AMD Ryzen 16-Core/12-Core Behemoth And New Socket Challenge Intel; First Ryzen Patch Arrives In ‘Ashes of Singularity’

AMD is reported to be building a Ryzen behemoth with 16-core and 12-core to compete with Intel's high-end desktop (HEDT) lineup plus a new socket as well in its roadmap. Meanwhile, AMD with Stardock and Oxide released its first Ryzen patch for the "Ashes of Singularity" with an optimization boost of as much as 30 percent.

The latest report says that AMD may be using multiple chip modules for the Ryzen 16-core and 12-core variant. This basically means stitching two new dies together so the 16-core model will have dual 8-core CPUs and the 12-core will have dual 6-core CPUs all held together. There is no evidence yet of how these new chips will perform although these have been spotted in SiSoft Sandra benchmark alongside two leaked diagrams of the AMD X399 and X390. There is no hard information go by other than the slight changes in core clock.

However, one should not assume that the number of cores equates to higher clock speeds for that is not how things work, according to Segment Next. For now, what is known about the Ryzen 16-core and 12-core chips is that the former will have an 180W TDP while the latter has 140W TDP. It is also worth watching how AMD and Intel will play on the enthusiast-grade CPU market not just in performance but also in pricing and positioning. To recall, the AMD Ryzen 7 processors launch pushed Intel to drop its prices for some of its Core processors and giving gamers more options to build an exceptional gaming rig.

At the high-end desktop level, AMD is once again encroaching on Intel's long-held turf with the 16-core and 12-core chips just like how the Ryzen 7 leveraged on its Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) tech to slay the Core i7 chips. However, Intel still has the upper hand in single core performance, which is why AMD needs to work on optimization patches for some titles where SMT is not beneficial. Incidentally, AMD, Stardock, and Oxide announced yesterday its latest patch for the "Ashes of Singularity" delivering a 30 percent boost for a fully optimized DirectX 12 implementation on a real-time strategy game, PCGamesN reported. AMD is continuously collaborating with software hardware and game developers to unleash the full potential of the Zen core and the Ryzen CPUs.