AMD Zen 4D may be a response to Intel’s hybrid architecture
About half a year ago, it is rumored that the APU code-named Strix Point (belonging to the Ryzen 8000 series) will adopt the big.LITTLE architecture like Intel Alder Lake, with 8 large cores and 4 small cores. Its structure is Zen 5 architecture + Zen 4D architecture and is manufactured using a 3nm process. However, there is not much information related to the Zen 4D architecture. It is generally believed that this is a “small core” designed by AMD for future CPUs, which is similar to Intel’s Efficient Core based on the Gracemont architecture.
According to the news shared by Youtuber Moore’s Law Is Dead, Zen 4D architecture (Zen 4 Dense) is a redesigned Zen 4 architecture, which reduces the capacity of the cache and reduces the frequency to improve the energy efficiency of the core. Due to the reduced cache capacity, the cores based on the Zen 4D architecture will be smaller, allowing AMD to put up to 16 cores in each chiplet. In addition, AMD will not develop completely different types of micro-architectures. In terms of “small cores”, it improves the existing architectural design. This is not the same as Intel choosing to design two different micro-architectures.
It is said that AMD’s first product with the Zen 4D architecture is the EPYC processor code-named Bergamo, which is equipped with 8 small chips, each equipped with 16 Zen 4D architecture cores. It is currently uncertain whether AMD’s “small core” will support multi-threading, providing more threads than Intel’s E-Core. In addition to server platforms and desktop platforms, I believe that the Zen 4D architecture core should also have a larger space for mobile platforms. In the consumer market, in addition to the APU code-named Strix Point, it is not clear whether the Zen 5 architecture CPU, which also belongs to the Ryzen 8000 series and code-named Granite Ridge, will also join the Zen 4D architecture core.
