Samsung secures orders for AMD's 4 nm Zen 5c cores

Sources close to DigiTimes inform that Samsung managed to secure an important order from AMD. The title of the report refers to server chip orders, but DigiTImes then mentions Zen 5c cores on 4 nm nodes. This type of cores is similar to Intel’s efficiency cores that do not use hyperthreading, but AMD’s c-cores have only been included in the mobile-grade Phoenix2 processors up until now, so the information regarding server chips could be exaggerated.

In any case, the shift towards another foundry is definitely a new strategy for AMD. Over the last decade, Team Red has solely collaborated with TSMC on the processor core side. For the upcoming Zen 5 Prometheus architecture, however, it looks like AMD is looking to diversify the production venues. According to DigiTimes, Samsung would produce 4 nm “basic” versions of the Prometheus chips, while TSMC would handle the “more advanced” cores on the latest cutting-edge 3 nm nodes.

Samsung and TSMC have been constantly trying to one-up each other with better yields for the 3 nm nodes. Apparently, TSMC is still preferred by AMD, at least when it comes to cutting-edge nodes. Even if Samsung is”relegated” to 4 nm tech for AMD’s upcoming Zen 5 processors, it is still one more valued customer in the ever increasing portfolio that now includes Nvidia, Qualcomm and IBM. If Samsung manages to get ahead of TSMC with the 2 nm nodes, AMD may actually consider expanding the partnership with the South Korean giant in the server-grade and HPC sectors.

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