Zen 4 Dense (Zen4D) might be AMD’s answer to Intel Hybrid Technology

Zen4 Dense leak might explain how AMD is going to tackle heterogeneous computing in next-gen CPUs

AMD is developing a new type of microarchitecture known as Zen4D (Dense) designed specifically for specific workloads, claims the rumor. 

According to Moore’s Law is Dead, who is first to share the details on this new type of core, the Zen4D would be a redesigned Zen4 core (a fork) with reduced cache size and decreased frequency for power efficiency. Due to the lower cache, the Zen4D core would be smaller which would allow AMD to put as many as 16 cores in each chiplet, claims MLID in the video.

Rather than developing a completely different type of microarchitecture, AMD would be redesigning its existing designs as fabrication nodes improve and shrink. This would save a lot of development time and cost for AMD. It would also be a different approach than Intel’s, which designs two separate microarchitectures for its heterogeneous CPUs, such as Lakefield, Alder Lake or Raptor Lake.

AMD Zen4D & Zen5 rumors, Source: Moore’s Law is Dead

MLID claims that the first product that could feature Zen4D is Bergamo, a 128-core EPYC CPU that has been rumored for a few months now. The CPU would have 8 chiplets each with 16 Zen4D cores. What is not confirmed yet is whether Zen4D supports multi-threading (SMT). By enabling this technology on ‘smaller/denser’ cores AMD would be offering a higher thread count than Intel’s Gracemont, which does not support hyperthreading.

It should be noted that this is not the first time we are learning about Zen4D. This codename already appeared in a leak featuring Granite Ridge and Strix Point, considered to be the desktop and APU series primarily based on Zen5 architecture. That said, Zen4D would not be exclusive to the high-end server and desktop parts, but also for relatively low-power APUs, including mobile processors.

AMD Graphite Ridge & Strix Point, Source: itacg

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