AMD zen pre-release thread!

[Arachnotronic]

I hope Zen is a success. If it fails to compete AMD will be in a bit of trouble. I want Zen to make my i5 look like terrible value!

From what we know, it looks like the most credible AMD x86 CPU in years.

Still a lot of unknowns here, especially since clock speeds and perf/watt are much more useful metrics than raw IPC, but there's at least reason to be hopeful that AMD has something good on its hands.

 

[Abwx]

At this stage, I'm a lot more hopeful that AMD will produce a half decent CPU than I was at the same stage with Bulldozer, but a healthy dose of skepticism is a must, with any so called performance % increases quoted by any Semi-conductor entity.

Retrospectively it is obvious that Bulldozer was designed with throughput in mind, they didnt publish IPC numbers because the guideline was MT throughput rather than ST IPC, indeed they published throughput numbers IIRC...

That said i pointed Llano, Piledriver, Steamroller and Excavator as recent designs where they announced IPCs that were actualy realised, not talking of their Bobcat core that also was up to the announced numbers, so AMD being accurate is a rule more than anything else if we are to look at realities rather than hearsays, i guess that in 50 years some very old chaps will still be ranting about Bulldozer...

 

[podspi]

Retrospectively it is obvious that Bulldozer was designed with throughput in mind, they didnt publish IPC numbers because the guideline was MT throughput rather than ST IPC, indeed they published throughput numbers IIRC...

That said i pointed Llano, Piledriver, Steamroller and Excavator as recent designs where they announced IPCs that were actualy realised, not talking of their Bobcat core that also was up to the announced numbers, so AMD being accurate is a rule more than anything else if we are to look at realities rather than hearsays, i guess that in 50 years some very old chaps will still be ranting about Bulldozer...

Fruehe really hurt AMD's credibility on most forums. We'll probably never know exactly what happened, my guess is the technicians showed him best-case throughput numbers using the new instructions.. but until AMD's marketing is spot on AND the product is a success, people are going to give their PPTs much credibility.

Granted, we should take most company's PPTs with salt - according to every firm's presentation their next big thing is the ... next big thing

 

[DrMrLordX]

I dont think 40% is enough. there are a few games where it takes 4.5 on the 8350 just to match a 4770k at 2.5. and of course Intel will have Skylake out probably 9 months to a year before the Zen FX cpus even get launched.

You are comparing Zen to a Vishera chip. The slide is show Zen as having 40% higher IPC than Excavator. Both Steamroller and Excavator sport higher IPCs than any Piledriver chip, and that's without any L3. Zen has L3.

 

[Abwx]

Fruehe really hurt AMD's credibility on most forums. We'll probably never know exactly what happened, my guess is the technicians showed him best-case throughput numbers using the new instructions.. but until AMD's marketing is spot on AND the product is a success, people are going to give their PPTs much credibility.

Granted, we should take most company's PPTs with salt - according to every firm's presentation their next big thing is the ... next big thing

We re not going to rewrite history, Fruehe made his work, he just couldnt imagine that as time was going by the engineers realised that they had to castrate the chip to get it working within release delays, Piledriver can be considered as a Zambezi that has all its parts working as expected...

Anyway arguing the BD case as relevant to evaluate Zen, as are doing some people, is just double bad faith as never AMD stated any IPC number for BD, only throughputs, and when they did for other uarches they were always in an relevant ballpark.

 

[Idontcare]

Retrospectively it is obvious that Bulldozer was designed with throughput in mind, they didnt publish IPC numbers because the guideline was MT throughput rather than ST IPC, indeed they published throughput numbers IIRC...

That said i pointed Llano, Piledriver, Steamroller and Excavator as recent designs where they announced IPCs that were actualy realised, not talking of their Bobcat core that also was up to the announced numbers, so AMD being accurate is a rule more than anything else if we are to look at realities rather than hearsays, i guess that in 50 years some very old chaps will still be ranting about Bulldozer...

Who knows, by then some other very old chaps might still be ranting about Intel rebates and netburst. Everybody has their favorite whipping post, and old habits die hard.

 

[Abwx]

Who knows, by then some other very old chaps might still be ranting about Intel rebates and netburst. Everybody has their favorite whipping post, and old habits die hard.

One should aknowledge than it s not that often that the P4 is mentioned in this forum, i would even admit that it wasnt as bad overall even in its first dual core D versions siblings provided one restrict his choice, or lack of, to the 820...

As for Intel rebates, well, currently it s not even rebates, it s plain donations, and even some money to get the firms accepting deliveries of thoses annoying gifts, so in this department, and as you can read, there s still a lot of justified matters for rants...

 

[crashtech]

Interestingly, Netburst lasted a whole long five years, just about the same length of time Bulldozer is scheduled to last.

 

[Abwx]

Even 6 years, IIRC it was launched in late 2000, and trounced at the two extremities of its time life by the XP and the A64, in between it made a decent living if we can say so...

 

[Phynaz]

Yep, the first available dual core x86 CPU. I wonder how much Jerry Sanderrs regrets disclosing AMD's plans just so Intel could surpass them.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Who knows, by then some other very old chaps might still be ranting about Intel rebates and netburst. .

And the EU agreed with them too! That gives them a leg up over the contra-revenue complainers!

(I'm still stuck on PC100 being nerfed on the i820, how d'ya like that eh sonny? Git off mah lawn!)