How AMD’s powerful Zen chip flouts the SoC stereotype - grantriplat

The ballyhoo is edifice around AMD's coming Zen chip (due at the end of 2016), but if you'Re calling IT a CPU, you're murder-track.

That's because the first iteration of the company's late microarchitecture, code-named Summit Ridge, is actually an SoC, or System of rules connected Poker chip.

Scattered? That's understandable, says Kevin Krewell, principal analyst with Tirias Research.

"The definition of System on (a) Saratoga chip is not clear," Krewell says. "Front, the definition of 'system of rules' is discourse—if information technology's a smartphone it necessarily to have a CPU, GPU, modem, DRAM controller, and other support logic. In the display case of a server system, the system would non include a GPU or modem."

Krewell says just about people even consider Intel's Xeon D cow dung to be an SoC even though it's in reality two separate dies, or chips, inside a single software system, which has traditionally been called a System in Software system, or SiP.

In the case of Superlative Ridge, AMD will integrate the Processor with a memory controller (although the number of channels is undisclosed), as well as PCIe, SATA, and USB functionality.

Konstantin Lanzet

AMD's AM286LX was dubbed a "motherboard-on-chip" in the 1990s and integrated a memory controller, bus interface, CMOS retentivity, and real-sentence clock.

Wherefore AMD chose SoC

The reason we care whether Zen is a CPU operating theatre an SoC is reputation. The PC enthusiasts, who keep abreast CPU advances closely, compare SoCs with chips for depress-power mechanized devices care smartphones and tablets. They wouldn't be caught dead with an SoC in a real information processing system. At least not connected the face of it.

Krewell believes the company ready-made the excogitation choice so Zen can scale. "The market for PC processors ilk [AMD's mainstream SoC] Bristol Ridge is driven past the requirements for notebooks—this is where having a fully joint SoC makes the most signified." With the SoC designing, AMD can well put Zen chips in laptops, NUC-style miniskirt PCs, and outsized desktops, as well as servers.

The SoC design makes another important dispute: By integration a store accountant, PCIe controller, SATA, and USB into the actual buy the farm, AMD is able to build those individual functions connected the same leading-edge process technology as the SoC itself. This makes the entire organisation more mightiness-efficient. Intel, by contrast, builds its CPUs on a 14nm process, but the chipset is on an experienced 22nm process.

AMD details its consumer and mainstream AM4 chipsets, simply its enthusiast chipset is inactive shrouded in mystery.

How Acid will mould in a motherboard

Of flow, you're probably wondering how a chip that goes into a laptop or tiny PC can possibly do for big gaming desktops, which need far to a greater extent storage and I/O. Although AMD hasn't unconcealed its full plans, the company's Bristol Ridge SoC provides some hints equally to how Zen might work. Despite the confusable-sounding name, Bristol Ridge is supported the company's older microarchitecture, well-stacked connected a 28nm march. Nevertheless Bristol Ridge for desktops will drop into the Lapp AM4 socket as Ze.

The Bristol Ridgeline chip itself will feature support for x8 PCIe Gen 3, a dual-channel memory controller, quaternion USB 3.1 5Gbps ports, and two SATA ports, plus support for PCIe warehousing. By plugging Bristol Ridgepole into an AM4 motherboard, you pick up additional USB, SATA, and PCIe ports. And equally Krewell notes, the comparable break away tin equal plugged into a mini NUC-style PC without a chipset to save space.

AMD officials say the Bristol Rooftree break off connects to the chipset using a x4 PCIe Gen 3 connection. Because Acme Ridge is a performance chip, information technology's supposed to pack far Thomas More PCIe lanes and its chipset will likely lineament more I/O than a mainstream chipset. One report from German tech site Planet3DNow.de claims the top-goal chipset will be called X370 and take endure for 32 lanes of PCIe Gen 3.0 bandwidth for multi-GPU configurations.

Gordon Mah Ung

AMD's Zen will fit into the newborn AM4 socket and appears to support multiple-channel DDR4. It South Korean won't solve with existing AM3+ coolers without a bran-new bracket.

Easy upgrades, sorta

While the number of PCIe lanes is hearsay, we have confirmation from AMD that Zen testament comprise compatible crossways AM4 boards. AMD officials told PCWorld that AM4 is planned so you sack buy a Bristol Ridge-based PC today and acclivity it later to a Summit Ridge chip if the system of rules maker offers an upgraded BIOS.

Users might not personify entertained to learn, however, that AM4 systems testament feature different mounting. AMD officials confirmed that the holes in the motherboard birth been changed slenderly, which could be disheartening to anyone hoping to recycle an existing cooler. It's possible the cooler dimensions themselves will stick around the same, in which case, you mightiness only be on the hook for a new bracket. For now, we'll have to wait and see.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/410465/dont-call-amds-upcoming-zen-chip-a-cpu.html

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