What is “Zen4” (Ryzen 7000)?
AMD’s Zen4 (“Raphael”) is the 4rd generation ZEN core – aka the new 7000-series of CPUs from AMD – that brings brand new features like AVX512 ISA (instruction set support), DDR5 and PCIe5. These do require a brand new platform (AM5) almost a decade since the current AM4 platform was launched before even the 1st generation Ryzen. With any luck, it will remain for the next 4 or even more CPU generations, unlike the 2 generation support on competitor (Intel) platform.
Zen4 contains only big/P(erformance) cores and it is not a hybrid design. It remains to be seen if AMD will launch such hybrid (big/LITTLE) products that, in our opinion, are too problematic on desktop platforms for the benefits they bring. Even on mobile platforms where efficiency is a top priority – workloads do not easily lend to a hybrid design despite huge work done on the Windows scheduler for Windows 11. In this regard, a non-hybrid design like Zen4 is very much preferred.
AVX512 is a huge boost for compute performance as we’ve seen on Intel since SKL-X (Skylake-X). There is a reason it exists + all the extensions (IFMA, VNNI, VAES, etc.) and it is not unexpected that even basic usage can bring up to 100% (2x) performance improvement and even higher with specific instructions. While originally CPUs would reduce clocks due to the power generated – this has pretty much been mitigated in modern designs. Even Centaur (before Intel bought them) had AVX512-enabled (LITTLE) cores.
While here AMD has implemented it as 2x 256-bit ops (similar to previous AVX2/FMA3 in Zen1/1+/2 implemented as 2x 128-bit) – we still benefit from 2x more registers + 2x wider registers (4x overall), arguably better instruction specification, optimised extensions (IFMA, VNNI, VAES, etc.) that overall can still build up to a big improvement over old AVX2/FMA3.
- 5nm process (TSMC) for CCX (vs. 7nm on Zen3) for better efficiency and clocks
- 6nm process (TSMC) for I/O hub (vs. 12nm for Zen3) for better memory speeds
- claimed 13% IPC increase vs. Zen3 + clock increase uplift => ~29% total uplift vs. Zen 3
- AVX512 instruction support, with potential 100%+ improvement in optimised workloads
- Executed as 2x 256-bit (not true 512-bit like Intel) but still many benefits over AVX2/FMA3
- Specific AVX512 extensions (IFMA, VNNI, VAES, etc.) can bring well over 100% improvement
- DDR5 support up to 5200Mt/s (official) for much higher memory bandwidth vs. DDR4 Zen3
- Unofficial support for at least 6400Mt/s with XMP3/EXPO profiles
- AMD says 6000Mt/s is the “sweet-spot” for performance/value
- 1MB L2 per core (2x vs. 512kB on Zen3)
- L3 is the same at 32MB – 7600X-3D model will get 96MB V-Cache
- PCIe5 support, up to 24 lanes (2x bandwidth vs. PCIe4)
- Still up to 2 chiplets (at launch) thus max. 8C big/P cores (6C/12T on 7600X)
- Much higher both base and turbo speeds in most variants, e.g. 7600X
- Higher base 4.7GHz (vs. 3.7GHz on 5600X +27% clock uplift)
- Higher turbo 5.3GHz (vs. 4.6GHz on 5600X +15% clock uplift)
- TDP at 105W (7600X) vs. 65W (5600X) thus 62% higher! (ouch!)
- Turbo (PPT aka PL2) around 142W thus 61% higher! (ouch!)
- Note that other models (e.g. 7700X) have kept the same TDP/Turbo
- Turbo (PPT aka PL2) around 142W thus 61% higher! (ouch!)
- Built-in Radeon Graphics (RDNA2) core
- 2CU / 128SP 400-2.2GHz cores for very basic graphics
Review
In this article we test CPU core performance; please see our other articles on:
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (Zen4 Raphael) Review & Benchmarks – AVX512 Top-End Domination
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X-3D (Zen3 V-Cache) Review & Benchmarks – CPU Performance
Hardware Specifications
We are comparing the top-range Ryzen 7 5000-series (Zen3 8-core) with previous generation Ryzen 7 3000-series (Zen2 8-core) and competing architectures with a view to upgrading to a top-range, high performance design.
CPU Specifications | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6C/12T (Zen4, Raphael) | AMD Ryzen 7 5600X 6C/12T (Zen3, Vermeer) | Intel Core i5 12600K 6C+4c/16T (ADL, AlderLake) |
Intel Core i5 11600K 6C/12T (RKL, RocketLake) |
Comments | |
Cores (CU) / Threads (SP) | 6C /12T | 6C / 12T | 6C+4c / 16T | 6C/12T | Core counts remain the same. | |
Topology | 1 chiplet, 1 CCX, 6 core + I/O hub | 1 chiplet, CCX, 6 core + I/O hub | Monolithic die | Monolithic die | Same topology | |
Speed (Min / Max / Turbo) (GHz) |
4.7 [+27%] – 5.3GHz [+15%] | 3.5 – 4.6GHz | 3.7 – 4.9GHz | 3.9 – 4.9GHz | Base is 27% higher, turbo 15% | |
Power (TDP / Turbo) (W) |
105 [+62%] – 142W [+61%] | 65 – 88W | 125 – 155W | 125 – 155W | TDP/PPT are 61% higher! | |
L1D / L1I Caches (kB) |
6x 32kB 8-way / 6x 32kB 8-way | 6x 32kB 8-way / 6x 32kB 8-way | 6x 64kB + 4x 32kB / 6x 32kB + 4x 48kB | 6x 64kB + 6x 32kB | No changes to L1 | |
L2 Caches (MB) |
6x 1MB (6MB) 8-way inclusive [+2x] | 6x 512kB (3MB) 8-way inclusive | 6x 1.25MB + 2MB [10MB] | 6x 512MB [3MB] | L2 is 2x larger | |
L3 Caches (MB) |
32MB 16-way exclusive |
32MB 16-way exclusive | 20MB 16-way | 12MB 12-way | L3 is the same | |
Mitigations for Vulnerabilities | BTI/”Spectre”, SSB/”Spectre v4″ hardware | BTI/”Spectre”, SSB/”Spectre v4″ hardware | BTI/”Spectre”, SSB/”Spectre v4″ hardware | BTI/”Spectre”, SSB/”Spectre v4″ software/firmware | No new fixes required… yet! | |
Microcode (MU) |
A60F12-03 | A20F10-09 | 090672-15 | 06A701-50 | The latest microcodes have been loaded. | |
SIMD Units | 2x 256-bit (512-bit total) AVX512+ | 256-bit AVX/FMA3/AVX2 | 256-bit AVX/FMA3/AVX2 | 512-bit [1 Unit] AVX512+ | 2x wider SIMD | |
Price/RRP (USD) |
$299 [=] | $299 | $289 | $262 | Price is the same |
Disclaimer
This is an independent review (critical appraisal) that has not been endorsed nor sponsored by any entity (e.g. AMD, etc.). All trademarks acknowledged and used for identification only under fair use.
The review contains only public information and not provided under NDA nor embargoed. At publication time, the products have not been directly tested by SiSoftware but submitted to the public Benchmark Ranker; thus the accuracy of the benchmark scores cannot be verified, however, they appear consistent and pass current validation checks.
And please, don’t forget small ISVs like ourselves in these very challenging times. Please buy a copy of Sandra if you find our software useful. Your custom means everything to us!
Native Performance
We are testing native arithmetic, SIMD and cryptography performance using the highest performing instruction sets. Zen4 supports all modern instruction sets including AVX2/FMA3 and crypto SHA HWA but also AVX-512 and extensions (IFMA, VNNI, VAES, etc.)
Results Interpretation: Higher values (GOPS, MB/s, etc.) mean better performance.
Environment: Windows 11 x64 (21H2), latest AMD and Intel drivers. 2MB “large pages” were enabled and in use. Turbo / Boost was enabled on all configurations. All mitigations for vulnerabilities (Meltdown, Spectre, L1TF, MDS, etc.) were enabled as per Windows default where applicable.
SiSoftware Official Ranker Scores
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16-Core / 32-Thread
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12-Core / 24-Thread
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8-Core / 16-Thread
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6-Core / 12-Thread
Final Thoughts / Conclusions
Summary: A great CPU update (AMD Ryzen 7600X): 8/10
Ever since Ryzen (Zen1) AMD has been hitting winners – with Zen2 (series 2000) and Zen3 (series 5000) bringing decent performance improvements – while still using the same AM4 platform (with BIOS updates). While some features (e.g. PCIe4, USB 3.2, etc.) may not be supported by old mainboards, you could still have gone from a 1st gen Ryzen to series 5000 16C/32T monster on the same platform; thus you’d be going to the very top of desktop performance beating anything the competition (Intel) had released on their latest platform.
AMD had to finally refresh the platform in order to bring new technologies support – DDR5 primarily, but also PCIe5, USB 4.0 – and they could have easily just stuck with that. But, no, AMD has instead brought a pretty revolutionary Zen4 – bringing AVX512 512-bit SIMD support just when Intel has dropped them in their latest hybrid designs (ADL, RPL).
Like the higher end models (7950X, 7900X) – our 7600X has good clock increases (vs. 5600X) but also greatly increases TDP/PPT (61% higher vs 5600X) which makes less power efficient (-8% less) but still 48% faster overall.
Also, unlike more core versions – our 7600X has the same number of big/P cores (6C/12T) vs. Intel’s ADL (12600K with 6C + 4c) and less overall cores. It thus cannot always beat ADL though it generally does consistently – unlike the previous Zen3 (5600X) that would generally lose against it. With future Intel’s RPL adding twice (2x) more little cores, performance may be more matched.
A new AM5 mainboard is required – but hopefully it will last you many more updates than the competition – possibly Zen7 (!) with 64C/128T (!) if things progress in the same manner we’ve seen until now. DDR5 memory has come down somewhat by now and brings much needed memory bandwidth improvements and USB 4.0 is very much needed for (very) high speed external devices. Not to mention PCIe5 support for future NVMe and GP-GPU components.
Also keep an eye for the 3D-VCache version with much larger L3 cache (96MB vs. 32MB) if your data workloads are large.
“Good things come to those who wait” it is said; in this case AMD has definitely delivered!
As we keep repeating (!) – unlike the higher end models – Zen4 (7600X) performance is not overwhelming against Intel’s ADL (AlderLake) – thus it is possible that RPL (RaptorLake) will be a lot more competitive at this level. We will need to wait and see. As consumers, we do need them to be competitive – otherwise we will see greatly increased prices even from the “underdog” as we have seen in the past.
Summary: A great CPU update (AMD Ryzen 7600X): 8/10
Please see the other reviews on the other Zen variants:
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (Zen4 Raphael) Review & Benchmarks – AVX512 Top-End Domination
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800X-3D (Zen3 V-Cache) Review & Benchmarks – CPU Performance
Disclaimer
This is an independent review (critical appraisal) that has not been endorsed nor sponsored by any entity (e.g. AMD, etc.). All trademarks acknowledged and used for identification only under fair use.
The review contains only public information and not provided under NDA nor embargoed. At publication time, the products have not been directly tested by SiSoftware but submitted to the public Benchmark Ranker; thus the accuracy of the benchmark scores cannot be verified, however, they appear consistent and pass current validation checks.