More AMD Zen 5 CPUs spotted in Linux patch notes

Christopher Harper
·2 min read
AMD Zen CPU Architecture Render.
AMD Zen CPU Architecture Render.

AMD continues laying the groundwork for the Zen 5's upcoming arrival on Linux in the form of Linux kernel "x86/urgent" patches addressing four numerical ranges of AMD Family 26 CPUs, aka Zen 5 CPUs. These ranges, as corroborated by Phoronix, are from 0-15, 32-47, 64-79, and finally 112-127. Each number could theoretically correspond to its own CPU or CPU range (e.g. Strix Point for mobile, Granite Ridge for desktop), though the existence of pre-release CPUs, development-only CPUs, etc., means that not all of these will be released — and some may never be used.

The timing of these patches in proximity to Zen 5 Strix Point Geekbench results uncovered yesterday on Twitter adds yet more fuel to speculation that Zen 5 could be arriving sooner rather than later. We've also previously reported on Zen 5-related updates to Linux's GCC compiler and PMC driver. Unfortunately, besides knowledge of the model number ranges, the latest Linux patches don't really teach us anything new about Zen 5 or its upcoming CPUs.

Based on the information we do have, though, we can expect significant improvements to AI performance and iGPU performance thanks to XDNA 2 and RDNA 3+, respectively. XDNA 2 is expected to deliver over 70 TOPS in AI performance, which is nearly twice the 40 TOPS requirement for "next-gen AI PCs." We don't quite know what to expect from the RDNA 3+ improvements yet, but AMD's track record has kept RDNA 3 on top of the iGPU market despite competition from Intel, so AMD still seems strong there.

In any case, the latest Zen 5 Linux kernel patches at least point toward AMD wanting lots of room to work with.

In total, there are 64 potential Zen 5 CPU model numbers being placed into the code now (16 per 4 ranges) to account for future development and/or releases. That seems like a lot of room for experimentation with things such as handheld-tailored APU designs, more powerful desktop integrated graphics, and so on. Other leaks point toward AMD's Strix Point mobile CPUs adopting Zen 5C cores, as well.

Edit 04/25/2024 3:25am PT: Clarified title to denote the new family applies to all Zen 5 models.