AMD’s Zen 2 CPUs mix 7nm and 14nm silicon in a “revolutionary chiplet design”

The new AMD Zen 2 CPU architecture has been front and centre at today’s Next Horizon event. While it is ostensibly a datacentre-focused event, the company has uncovered some fascinating new design points regarding the upcoming Zen 2 CPU layout, including its “revolutionary chiplet design.” The event has covered what the Zen 2 EPYC server chips will look like, but we expect the consumer design will likely follow suit. AMD has re-confirmed that the Zen 2 silicon will arrive next year, and that it will come with a new, unique multi-chip chip design. That means it will house both 7nm and 14nm silicon - with “each IP in its optimal technology” - so it’s not just using 7nm chips for the sake of it. The Zen 2 CPU chiplets themselves will be built on the new TSMC 7nm process node, but the I/O die, the part that handles all the inputs and outputs for the processor silicon, will be built using the existing, stable 14nm lithography. AMD has previously spoken about using chiplets, and, of course, AMD’s Inifinity Fabric will be used to connect it all together and ensure this modularity doesn’t come at the cost of either latency or overall performance.

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