The Dutch site Hardware.info decided to look a little into how Ryzen 2000 and Raven Ridge processors fit modern AMD motherboards.

Theoretically, they all use the AM4 socket and should work in current motherboards, and AMD itself has promised to maintain compatibility until 2020. However, in reality, compatibility is highly dependent on the specific board manufacturer, and if they haven't taken care of compatibility, then you're out of luck.

The accelerated Raven Ridge processor will be released on February 12, and the Ryzen 2000 will be released in April. And there are a ton of motherboards on the market right now that haven't received AMD's latest AGESA update, which is required to be compatible with Raven Ridge.

Asus is in the best position now. The new BIOS is available for almost all motherboards with socket AM4. Gigabyte has updated only 4 motherboards, and MSI has no activity in this direction yet.

ASRock has updated two of the four boards with AM4, but the company did not indicate the AGESA version in the BIOS, so it is not clear whether ASRock supports Raven Ridge processors.

Thus, despite the actual availability of the Ryzen APU in just a week, before purchasing you should carefully study the list of supported CPUs.

APU Ryzen 7 2700U will receive MX150 performance

In the near future, AMD will release its Raven Ridge accelerated processors, which promise unprecedented performance thanks to the Zen compute unit and integrated Vega graphics.

Performance testing results of the Ryzen 7 2700U processor have been leaked onto the Internet. In the 3D Mark 11 test, the chip scored a total of 4212 points. In the graphics test the result was 4072 points, in the physical test 6419, and 3353 points in the combined test. And this is an impressive result. For comparison, in the same physical test, the Intel Core i5 8205U chip shows 6568 parrots, and 4570 points are shown by the most popular solution for casual mobile gamers NVIDIA MX150, which makes the 2700U a mobile champion. Even the Radeon Pro 450 based on Polaris 11 with CGN cores cannot achieve this performance.

However, the Ryzen 7 2700U has an important power limitation. With a TDP of 35W, this APU is not suitable for ultrabooks, and given market trends, AMD may have problems selling it. Also, the chip will require good and expensive cooling, which will also increase the cost of the end devices. One can only hope that, as always, we are talking about commercially declared power, and in reality the heat dissipation will be lower.

In any case, this information has not yet been confirmed, so it belongs exclusively to the speculation section.

HP will be the first laptop based on Raven Ridge

This chip combines a quad-core Zen processor and integrated Vega graphics. According to the published specifications, the laptop will be based on the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U APU.

The 2500U processor contains a compute unit containing 4 x 2.0 GHz Zen cores (3.6 GHz Boost) and 6 MB cache. Apparently, we are talking about the total cache size, since AMD installs 512 KB of second-level cache and 4 MB of L3 cache in the CPU.

Otherwise, the laptop boasts a 15.6” Full HD IPS screen. The machine will also receive 8 GB of single-channel DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM memory, and a 256 GB M.2 PCIe (NVMe) SSD is offered as a drive. The laptop will be powered by a 55.8 Wh battery, which is enough for 10 hours of battery life.

Among the interfaces, HP offers the laptop 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2, two USB 3.0 ports (one of them type C), HDMI 2.0 video output and audio output.

Raven Ridge APU could combine Zen with Polaris graphics and HBM memory

HBM stack memory can work not only as fast video memory, but also as a fast cache for other tasks. It has long been known that AMD has dreamed of implementing an APU with HBM memory, and now it has become known that the Raven Ridge APU, planned for 2017, will receive new stack memory.

According to the source, Raven Ridge will contain a Zen CPU combined with a Polaris GCN graphics core. Considering production using the 14 nm LPP process, iGPUs can be manufactured in a much larger area than now, without fear of overheating the chip or reaching unrealistic power consumption. However, even with a high-performance iGPU, the main problem with an accelerated processor will be memory, and DDR4 speed will not be enough. AMD has found an obvious solution - HBM.

To maintain the pace of APU performance growth, AMD also needs fast memory. One way could be eDRAM memory, which Intel uses, but in this case the price of the processor would increase to $400, and in this light, the not very expensive HBM looks like a salvation.

Using at least a gigabyte HBM buffer, the APU will be able to significantly increase performance, raising the speed of the iGPU in the APU to at least the level of R7 370. The company is considering HMC memory as the successor to HBM, work on the implementation of which is already underway. If AMD succeeds in realizing all its plans, the new Raven Ridge APUs could become real competitors to Intel solutions at an affordable price, and at the same time salvation for the company.

Date: 2018-01-08 10:10

AMD introduced new processors on the eve of the official opening of CES 2018. To be more precise, we are talking about Raven Ridge APUs, combining a Ryzen CPU and a Vega GPU.

The Raven Ridge desktop APU family includes the Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G. Their characteristics are as follows: Model Number of cores/threads Clock frequency, MHz L2/L3 cache size, MB GPU Number of stream processors TDP, W Price, $ Ryzen 5 2400G 4/8 3.6-3, 9 GHz 2/4 Vega11 704 65 170 Ryzen 3 2200G 4/4 3.5-3.7 2/4 Vega8 512 65 100

As noted by AMD, the Ryzen 5 2400G in the 3D Mark Time Spy benchmark provides the same level of performance as a combination of an Intel Core i5-8400 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GT 1030 video card, but the APU costs more than half as much, yes and the total TDP is less.

In contrast, the new Raven Ridge mobile APU models, Ryzen 3 2200U and Ryzen 3 2300U, are already available to laptop manufacturers. The specifications of the new products are as follows: Model Number of cores/threads Clock frequency, MHz L2/L3 cache size, MB GPU Number of stream processors TDP, W Price, $ Ryzen 3 2300U 4/4 2.0-3.4 GHz 2/4 Vega6 Mobile 384 15 N/A Ryzen 3 2200U 2/4 2.5-3.4 1/4 Vega3 Mobile 192 15 N/A

These APUs should provide an alternative to the Intel Core i3 processor used in budget laptops or in entry-level mid-range laptop configurations. Well, the total number of Raven Ridge mobile APUs, taking into account the previously presented Ryzen 7 2700U and Ryzen 5 2500U, has now grown to four.

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AMD has large production capacities for central and graphics processors. The fruitful work of its engineers to combine these components into a single unit has borne fruit. AMD offers the most powerful integrated GPUs on the market in budget-grade chips. Intel engineers also did not sit idly by, but their top-end Iris Pro graphics are used only in expensive processors for flagship ultrabooks.

Since 2011, when the first APUs (hybrid processors) of the Llano family were introduced, integrated graphics in AMD processors have been actively improved. But the release of a CPU based on the Bulldozer architecture in 2012 turned out to be a failure. The processors turned out to be prone to overheating and seriously lagged behind Intel chips in performance. Because of this, AMD was unable to combine powerful CPU cores and a powerful GPU in one module.

Progress slowed down; for 5 years AMD carried out only “cosmetic” modernization of its products, so by 2017 the integrated graphics in the A-series APUs were almost no longer superior to the Intel HD Graphics GPUs of the 500 and 600 series in mass models of Core processors. In this regard, I, like most AMD fans, had high hopes for the release of a truly new generation APU, and not that ersatz called Bristol Ridge.

Although Bristol Ridge processors are designed for boards with a modern AM4 socket, their cores are still the same Bulldozer (albeit “modified with a file”), the GPU is based on the GCN architecture released in 2014, and they are produced using an outdated 28 nm process technology.

Against this background, the Raven Ridge generation, combining new Zen cores and equally new Vega graphics, and even a 14 nm process technology, cannot disappoint in principle. And this is true, there are reasons for joy. However, something still managed to upset me. But first things first.

Benefits of AMD Raven Ridge Processors

The Raven Ridge APU is a huge step forward for both AMD and integrated graphics in general. Even Bristol Ridge pales in comparison to the new product, not to mention older solutions designed for boards with the FM2+ socket.

Technical process

Compared to the previous series, progress in Raven Ridge is visible to the naked eye. Even a comparison of 28 and 14 nm process technologies is enough to understand that the new chips will consume much less energy. The eldest of the series, Ryzen 5 2400G, fits into a TDP of 65 W, which allows you to use the simplest coolers to cool it.

CPU

The progress in CPU cores is also noticeable. The unsuccessful Bulldozer architecture is being replaced by Zen, which is 1.5 times superior in performance per clock cycle. In addition, the Ryzen 5 2400G features SMT multi-threading, allowing two streams of data to be processed on a single core. This is in stark contrast to the previous generation, in which the cores, on the contrary, were not entirely complete, since they had a common FPU unit for every two cores. That is, while formally being 4-core, in floating point calculations they became 2-core.

GPU

Graphics are the third positive aspect of the AMD Raven Ridge APU. In this area, the company has made a significant leap forward, moving from the GCN 3 (Volcanic Islands) architecture directly to GCN 5 (Vega). The Ryzen 5 2400G has a Vega GPU containing 11 clusters with 704 compute units. Before this, their maximum number was 512, moreover, on the old architecture.

The introduction of new generation graphics will significantly increase the performance of AMD APUs. According to the manufacturer, the performance of the built-in video card of its chips is comparable to the budget discrete card Nvidia GeForce GT 1030. This means that at low or medium settings, the Ryzen 5 2400G is capable of handling any modern games.

What's wrong with the AMD Raven Ridge APU

Although the new APUs look very innovative and attractive, there were some shortcomings that slightly spoiled the overall impression of the announcement.

There could be more GPU cores

Even though the GPUs in Raven Ridge chips contain almost 200 more computing elements than their predecessors, this is not enough. If we assume that the consumption of CPU and GPU cores is 1:1, then doubling the number of stream processors would keep the TDP within a still acceptable 100 W. Gaming performance would increase by up to 2 times, making AMD Raven Ridge a competitor not to the budget GT 1030, but to the much more serious GTX 1050 Ti.

The 704 stream processors look especially strange compared to products developed in collaboration between AMD and Intel. These processors are equipped with Vega architecture GPUs containing up to 1536 processing cores. It turns out that the graphics in products supplied by a competitor will be 2 times more powerful. This step can only be explained by the reluctance to create competition for its own Radeon RX 550 and RX 560 video cards, or the presence of some kind of agreement with Intel.

No HBM2 memory

RAM bandwidth is always the limiting factor for integrated GPUs. Dual-channel DDR4-2400 memory is at least twice as slow as GDDR5 chips installed on discrete video cards. Because of this, GPU performance is lower than it could be.

HBM2 memory, which AMD is a pioneer in developing, could solve the problem of insufficient bandwidth. Chips of this type are very compact in size, easily placed on the same substrate as the processor, and at the same time provide a very high data exchange rate. If AMD equipped its new APUs with 4 GB of such memory, they would be more expensive, but also significantly faster in 3D processing.

The issue with HBM2 memory also raises questions. After all, the joint products of Intel and AMD, which will be released soon, will each receive 4 GB of this memory. And such a decision can only be explained by the high cost. After all, HBM2 is still not a cheap pleasure, and, probably because of this, they decided to save on memory.

Conclusion

The release of AMD Raven Ridge APU left a positive impression. Now people who want to build a budget PC for gaming will be able to reduce the price of the configuration. In this case, it is not necessary to assemble in an ATX case. Due to the absence of a discrete video card, all components can be placed in a Mini-ITX system unit the size of a shoebox. Low power consumption allows the chip to be effectively cooled with a compact cooler, and its operation does not require a powerful power supply.

The negative impressions from the announcement of new APUs are due to the fact that AMD did not fully realize its potential in Raven Ridge. Perhaps APU models with an increased number of graphics cores and HBM2 memory are being put aside “for dessert”. But for now the fact remains: although the Ryzen 5 2400G will be able to cope with modern games, it is too early to talk about the possibility of creating a full-fledged PC measuring about 10x15x15 cm, suitable for intensive work and games at high settings.

Diagnostic utilities are often the first to indicate the upcoming release of new platforms, before their official announcement. And now the list of changes to the popular HWiNFO program has revealed some interesting points.

Firstly, it adds recognition of AMD Pinnacle Ridge desktop 12nm processors (the next generation of AMD Ryzen) and improves support for AMD Raven Ridge hybrid processors. The next version of the utility will also support AMD 400 series chipsets.

As for Intel products, support for Intel Ice Lake processors, which presumably use the 10nm+ process technology and will replace Intel Cannonlake, has been improved, and the still unknown Intel Whiskey Lake platform has also been mentioned. Another interesting point is that the output of turbo multipliers (IA/SSE, AVX2, AVX-512) for each core has been added. This is important because Intel has decided not to provide these values ​​starting with the Intel Coffee Lake line of processors.

AMD Pinnacle Ridge processors appeared in the list of changes in the BIOS update for ASUS motherboards

ASUS has released a BIOS update for motherboards based on AMD X370 and AMD B350 chipsets, which brings with it a new microcode version. As previously promised, it adds support for AMD's upcoming Raven Ridge hybrid APUs and 12nm desktop processors, which will become available in February 2018.

With the release of AMD Raven Ridge APUs in late 2017 - early 2018, which will include a quad-core AMD ZEN processor and integrated AMD Vega graphics core with a maximum of 640 stream processors, new motherboards for AMD Socket AM4 will have HDMI and DisplayPorts. In turn, AMD Pinnacle Ridge processors, which will hit the market as an update to the current AMD Ryzen 7 line, should compete with processors from the Intel Coffee Lake family. Their official presentation is expected at the January CES 2018 exhibition.

AMD Snowy Owl platform will introduce AMD EPYC 3000 line of server processors

AMD has recently been very successful in its offensive on all fronts in the processor market. The AMD Zen microarchitecture was very warmly received, on the basis of which both mass-segment AMD Ryzen CPUs and AMD Ryzen Threadripper HEDT solutions are built, as well as solutions for mobile devices AMD Raven Ridge and server AMD EPYC 7000. And now it’s the turn of new server SoC chips AMD Snowy Owl, which will be represented by the AMD EPYC 3000 line.

Its first representative will be the AMD EPYC 3251 processor, which uses SoC design and Socket BGA SP4r2. The detailed characteristics of this model have not yet been disclosed, but it is known that the AMD Snowy Owl family will have both single-module chips with support for up to 8 cores and 16 threads, and dual-module chips with a maximum of 16 cores and 32 threads.

The currently unnamed flagship of the new line will receive support for 32 MB L3 cache, quad-channel RAM mode, 64 PCIe lanes and USB 3.1 ports. The power consumption of processors will range from 35 to 100 W depending on the model.

New server SoC processors from the AMD Snowy Owl family are promised to appear on the market before the end of this year, and their cost and detailed characteristics will be announced soon.

AMD Ryzen 7 2700U and Ryzen 5 2500U APUs began to conquer the mobile market

AMD officially presented the first mobile APUs of the AMD Raven Ridge line, built on the basis of 14-nm microarchitectures AMD Zen (processing part) and AMD Vega (graphics part). They were two previously revealed models: AMD Ryzen 7 2700U and AMD Ryzen 5 2500U. Both are characterized by 4 processor cores with the ability to process 8 threads, 6 MB of cache memory and a 15-watt TDP. Although, if desired, the level of the thermal package can be adjusted in the range from 12 to 25 W.

The difference between them mainly lies in the clock frequency of the processor cores (2.2 - 3.8 GHz for the AMD Ryzen 7 2700U and 2.0 - 3.6 GHz for the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U), the number of iGPU computing units (10 and 8, respectively ) and their clock frequency (1300 and 1100 MHz). Moreover, both models are equipped with a 2-channel RAM controller with guaranteed support for DDR4-2400 MHz modules. This configuration will allow them to play popular network projects like League of Legends, Overwatch, CS: GO and DOTA 2 without using an external video card. In addition, they support Mobile Extended Frequency Range (mXFR) technology to improve the level of stable performance in laptops with the appropriate cooling system. Such laptops will be certified with the “Ultimate XFR Performance” mark.

Compared to the previous generation of APUs, the new products promise a 52% increase in IPC, a 40% increase in iGPU computing capabilities and a 50% reduction in power consumption. This allows you to create thinner, more productive and energy-efficient laptops based on them. Acer, HP and Lenovo will soon present the first mobile PCs based on AMD Raven Ridge APUs, followed by representatives from ASUS and Dell. We hope that they will gain a foothold in the market and competition in this segment will lead to price wars between manufacturers.

AMD Ryzen 7 2700U and Ryzen 5 2500U APUs lit up in 3DMark 11

By the end of this year, AMD promises to introduce mobile APUs of the AMD Raven Ridge line, which combine processor cores with AMD Zen microarchitecture and a graphics core based on AMD Vega. Recently, the 4-core AMD Ryzen 5 2500U model was included in the HP ENVY x360 15-bq101na laptop, and now it has appeared in the 3DMark 11 benchmark database. Along with it, 4-core AMD Ryzen 7 2700U and AMD Ryzen 7 APUs were also spotted there PRO 2700U. Their base frequency is stated at 2.2 GHz, so the dynamic frequency is expected to be around 3.8 - 4.0 GHz. But at the same time, AMD Ryzen 7 2700U should appear this year, and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U and laptops based on it - already in the first half of 2018.

The overall result of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700U was 4212 points (4072 points - Graphics Score (GS), 6419 points - Physics Score (PS), 3353 - Combined Score (CS)). For the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U, two results are declared: 3884 points (3774 (GS), 6577 (PS), 2784 (CS)) and 3799 points (3655 (GS), 6595 (PS), 2836 (CS)). It is curious that in each of them the Physics Score of the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U is higher than that of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700U, but in other respects the older model looks better.

If we compare the results with the recently introduced Intel Core i7-8550U (4/8 x 1.8 - 4.0 GHz), then the Graphics Score of the AMD Ryzen 7 2700U is much better: 4072 versus 1772 points. In this regard, the new APU is almost close to the performance of the Intel Core i7-8550U and the NVIDIA GeForce MX150 mobile video card (4570 points). But according to Physics Score, the Intel model is already a leader: 6627 versus 6419 points. And in combination with the NVIDIA GeForce MX150, the advantage of the Intel Core i7-8550U becomes even higher - 8278 points.

But we all understand perfectly well that laptops with a mobile graphics card are more expensive, require a more efficient cooling system and place additional load on the battery, so the APU testing results are encouraging, and with the right pricing policy, the AMD Raven Ridge line can become a serious competitor to Intel Kaby Lake R Therefore, we are waiting for new tests and the official release.

AGESA 1.0.0.7 microcode is being prepared for AMD Raven Ridge APUs

AMD Matisse and Picasso: AMD roadmap in the processor market until 2019

One of the Spanish IT portals shared a roadmap (aka Roadmap) of AMD’s activities in the desktop and mobile processor market for the next two years. Since the information was obtained from unofficial sources, it should be treated with a certain degree of skepticism, however, what is described below is quite consistent with previous official statements, so there is a high probability of the authenticity of this information.

"From Geography to Artists". AMD is now actively using the names of real mountain ranges to designate processor platforms. Relevant for the desktop segment is AMD Summit Ridge, which includes the first models based on the AMD Zen microarchitecture. Next year we will see the debut of AMD Pinnacle Ridge. It will include processors based on AMD Zen for Socket AM4, and the performance bonus will be achieved by refining the microarchitecture and using , which will increase clock speeds. A new microarchitecture AMD Zen 2 will debut in 2019. Presumably, it uses a 7-nm process technology and a similar Socket AM4 connector. This platform will receive the name AMD Matisse, which is more familiar to the average user, in honor of the famous French artist Henri Matisse.

In the segment of desktop and mobile APUs, AMD Bristol Ridge for Socket AM4 (desktop versions) and Socket FP4 (mobile) is still relevant. Models of this platform combine the already outdated AMD Excavator microarchitecture (CPU) and AMD Polaris-based GPU. But the appearance of the AMD Raven Ridge platform is announced for 2018, although previously it was expected in the second half of the current year. The processor part of the new APUs will use up to 4 cores (8 threads) AMD Zen, and the graphics part will use up to 11 computing units (704 stream processors) AMD Vega. Desktop models will use the same Socket AM4, and mobile models will switch to Socket FP5. In 2019, the AMD Picasso platform, named after the equally famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, is expected. The processor part seems to be using the second generation of AMD Zen microarchitecture, and the performance bonus will be achieved by moving to a 12nm process technology. Thus, the appearance of APUs based on 7nm AMD Zen 2 should be expected no earlier than 2020.

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U APU spotted in Geekbench database

Following the successful debut of the 14nm AMD Zen microarchitecture in the AMD Ryzen series of processors, many are eagerly awaiting the arrival of AMD's Raven Ridge line of more affordable APUs, which combine AMD Zen and AMD Vega. One of these new products was spotted in the Geekbench benchmark database.

It offers 4 full processor cores with a clock speed of 2.0 GHz and the ability to process 8 threads. The L2 cache size is 2 MB (4 x 512 KB) and the L3 cache is 4 MB. The Radeon Vega series solution is used as the built-in GPU, details of the configuration and clock speeds of which are not reported.

The result of the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U in single-threaded mode was 3561, and in multi-threaded mode - 9421 points. To better evaluate these indicators, you can compare the results of the current flagship from the AMD Bristol Ridge series - AMD A12-9800 (4 / 4 x 3.8 GHz). With almost twice the clock speed, it scores 2607 points in single-threaded mode and 6329 points in multi-threaded mode. The advantage of the new product is an impressive 36.6% and 48.9%, respectively. At the same time, the clock speeds of the final version of AMD Ryzen 5 2500U may well be higher, which will provide an even more significant increase in performance.

35-watt AMD Bristol Ridge APUs for Socket AM4 go on sale

Desktop APUs from the AMD Bristol Ridge line for the Socket AM4 platform are being lost in light of interest in the 14nm AMD Zen microarchitecture and more powerful processors from the AMD Ryzen line. And all because they are built on the previous generation 28nm microarchitecture (AMD Excavator) and AMD Radeon R5 / R7 series iGPUs with the 3rd generation AMD GCN microarchitecture. While most users are looking forward to the debut of the AMD Raven Ridge line of APUs, combining AMD Zen and AMD Vega.

As a result, the summer release of 65-watt models from the AMD Bristol Ridge line went unnoticed by many. Recently they were joined by three 35-watt solutions: AMD A12-9800E, AMD A10-9700E and AMD A6-9500E. The first new product uses 12 computing cores according to the AMD nomenclature, combining 4 processor cores with clock frequencies of 3.1 - 3.8 GHz and 8 iGPU AMD Radeon R7 cores (that is, 512 stream processors) with a frequency formula of 655 - 900 MHz.

AMD A10-9700E offers 10 computing cores: 4 processor (3.0 - 3.5 GHz) and 6 graphics (Radeon R7; 384 stream processors, 600 - 847 MHz). In turn, the AMD A6-9500E is equipped with a modest 6 cores: 2 CPUs (3.0 - 3.4 GHz) and 4 iGPUs (Radeon R5; 256 stream processors; 576 - 800 MHz). Also, all three new products support 8 PCIe 3.0 lanes and a dual-channel DDR4-2400 MHz RAM controller. And their critical temperature is 90°C.

On the European market, the AMD A12-9800E can be found for €99.9, the AMD A10-9700E costs €79.9, and the AMD A6-9500E costs €49.9. The summary table of desktop processors from the AMD Bristol Ridge line is as follows:

AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile and Vega 10 Mobile spotted in AMD Ryzen APUs

It's no secret that AMD is preparing to release desktop and mobile APUs that combine AMD Ryzen and AMD Vega microarchitectures. It was two mobile representatives of the AMD Raven Ridge line that were spotted in the CompuBench and GFXBench databases.

We are talking about models and . The first of them is equipped with an integrated AMD Radeon Vega 8 Mobile GPU, while the second uses an AMD Radeon Vega 10 Mobile iGPU. Interestingly, for each model there are two tabs with OpenCL parameters. On one of them, the “CL_DEVICE_MAX_COMPUTE_UNITS” indicator is 11 (704 stream processors), and on the second - 8 (512 stream processors).

We expect more detailed and correct characteristics of the new products closer to their debut, the date of which is also unknown, but it is definitely planned for this year.

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U APU with AMD Vega video core spotted

The release of the 14nm AMD Raven Ridge APU is expected within the next few months, but so far their detailed characteristics have not been made public. However, the other day the results of the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U APU in the Ashes of Singularity benchmark surfaced on the Internet.

According to available information, the new product is equipped with support for 4 cores and 8 threads and an integrated AMD 1500 graphics adapter, which is based on the AMD Vega microarchitecture. In Full HD resolution, the chip showed a result of only 500 points and a low frame rate, which clearly indicates its focus on mobile platforms. In addition, the prefix “U”, by analogy with processors from Intel, also confirms this.

Apparently, the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U APU will be used in devices focused on playing multimedia content, and for games we will see more powerful solutions. However, the developer still has time to refine and optimize the processor by the time of release.

Review and testing of the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor: the correct reincarnation of the 6-core

Many users, with bated hope, awaited the debut of AMD Ryzen processors. The top models of the series appeared first. Although it is now officially known that they will not remain in the rank of flagship solutions on the market for long, because already in the summer a line with 16-core (32-thread) processors at the head will appear. Nevertheless, most buyers, of course, expected the debut of more affordable and less powerful CPUs of the AMD Ryzen 5 and AMD Ryzen 3 series. AMD Raven Ridge series APUs, combining AMD Zen (processor part) and AMD Vega microarchitectures, are also of increased interest. The grafical part).

But AMD Ryzen 3 and AMD Raven Ridge will appear in the third quarter, and processors of the series can already be found on sale, which includes two 4-core (8-thread) and two 6-core (12-thread) models. In this review, we'll talk about a 6-core model with a recommended price tag of $219, which makes it a competitor to the 4-core (4-thread) Intel Core i5-7600 model ($213 - 224). Let us immediately note that we also received a 4-core (8-thread) AMD Ryzen 5 1400 model in our test laboratory, so we plan to please you with its review in the near future.

Specification

Review and testing of the Intel Pentium G4560 processor: better late than never

Processor page

Packaging, delivery and appearance

The Intel Pentium G4560 comes in a familiar cardboard package with basic information content and a viewing window at the top that allows you to look at the front side of the processor.

The delivery set includes a user manual and a reference cooling system. The cooler uses a familiar design: a round-shaped aluminum radiator with a thermal interface applied to the base and a compact axial fan for forcing air flow. The propeller itself is manufactured by NIDEC and has a relatively low power of 2.16 W (12 V at 0.18 A), but this should be enough for the declared 54-watt thermal package.

The appearance of the Intel Pentium G4560 is already familiar to us from other branded CPUs. The crystal itself is covered with a heat distribution cover, which performs several useful functions. Firstly, it protects the fragile crystal from chips and scratches during installation and dismantling of the cooling system. Secondly, it provides a more uniform distribution of heat over the surface, that is, it acts as a primary radiator. Thirdly, it carries important information in the form of the processor name, S-Spec code, clock speed and FPO code. The latter indicates that this sample was manufactured in Malaysia in September 2016. On the reverse side there are contact pads for the Socket LGA1151 connector.

Technical characteristics analysis

The maximum frequency of the Intel Pentium G4560 processor under load was nominal 3.5 GHz at a voltage of 1.136 V. Simultaneous loading of the processor cores and the integrated graphics adapter (iGPU) using the AIDA64 and MSI Kombustor benchmarks led to an increase in temperature to 62 ° C when using a bench cooler.

When simulating a 50% load, the frequency practically remained at 3.5 GHz, and the operating voltage decreased to 1.12 V. The temperature dropped to 45 ° C.

After switching to power-saving mode, the CPU resets the speed to the usual 800 MHz at a voltage of 0.784 V. The temperature drops to 30°C.

The cache memory of the Intel Pentium G4560 is organized as follows:

• 32 KB of L1 cache per core with 8 associative channels is allocated for instructions and the same amount for data;
• 256 KB L2 cache per core with 4 associative channels;
• 3 MB shared L3 cache with 12 associative channels.

As you can see, there are no changes in the cache memory distribution scheme with its predecessors in the series. In turn, representatives of the Intel Core i3-7300 series offer 4 MB of L3 cache, but the Intel Core i3-7100 models have only 3 MB.

The built-in RAM controller is guaranteed to support dual-channel operation of DDR4-2400 MHz and DDR3L-1600 MHz modules with voltages up to 1.35 V. Intel does not recommend installing sticks with higher operating voltages, as this may lead to degradation of the controller in the future. The maximum available RAM is 64 GB. Let us remind you that the predecessors of the Intel Pentium series (Skylake) are guaranteed to support DDR4-2133 MHz and DDR3L-1600 MHz memory.

The built-in graphics adapter in the Intel Pentium G4560 is Intel HD Graphics 610, built on the Intel Gen9.5 microarchitecture. It is equipped with a total of 12 execution units (EU). The base operating frequency is 350 MHz, and the dynamic frequency can be increased to 1050 MHz. There is support for the latest APIs (DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.4) and technologies. The ability to connect three displays and use 64 GB of memory is declared.

It is curious that only the Intel Pentium G4560T model is equipped with a similar iGPU, but other representatives of the Intel Pentium and Intel Core i3 series of the Intel Kaby Lake family use a more powerful Intel HD Graphics 630 adapter with support for 24 execution units.

First test results of AMD Raven Ridge 4-core APU series

Not many users know that the Chinese Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor intends to compete with AMD and Intel in the segment of desktop and mobile x86 processors. It is already traditional for companies from the Middle Kingdom to initially concentrate on the domestic market, but if its solutions are competitive in terms of performance, energy efficiency and price, then surely many popular brands will also want to join the development of its ecosystem by releasing compatible motherboards, cooling systems, laptops or ready-made desktops. The arrival of a new player traditionally means price wars, especially when it comes to a Chinese company. Therefore, ordinary buyers will only benefit from this.

But let's return to the topic of the news. A very interesting graph appeared on the Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor website, and then was deleted, which tells about the comparable performance of branded processors of the Zhaoxin ZX line against current and future competitors in the synthetic test Fritz Chess benchmark 4.2. It featured an unannounced 4-core (8-thread) APU from the AMD Raven Ridge line, which is expected to debut in the second half of this year. The frequency of the new product is not indicated, but its result was 11,000 points, which is only slightly lower than the Intel Core i5-6600 (11,333 points) and significantly higher than the result of its predecessor AMD A10-7890 (7943 points). It should be noted that the Zhaoxin ZX processors do not look like outright outsiders: even though two of them are at the end of the list, they operate at lower frequencies. In turn, the flagship 8-core model Zhaoxin ZX-E is ahead of the AMD FX-8370, so if the Chinese company has a thoughtful pricing policy, the market situation will become even more interesting.

The final table of results looks like this:

AMD management spoke with users as part of a Reddit AMA

Estimated debut dates for AMD Ryzen 5 and AMD Ryzen 3 series processors

AMD has confirmed the time frame for the debut of 6- and 4-core processors of the AMD Ryzen 5 and AMD Ryzen 3 series. By the end of the second quarter (April - June), 6-core (12-thread) and 4-core (8-thread) processors will go on sale ) representatives of the AMD Ryzen 5 series. They occupy the price range from $175 to $259, where they compete with competing models, ranging from the Intel Core i3-7350K ($168) to the Intel Core i5-7600K ($242). By the way, in the Cinebench nT benchmark, the AMD Ryzen 5 1600X model turned out to be 69% better than its direct competitor Intel Core i5-7600K, so the fight is serious.

And already in the second half of 2017, we will see the debut on the mass consumer market of two 4-core (4-thread) models of the AMD Ryzen 3 series. Their price tags range from $129 to $149, that is, they will compete with the younger representatives of the Intel Core i3 series. Do not forget that in the second half of this year we were promised a series of AMD Raven Ridge APUs, the processor part of which is built on the AMD Zen microarchitecture, and the graphics part is built on the new generation of AMD GCN (AMD Polaris or AMD Vega). In theory, they should compete with representatives of the Intel Celeron and Intel Pentium series.

Estimated summary table of technical specifications for AMD Ryzen processors:

AMD Raven Ridge APU: 4 AMD Zen Cores and 1024 AMD Vega Stream Processors

Unnamed sources from an Italian IT website have shed light on the AMD Raven Ridge APU line, which is expected to be released in the second half of 2017. Since this is unofficial information, it should be taken with a certain amount of skepticism.

So, models for the Socket AM4 desktop platform will have at their disposal a maximum of 4 cores with AMD Zen microarchitecture and 1024 stream graphics processors with AMD Vega microarchitecture. Moreover, HBM2 memory will also be located on the same substrate for more efficient operation of computing nodes. Of course, it will be possible to install traditional DDR4 memory. The thermal package of the new products will range from 35 to 95 W.

The AMD Raven Ridge FP5 line with the Socket FP5 BGA connector is aimed at mobile systems, so the TDP will range from 4 to 35 W. The total area of ​​the crystal will decrease from 210 to 170 mm 2, and it will also lose HBM2 memory. However, the computing power will be quite significant thanks to a maximum of 4 AMD Zen cores and 768 AMD Vega stream GPUs.

Summary table of technical specifications of AMD Raven Ridge APU designs: