AMD is seemingly moving towards more specialised CPU designs, offering different variants of the same architecture tweaked to specific performance and efficiency needs. Starting with its Zen 7 lineup, the brand is said to plan at least four variants to cover all needs from high performance desktops and servers to low power laptops and handhelds.
According to leaker Moore’s Law Is Dead (MLID) on YouTube, AMD is further extending its core specialisation strategy. What started as denser cores with the Zen 4c designs, will soon evolve to include more flavours, starting with Zen 6’s low-power variants and followed by Zen 7’s efficient cores.
In total, Zen 7 architecture should be available in at least four slightly different versions: Classic Zen 7 focusing on high performance, Dense Zen 7c for high core count server solutions, Low Power Zen 7 which prioritises power and silicon area, and Efficiency Zen 7 targeting efficiency and IPC. But that’s not all, AMD can seemingly pack up to 33 cores inside every CCD (Core Complex Die), totalling up to 264 cores on flagship Epyc CPUs. For comparison, Zen 5c-based parts max out at 192 cores.
Each Zen 7 core is expected to have 2MB of L2 cache, i.e double that of Zen 5, plus up to 7MB of stacked L3 3D V-Cache. These cache slices are said to be manufactured using TSMC’s 4nm node, contrary to the cores which are set to use the latest 1.4nm process. The reason is likely to balance cost and yield. MLID has also added that Zen 7 CCDs are compatible with Zen 6 Epyc IO Dies, opening the possibility for further mixing to reduce costs.
Performance-wise, Zen 7 is expected to deliver between 15% and 25% IPC uplifts over Zen 6, with early plans targeting above 20%. AMD is seemingly focusing on per-core performance instead of raw core count. As a reminder Zen 6 Epyc CPUs are said to house up to 256 cores, which isn’t far from Zen 7’s 264 cores.
AMD is expected to begin Zen 7 tape-outs in late 2026, with a launch in late 2027 or early 2028. But, as MLID noted, these leaks are very early and are subject to change, so take them with a grain of salt.
