AMD Zen 5 CPUs Reportedly Made On TSMC's 3nm Process In Q2, Mass Production In Q...

A report by Chinese technology outlet, UDN, suggests that AMD's Zen 5 CPUs will be entering TSMC fabs in Q2 followed by mass production in Q3 2024.

AMD & TSMC Prepping Up Production Facilities For Next-Gen Zen 5 CPUs Based on 4nm & 3nm Nodes, Volume Production Reportedly In Q3 2024

The Zen 5 CPU architecture is going to be a big deal for AMD in 2024 as it will power multiple lines of CPU families including Granite Ridge "Ryzen Desktop", Strix Point "Ryzen Mobile" & Turin "EPYC Server". All of these CPU families will play a major role and it looks like these chips are entering the TSMC fabs for production next quarter followed by volume production in Q3 2024, as reported by UDN.

The outlet also specifically points out the AMD Zen 5 "Nirvana" CPU core which is the standard Zen 5 architecture design while the "Prometheus" Zen 5C cores will aim the dense-compute segment in client and server chips. Interestingly, the Zen 5 "Nirvana" CCD is mentioned to be produced on the TSMC 3nm process node however we know from previous reports that Zen 5 will be using the 4nm node while Zen 5C will be made using the 3nm process.

It might be possible that UDN has confused the Zen 5C "Prometheus" core with Zen 5 "Nirvana". It was just last month when it was rumored that AMD's Zen 5 "Granite Ridge" CPUs had already entered the mass production stage though the company hasn't revealed anything about its next-gen desktop CPU plans at major events such as CES 2024. The only upcoming event that we can think of for an unveil would be Computex 2024 which will be held in June so that's still four months to go.

As AMD is actively planning to launch new product lines, TSMC will also begin preparations for mass production of AMD's new products this year. The legal person pointed out that among the AMD Zen 5 architecture platform, the most critical core computing chip is manufactured by TSMC using the 3nm process. In addition, the HPC platform MI300 series has been put into mass production using TSMC’s 4nm and 5nm processes. The order momentum continues unabated, and TSMC’s advanced process order momentum from Advanced Micro Devices this year is very strong.

Industry analysis shows that the mass production of the 3nm process will take a relatively long time. It is estimated that AMD's new 3nm process Zen 5 architecture platform will enter the wafer mass production stage around the second quarter. By then, the production capacity is expected to increase month by month.

via UDN

Not a whole lot about AMD's Zen 5 core architecture is known at the moment but from what the company has officially stated, it will offer:

• Enhanced performance and efficiency
• Re-pipelined front-end and wide issue
• Integrated AI and Machine Learning optimizations

Now we cannot confirm the legitimacy of UDN's report but they do have a strong record based on their previous industry stories and reports from their own insiders / industry analysts. Regardless of that, AMD's Zen 5 CPUs are something that everyone in the tech community should be excited for as they usher the next chapter of Ryzen and EPYC CPUs with stronger performance, efficiency and brand new features. Expect more information in the coming months.

News Source: Dan Nystedt