Intel’s 12th-generation Core began to introduce a hybrid architecture of large and small cores. The multi-core running score improved immediately, and it also played a very good auxiliary role in games, rendering and other scenarios. However, because the large core and small core are based on completely different architectures, complex systems and software are required. Scheduling cooperation also directly leads to the loss of the AVX-512 instruction set.
AMD has long confirmed that it is developing its own large and small cores, and emphasized that the two cores will have exactly the same architecture, IPC performance, and ISA instruction set, except that the cache is different.
Originally thought that AMD would not launch large and small cores until the next generation of Zen5 products, partnering with Zen5c, but unexpectedly, AMD has already quietly acted.
AMD recently confirmed that the two entry-level products of Ryzen 5 7540U and Ryzen 3 7440U do apply large and small core designs, including Zen4 and Zen4c cores, the latter of which is also used in Bergamo in the data center field.
The Ryzen 7040U series includes two chips, including the 8-core Ryzen 7 7840U and the 6-core Ryzen 5 7640U, code-named Phoenix1, with an area of 178 square millimeters, and all cores are complete Zen4.
The 6-core Ryzen 5 7540U and the 4-core Ryzen 3 7440U, code-named Phoenix2, are only 137 square millimeters, which is a full 23% smaller. They use large and small cores. The former contains 2 Zen4 and 4 Zen4c, and the latter is 2 Zen4, 2 Zen4c.
The Zen4c here is the same as the data center side, the only change is that the L3 cache has been halved, 16MB has become 8MB , and it is said that the frequency has been slightly reduced but there is no further overall round.
In addition, the Phoenix2 chip will also simplify the GPU core display part, reducing the 12 CU units to 4, which is the main contributor to the greatly reduced area.
As for why these two entry-level products are the first to use large and small cores, it should be a low-cost experimental nature. After confirming that the route is feasible, the next generation will be popularized on a large scale.
Unfortunately, the terminal products of Ryzen 5 7540U and Ryzen 3 7440U have not been seen yet, and it is impossible to know the real performance of AMD's core of this size.
