New rumors are shaping the contours of the upcoming consumer Zen 4 processors, the Ryzen 6000 Raphaels. With a little less hearts than expected.

The first rumors arrived before him, and he just updated them: executable It brings news of the next consumer processor for Zen 4, the Ryzen 6000 Raphael. Ultimately, the stellar model should be satisfied with 16 cores and not 24, which is the first assumption of a potential Ryzen 6950X. What to keep underfoot, and avoid coming to Ryzen Threadripper territory when launching the range?

5nm pattern, AM5 and DDR5 socket

If Lisa Su had already mentioned the Zen 4 architecture through several interviews last January, AMD was brutally secretive during Computex 2021. Set to take place in the last quarter of 2022, we know she will open the transition to a 5nm pattern node at TSMC . Ryzen 6000 will also introduce the new socket AM5 (LGA1718), abandoning the PGA design (matrix pin(for LGA)Ground Grid Matrix), the same as Intel since LGA775. Zen 4, on the other hand, will support DDR5 memory, with four additional PCIe 4.0 lanes (from 24 to 28) compared to the previous generation Ryzen 5000 Vermeer.

With 16 cores at most and not 24, the Ryzen 6000 should keep spinning around two CDDs, not three. An option dictated by technical limitations, to better test and test the new range when it is launched? Or the desire to evolve at a “reasonable” TDP, where it was rumored 120 W to 170 W, as opposed to the current 105 W?

Comparison of Intel and AMD roadmaps

The schedule has also been confirmed. Zen 4 should soon follow the release of the RDNA 3 architecture, during the fourth quarter of 2022. By that time, Intel should have launched two new generations of processors. At the beginning of 2022 we expect Alder Lake, the twelfth generation Intel Core to appear. It introduces a new high-volume architecture, with two types of CPU cores, as well as switching to a 10nm pattern.

As for AMD, this launch gave rise to a new socket, the LGA1700. Re-entry also needs to be done quickly for the next generation, Lake Raptor, scheduled for the end of 2022. It is being offered as the first Update Alder Lake, they should be in direct opposition to the Ryzen 6000 timing issue. With the same number of cores on both systems, Intel processors will be able to benefit from PCIe 5.0 support.

Two more generations should continue to use the LGA1700 socket. Meteor Lake, operating from 2022 to 2023, with the introduction of the first series of 7-nm EUV and ‘Redwood Cove’ cores. Then Moon Lake, the following year, which should strengthen it. On the AMD side, we will likely move towards a Update Ryzen 5000s coming early next year, with a Zen 3+ architecture that could take advantage of a new design with a 3D vertical cache.