According to the latest rumors, the new AMD Ryzen CPUs could reach or even exceed 7GHz, which would represent a huge leap over the Zen 4 and Zen 5 architectures. Previous rumors have claimed that the next generation of AMD processors would only exceed 6GHz under "very" conservative estimates.

Intel's 52-core pressure

Intel is reportedly working on a new 52-core CPU, which puts pressure on AMD to deliver something significant. There have already been rumors that AMD won't be able to match Intel's high core counts, with the Zen 6 architecture only supporting up to 24 cores and the Zen 7 architecture potentially supporting 32 cores. 

However, while AMD's next-generation CPUs don't appear to have as many cores as Intel's, AMD seems to be making up for it with faster core counts.

Zen 6 frequency exceeds 7GHz

YouTube technology leaker "Moore's Law is Dead" (MLID) previously claimed to have discussed AMD Zen 6 CPUs with AMD engineers, and claimed that the rumors of frequencies above 6GHz at the time were "very conservative." 

Since then, the host of MLID has continued to discuss AMD's Zen 6 architecture with a guest game developer from Alderon Games, and hinted that AMD's Zen 6 CPU frequency could theoretically exceed 7GHz, although he repeatedly refused to disclose specific numbers. "I won't disclose specific numbers. It's as crazy as you can imagine."

Zen 7 low-power cores

MLID further delved into rumors about the Zen 7 architecture, which will reportedly feature low-power cores that consume less than a watt of power, "but will still technically be full Zen 6."

Rumor pending verification

Assuming this is true, MLID believes the low-power cores will be enough to power a gaming console like the Steam Deck or PS6, which is where MLID's magical 7GHz estimate comes in: "Assuming Zen 6 hits around 7GHz, will the low-power cores still be 5GHz or 4GHz?" If the 7GHz rumor proves to be accurate, which is likely considering the Ryzen 9 7950X far exceeds the speeds originally proposed by the Zen 4 design, it would represent a significant leap in speed, exceeding the clock speed difference between Zen 3 and Zen 4. Of course, for a product that may not hit store shelves for quite some time, this is all just rumor and speculation, and AMD has not made any official confirmation on this.

AMD Zen 6, it's crazy

The latest leak from X platform @9550pro reveals details of AMD's upcoming Zen 6 CPU architecture. The leak confirms previous reports that AMD will increase the L3 cache size in its Zen 6 CPU. AMD is reportedly building a Zen 6 CCD (core complex chip) with 12 CPU cores and 48MB of L3 cache. The current Zen 5 CCD only has 8 cores and 32MB of L3 cache. These enhanced L3 cache sizes of AMD Zen 6 will be perfect for PC gaming workloads.

AMD is also reportedly making a 32-core CCD with 128MB of L3 cache. These CCDs may use AMD's Zen 6c CPU cores, focusing more on silicon density rather than maximizing per-core performance.

It is reported that AMD's 12-core Zen 6 architecture CCD processor will use TSMC's 2nm technology. This technology should improve the power efficiency and density of AMD's new CPUs. AMD's Zen 6 CCD processors will be far more powerful than the previous generation CCD, thanks to a 50% increase in core count and 50% increase in L3 cache. However, they will also be more expensive. 2nm is not cheap.

A trend in AMD's Ryzen series of CPUs is that the increase in L3 cache per CCX (core complex) will improve gaming performance. In the Zen 2 architecture, AMD doubled the size of L3 cache from Zen 1. In the Zen 3 architecture, AMD created a larger CCX with eight cores (rather than four). This allows each core to directly access a 32MB pool of L3 cache, doubling the size of L3 cache accessible to each core. Since then, Ryzen's L3 cache size has remained consistent. However, the introduction of AMD's X3D technology increased the L3 cache size of some chips, bringing breakthrough gaming performance.

AMD's biggest leaps in gaming performance have always been in sync with increases in cache size per CCX. The jump from Zen 1 to Zen 2 and then from Zen 2 to Zen 3 was a transformative leap for AMD. In addition, the introduction of X3D CPUs has also put AMD at the top of the PC gaming market.

With a 50% increase in L3 cache per CCX, we expect AMD Zen 6 CPUs to deliver superior gaming performance. Coupled with its inevitable X3D enhancements, we expect gaming performance to increase further.

Source: Content compiled from pcgamesn

Reference link: https://www.pcgamesn.com/amd/7ghz-zen-6-clock-speed-leak