Around this time in May, we reported that AMD could be developing up to five different variants of the Zen 7 CPU architecture. These variants all have different design goals, with some focusing on raw performance and others on efficiency. The Zen 7 “Classic” for the desktop AM6 platform is reportedly targeting IPC and clock speed improvements.
Moore’s Law Is Dead now reveals that, alongside the IPC and frequency uplifts, the Zen 7 consumer CPUs are also getting a healthy core count increase over Zen 6. MLID claims that the information comes from one of his best AMD sources.
The Zen 7 “Classic” desktop CPUs will reportedly have as many as 32 cores, courtesy of dual 16-core CCDs. With Hyperthreading in place, we are looking at a whopping 64 threads. However, the previously leaked “3D Core” does not appear to be available on consumer Zen 7 CPUs.
According to MLID, the Zen 7 chips for the AM6 platform will feature “tons of V-Cache,” as the 3D Core design is unlikely to appear on consumer CPUs. However, Zen 7 consumer CPUs and the 3D Core variant seem to have “comparable” IPC, with the “Classic” cores boasting higher voltages and clock speeds.
So, a flagship Zen 7 desktop Ryzen 9 CPU could have 50% more cores than the Zen 6 flagship chip, since Zen 6 is rumored to up the core count to 24, and 2x the cores of the Ryzen 9 9950X. Add in an IPC uplift and possibly much higher 3D V-Cache, and folks who are currently rocking a Ryzen 9000 CPU might get a solid reason to upgrade in 2028.
As MLID also warns in the video, Zen 7 is more than two years out. So, any technical details leaked here can always change.