AMD is preparing a brand new line of Van Gogh low power Ryzen mobile APUs that will be targeted at the notebook segment soon. We have heard a few details of these APUs which will incorporate a very different architecture compared to the Cezanne APUs that are launching under the standard U and H series segments.
AMD Van Gogh Ultra-Low Power Ryzen APUs To Feature Zen 2 CPU & RDNA 2 GPU Architecture In 7.5W-18W TDP Configurations
We got to hear some interesting new details regarding the Zen 3 based Cezanne APUs from Twitter user Patrick Schur yesterday and today, he has leaked information regarding the Van Gogh APUs in his latest tweet. The AMD Van Gogh APUs will be part of the Ryzen family and are presumed to be a part of the Ryzen 5000 family.
Van Gogh (VN)
FF3 BGA 7.5 - 18 watt
Zen 2 Navi LPDDR5— Patrick Schur (@patrickschur_) August 21, 2020
The tweet mentions that AMD's Ryzen APUs that are part of the Van Gogh family will feature two key technologies. These include the Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU architectures. The design will be unlike anything that AMD has done on the PC platform but the same two architectures have been incorporated for the next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The existing Ryzen 4000 Renoir APUs feature the Zen 2 CPU and Vega GPU architecture while the upcoming Cezanne APU family is going to feature the Zen 3 CPU and Vega Enhanced GPU architecture.
While we already know the full potential of the Zen 2 CPU architecture, it is likely that the ones Van Gogh APUs utilize will be based on an enhanced 7nm process node. You might even call it Zen 2+ which will deliver improved efficiency and much better clock sustainability. The GPU side on the other hand will receive a big upgrade in the form of RDNA 2.
AMD's RDNA 2 GPUs will deliver an improved performance per watt design over RDNA 1. Internal AMD estimates have shown a 50% increase in performance per watt. We haven't seen any RDNA GPU in action in an integrated chip design yet and Van Gogh might as well be the first one to show how the next-gen Navi 2X GPUs perform in a monolithic APU design. We can expect a big jump in overall performance over 7nm Vega GPUs but the main bottleneck will come from the memory & cache design of Van Gogh APUs.
To mitigate the bandwidth issues, AMD's Van Gogh Ryzen APUs are expected to feature LPDDR5 memory. The evolution of LPDDR4x memory provides up to 50% faster data transfer rates & also higher bandwidth which would help deliver improved graphics performance. As for the TDPs, the Van Gogh based Ryzen APUs will feature configurations starting at 7.5W and can be configured up to 18W. Van Gogh could be positioned to tackle both Tiger Lake-Y 9W and Tiger Lake-U 15W chips which will be an interesting competition in the notebook segment for sure.
AMD Ryzen 5000 'Van Gogh' - Low-Power Mobile APUs With Zen 2 CPU & Navi 21 GPU
There's no mention on when these chips will launch but earlier reports have hinted at late 2020 as a possible release date but I expect the announcement to take place alongside AMD's Ryzen 5000 'Cezanne' family unveil at CES 2021.
The Van Gogh CPUs are also reportedly in A0 revision. Earlier leaks have indicated that Van Gogh is likely to feature Zen 2 CPU cores and Navi GPU cores. While Zen 2 has proved to be a very efficient chip for the low-power segment, the most interesting part of the Van Gogh APUs will be its graphics chip which will not only be based on a better graphics architecture than Vega but AMD's RDNA 2 IP. The specific GPU for the Van Gogh APUs is said to be Navi 21.
Again, the use of the Navi 21 codename here might confuse a lot of people but just like Vega 20 which is the codename for the 2nd Gen Vega (7nm) graphics IP, the Navi 21 codename could be there to indicate the 2nd Gen Navi (7nm) graphics IP. We are aware that Navi 21 is also the code name used for the Big Navi GPU but this is the very reason I hate stated earlier that details for just Ryzen 5000 'Cezanne' APUs are concrete at the moment while the rest of the lineups are mostly based on speculated evidence from various sources.
The post AMD Van Gogh Ultra-Low Power Ryzen Mobile APUs To Feature Zen 2 CPU & RDNA 2 GPUs, Supports LPDDR5 & 7.5-18W TDPs by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.
source https://wccftech.com/amd-van-gogh-ultra-low-power-ryzen-mobile-apus-to-feature-zen-2-cpu-rdna-2-gpus-support-lpddr5/
