[GTALUG] AMD releases 3100 and 3300x

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: William Park via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
| 
| On Sat, May 09, 2020 at 08:00:33AM -0400, Dave Collier-Brown via talk wrote:
| > I suspect the new low-cost chip is a simplified version of one of the
| > four processor cores, and might cost about 1/5 of what the server
| > chips cost to make.
| 
| Or rather, ones that failed QA. :-)

Why simplified?  Why Failed?

Each Zen 2 package is made from a group of "chiplets".  Each processor
chiplet (CCX) has 4 cores, with each providing 2 SMT units:  4c 8t in
current notation.  AMD uses a 7nm TSMC process to make them.

Then they have a chiplet or several to do I/O.  Density doesn't matter
as much here so they are made using something like a 14nm process.

So: a low-end Zen 2 package has fewer chiplets.  It probably has a
lower clock speed.

AMD might "bin" them for speed.  That means: manufacture them, test
how fast they can run, and sell the faster ones as separate SKUs.