AMD Zen may debut in 2016, but will only reach mass availability in 2017
AMD Zen may debut in 2016, but will only reach mass availability in 2017
AMD CEO Lisa Su has thrown some light onto the release schedule for the company’s upcoming Zen processors. In a recent quarterly earnings call, Su said that Zen will actually begin shipping in the fourth quarter of this year, but is not expected to reach mass availability until early 2017.
This means that AMD technically meets its schedule for a 2016 release, albeit in limited quantities. Most people will have to wait till the first quarter of 2017 to get their hands on Zen, including system builders hoping to build their rig around one of AMD’s new CPUs.
Su also reiterated that Zen processors – at least for the desktop parts – would be focused first and foremost on the high-end desktop market. A notebook version of Zen with integrated graphics is planned for 2017, while further server and mobile parts may launch in the second quarter of that year.
AMD recently inked a licensing agreement with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co. Ltd. (THATIC) to develop x86 server SoCs, so the consortium – which comprises both public and private Chinese companies – may eventually begin producing Zen chips as well. Having said that, it’s not quite clear when that might be, and some industry insiders already think that AMD’s licensing out of x86 designs may be grounds for Intel to take legal action.
Source: Tom’s Hardware