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> AMD said its upcoming Zen x86 core fits into a 10 percent smaller die area than Intel’s currently shipping second-generation 14nm processor. We need to compa

> AMD said its upcoming Zen x86 core fits into a 10 percent smaller die area than Intel’s currently shipping second-generation 14nm processor. We need to compare apples to apples. AMD's Zen chips have no IGP, while most Intel chips are shipping with an Intel GPU. If you look at an Intel die shot, about half of the area is taken by the GPU. [0] Since the current batch of Zen SKUs lacks any IGP, I'd be worried if they weren't able to come up with a die that's smaller than Intel's with an IGP... [0] https://www.techpowerup.com/215333/intel-skylake-die-layout-detailed https://www.techpowerup.com/215333/intel-skylake-die-layout-...

snovv_crash 10y ago
The i7-6900k doesn't have an IGP. Besides which, they are already comparing just the areas of the cores (and their L2 cache).
- kogepathic 10y ago
  > they are already comparing just the areas of the cores (and their L2 cache) Thanks, this wasn't obvious from the linked article.
zamalek 10y ago
I strongly doubt AMD are specifically targeting the desktop/laptop CPU market. * Cloud computing has an absurd market cap.[1] * Ryzen has some features that specifically target cloud computing: * * More PCIe lanes than a Xeon. These are basically useless for desktop/gaming (as SLI doesn't scale beyond 2 cards). This shines for cloud computing because you can fit more GPUs in a blade. There's also ML to consider. * * Virtualization security features. The chip can automatically encrypt pages, mitigating some of the virtualization attacks that we have seen recently. * * More compute per watt. Cost is nice to have (which Ryzen has), but cooling is one of the main concerns when selecting chips for high density. Intel's brand power is a waste of time and money to compete with. Unless AMD can sort something out with Apple (for example), Intel are going to continue dominating the desktop market - irrespective of which chip is actually superior. It's incredibly likely that only enthusiasts would buy a Ryzen - who AMD has catered for with XFR. Essentially, ignoring IGP is likely a strategic decision because it's irrelevant for the markets that AMD can easily attack. [1]: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/06/18/byron-deeter-state-of-the-cloud/#350677d41034 http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/06/18/byron-deet...
- floatboth 10y ago
  Summit Ridge is literally a desktop CPU. The server CPU line, Naples, will come later.
- lightedman 10y ago
  "SLI doesn't scale beyond 2 cards" Guess you weren't around in the days of Quad VooDoo 2 GPU rigs. They most certainly did scale. nVidia and AMD's implementation? Nope. They screwed the pooch with that one and will never recover until they learn that the older way was indeed better.
  - zamalek 10y ago
    SLI only matters for gaming - which is outside of the scope of my argument. Regardless, it looks like 3Dfx SLI wasn't that great[1] and I did own a Diamond Monster 3D II. [1]: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diamond-monster-3d-ii,52-4.html http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diamond-monster-3d-ii,52...
    - lightedman 10y ago
      Diamond made crap hardware. Creative Labs' cards performed much better. And if your dataset or code is GPU-capable, then no, SLI is quite useful here. "Only matters for gaming" Yea, as if there weren't a bunch of other datasets that could utilize matrix acceleration.
gpderetta 10y ago
I haven't read the article (I know...), but AMD is specifically talking about the 'core' part of the microprocessor (there are 4 or 8 of them on a Ryzen CPU) . The core includes the L2 cache (as it is part of the core per se), but not L3, IGP and other uncore parts.

snovv_crash 10y ago

The i7-6900k doesn't have an IGP. Besides which, they are already comparing just the areas of the cores (and their L2 cache).

kogepathic 10y ago
> they are already comparing just the areas of the cores (and their L2 cache) Thanks, this wasn't obvious from the linked article.

zamalek 10y ago

I strongly doubt AMD are specifically targeting the desktop/laptop CPU market. * Cloud computing has an absurd market cap.[1] * Ryzen has some features that specifically target cloud computing: * * More PCIe lanes than a Xeon. These are basically useless for desktop/gaming (as SLI doesn't scale beyond 2 cards). This shines for cloud computing because you can fit more GPUs in a blade. There's also ML to consider. * * Virtualization security features. The chip can automatically encrypt pages, mitigating some of the virtualization attacks that we have seen recently. * * More compute per watt. Cost is nice to have (which Ryzen has), but cooling is one of the main concerns when selecting chips for high density. Intel's brand power is a waste of time and money to compete with. Unless AMD can sort something out with Apple (for example), Intel are going to continue dominating the desktop market - irrespective of which chip is actually superior. It's incredibly likely that only enthusiasts would buy a Ryzen - who AMD has catered for with XFR. Essentially, ignoring IGP is likely a strategic decision because it's irrelevant for the markets that AMD can easily attack. [1]: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/06/18/byron-deeter-state-of-the-cloud/#350677d41034 http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/06/18/byron-deet...

floatboth 10y ago
Summit Ridge is literally a desktop CPU. The server CPU line, Naples, will come later.
lightedman 10y ago
"SLI doesn't scale beyond 2 cards" Guess you weren't around in the days of Quad VooDoo 2 GPU rigs. They most certainly did scale. nVidia and AMD's implementation? Nope. They screwed the pooch with that one and will never recover until they learn that the older way was indeed better.
- zamalek 10y ago
  SLI only matters for gaming - which is outside of the scope of my argument. Regardless, it looks like 3Dfx SLI wasn't that great[1] and I did own a Diamond Monster 3D II. [1]: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diamond-monster-3d-ii,52-4.html http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diamond-monster-3d-ii,52...
  - lightedman 10y ago
    Diamond made crap hardware. Creative Labs' cards performed much better. And if your dataset or code is GPU-capable, then no, SLI is quite useful here. "Only matters for gaming" Yea, as if there weren't a bunch of other datasets that could utilize matrix acceleration.

gpderetta 10y ago

I haven't read the article (I know...), but AMD is specifically talking about the 'core' part of the microprocessor (there are 4 or 8 of them on a Ryzen CPU) . The core includes the L2 cache (as it is part of the core per se), but not L3, IGP and other uncore parts.