It’s been reported that samples of AMD’s next generation of Ryzen CPUs have been distributed to partners for testing. AMD has been on a roll for three generations now in gaining market share with its Ryzen processors. Regardless of X3D or non-X3D models, Team Red has become immensely popular among gamers, content creators, and those wanting the best of both worlds with its top-end offerings. However, Ryzen has been limited to an 8-core/16-thread per CCD configuration for some time, but that could be about to change with the launch of Zen 6, codenamed “Medusa Ridge”.
AMD has not said much about the upcoming product line, but it has also been reported (via TechPowerUp) that it could finally include models with more than 8 cores on a CCD, possibly up to 12 cores per CCD with 48 MB L3 cache. Another interesting tidbit is that, according to the latest rumor, AMD will be adding a second DDR5 memory controller, thus updating its cIOD architecture. If true, this could put Zen 6 on par with Intel, or possibly even exceed it when it comes to memory speeds. The following comes from a post on the Hydra Support page (via WccfTech) from 1usmus (aka DRAM Calculator creator Yuri Bubliy).
“Engineering samples have already been distributed. This won’t be a revolution – it will be an evolution. There will be more cores per CCD, and instead of a single memory controller, there will be two (details are still scarce). Memory channels will remain at two. No new boost technologies are expected, and Curve Optimizer remains unchanged. HYDRA support won’t be an issue.”
-Yuri Bubliy
So far, not many other changes are expected in terms of overall design. Zen 6 is believed to launch for the AM5 platform, but that has yet to be confirmed. It’s also been said that AMD could utilize a 5nm N5 or 4 nm N4P EUV node. However, from games that can utilize more threads, they are rare (but the list is growing), to home users with more demanding needs, the prospect of more cores/threads is exciting, and the wait might not be that much longer. It’s also rumored that AMD could launch Zen 6 in 2026 and may debut it at next year’s CES.