AMD shares new insights into its future Zen 6 processor architecture

Last week, AMD published a document titled "Performance Monitor Counters for AMD Family 1Ah Model 50h-57h Processors," which was uncovered by InstLatX64, shedding light on various architectural aspects of AMD's Zen 6-based processors, including the EPYC 'Venice' chip intended for data centers, via performance monitoring interfaces. It appears that Zen 6 represents not just an evolution of Zen 5 but a completely new design with a distinct philosophy.

For some time, AMD has been discussing its Zen 6-based processors in broad strokes, mentioning that they will support up to 256 cores and will be manufactured using TSMC's 2nm-class process technology. The recent PMC document aimed at software developers notes that the Zen 6 microarchitecture is not an incremental upgrade over Zen 4 or Zen 5, but an intentionally broad, throughput-focused design that incorporates an eight-slot dispatch engine and simultaneous multi-threading (SMT).

In this configuration, two hardware threads compete for access to a common pool of dispatch slots, which means that, at equivalent clock speeds, the single-thread performance of Zen 6-based processors might not reach the levels of Apple’s 9-wide (or wider) CPUs in every situation. Nevertheless, this architectural approach holds potential for exceptionally high performance in certain cases. Additionally, the core includes specific counters for unused dispatch slots, backend stalls, and thread-selection losses, affirming that wide issue and SMT arbitration are the focal points AMD is banking on with Zen 6.

AMD intends to launch Zen 6 Ryzen CPUs in late 2026. Based on earlier “Medusa” leaks, these CPUs will have a maximum of 24 CPU cores using two 12-core CCX/CCD chiplets. This upgrade raises the maximum core count per chiplet from 8 to 12. Additionally, it increases the L3 cache per CCX/CCD from 32 MB to 48 MB.

If these revelations hold true, AMD’s Zen 6 CPUs should offer significantly improved gaming performance compared to their Zen 5 predecessors. Because gaming is very sensitive to cache, increasing the L3 cache in a Zen 6 CCD will enhance gaming capabilities. With the extra architectural improvements in Zen 6, AMD’s upcoming Ryzen CPUs are expected to perform exceptionally well.

While the excitement builds around the upcoming Ryzen CPU, you don’t have to wait long to enjoy outstanding gaming performance. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is already a well-established X3D powerhouse, delivering excellent frame rates and remarkable efficiency at present. As always, for the latest news on hardware launches and industry developments, be sure to follow our dedicated hardware coverage.