that they will reach the market at some point in the month of February 2022. It will be necessary to see, yes, the degree of availability that they offer in their debut. As with the Ryzen 5000 series, it is most likely that AMD will simultaneously launch all the models that will bring the Ryzen 6000 series to life.

Will the Ryzen 6000 use a high-performance, high-efficiency core design?

No, and we won’t see that kind of design in Zen 4 either, because such an architecture has been in development for a long time, and AMD cannot completely change its initial approach to adopting such a design. This means that at best AMD will jump to a “big.LITTLE” design with Zen 5, as we saw at the time in this article.

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