Zen 3 reportedly contains a hefty single-threaded IPC boost and higher clock speeds

WYP · #1 03-04-20, 01:15 PM

AMD's targetting Intel's single-threaded performance.

Read more about Zen 3's rumoured single-threaded IPC boost.

Gambit2K · #2 03-04-20, 02:03 PM

10-15% is "hefty"?

WYP · #3 03-04-20, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gambit2K

10-15% is "hefty"?

When combined with clock speed boosts it is. Also, have you seen Intel's past 4 years of IPC increases?

AlienALX · #4 03-04-20, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gambit2K

10-15% is "hefty"?

It is for a refresh yes.

Gambit2K · #5 03-04-20, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlienALX

It is for a refresh yes.

It's not refresh, AMD has multiple times said it is a new architecture. Zen 4 will be built upon the Zen 3 architecture, so Zen 4 will more be a refresh than Zen 3 will be.

AMD has also said that the Zen 3 will be as big of a step as Zen--> Zen 2 was, NOT Zen -->Zen+. So a 10-15% IPC increase is small (A frequency bump is not counted towards the IPC increase).

tgrech · #6 03-04-20, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gambit2K

It's not refresh, AMD has multiple times said it is a new architecture. Zen 4 will be built upon the Zen 3 architecture, so Zen 4 will more be a refresh than Zen 3 will be.

AMD has also said that the Zen 3 will be as big of a step as Zen--> Zen 2 was, NOT Zen -->Zen+. So a 10-15% IPC increase is small (A frequency bump is not counted towards the IPC increase).

Zen 2's IPC gains were 5-15% over Zen1 depending on workload. In contrast, the last Intel IPC gains on a mainstream desktop platform were in 2015 and were in the region of 2-5%, as was the one before that.

Almost all of Zen+'s gains over Zen1 were clock speed(Some v small gains from cache/uncore tweaks), any other gains Intel has made since then are clock speed, the rest of Zen2's gains over Zen+ besides that 5-15% were clock speed, IPC gains at all seem to be a rare treat nowadays.

AngryGoldfish · #7 03-04-20, 03:48 PM

Both AdoredTV and The Good Old Gamer were claiming 20% as a low-ball estimate in terms of IPC, and then a clock speed boost on top of that. They based this off of their interpretation of an interview with an AMD staff member. They seemed convinced. I think that's why a 10-15% IPC boost seems disappointing to them, because it's less than what they had decided in their heads Zen 3 would be.

Personally I'd say that 15% alongside a boost in clock speeds is excellent, especially when you consider the latency reduction Zen 3 is supposed to introduce. That would put AMD ahead of Intel in terms IPC as well as TDP and core count, all with higher income per unit sold. And their latency numbers would be comparable too. Zen 4 would expand on that. Even if Intel massively boosted their performance by 2021, AMD should be able to match them. And even if Intel sneaks ahead again, it'll only be in certain areas. AMD has garnered so many new fans and has developed such a cost-effective infrastructure that it may not matter if Intel are ahead in certain areas.

AlienALX · #8 03-04-20, 03:55 PM

AMD don't need more IPC. It's not IPC keeping them from winning everything, it's clock speed. Getting down to the nm they are on they can fit lots of cores under a small die. Now comes time to get the clocks up to match Intel.

However, IPC is nice. It's not that keeping them from winning the gaming crown though, IMO.

Some games still get off on very high clocks.

That said, 15% as noted is way better than Intel have managed in an absolute age. So why not?

NeverBackDown · #9 03-04-20, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gambit2K

It's not refresh, AMD has multiple times said it is a new architecture. Zen 4 will be built upon the Zen 3 architecture, so Zen 4 will more be a refresh than Zen 3 will be.

AMD has also said that the Zen 3 will be as big of a step as Zen--> Zen 2 was, NOT Zen -->Zen+. So a 10-15% IPC increase is small (A frequency bump is not counted towards the IPC increase).

Think you need to come back to the real world and get your head straight.

tgrech · #10 03-04-20, 04:10 PM

One thing I will say, this will likely seem like a small gain in comparison to whatever Intel's IPC gains are likely to be from their next desktop architecture, which could be in the 15-25% range, BUT that has to be taken in the context of the fact the last IPC gains for Intel on desktop were with the introduction of Skylake in 2015, half a decade ago, and is likely going to come with at least a few % drop in clocks compared to these >5Ghz highs of 14nm+++.