The latest Linux 5.17 Kernel drivers have added improved support for AMD's upcoming Zen 4 & Zen 4C cores for next-gen EPYC & Ryzen CPUs.
AMD's 5nm Zen 4 & Zen 4C Cores For Next-Gen EPYC & Ryzen CPUs Receive Further Support In Linux 5.17 Drivers
As reported by Phoronix, the one go-to source for all your Linux updates, the tech outlet spotted that the latest Linux 5.17 EDAC (Error Detection and Correction) drivers have added support for AMD's next-gen Zen cores, the Zen 4 & Zen 4C.
The new EDAC drivers not only add Zen 4 'AMD Family 19h Models 10h-1Fh' and Zen 4C 'AMD Family 19h Models A0h-AFh' support but also come with DDR5 support in both RDDR5 & LRDDR5 flavors. Since RDDR5 and LDDR5 memory standards are most commonly used in servers and data centers, this driver is geared mostly towards the AMD EPYC Genoa and Bergamo lineup which are expected to utilize the latest Zen 4 cores. In addition to that, Linux 5.17 Kernel is also expected to add several improvements and optimizations for AMD's upcoming and existing CPUs along with P-state capabilities.
Back in November, Kernel patches for Linux operating system also added temperature monitoring support for AMD CPUs with up to 12 CCDs, once again targeting the next-gen Zen 4 powered EPYC lineup. AMD has already acknowledged that they will be utilizing an optimized 5nm node by TSMC for next-gen EPYC & Ryzen 7000 CPUs that deliver twice the density, twice the power efficiency, and more than 25% performance gain vs Zen 3 cores.
The Zen 4 cores will power both the EPYC Genoa with up to 96 cores for General Purpose computing when it launches later this year while EPYC Bergamo will feature up to 128 Zen 4C cores that are optimized for cloud-native computing. EPYC Bergamo is expected to launch in 1H 2023.
The main competitor of AMD's EPYC Genoa lineup would be Intel's Sapphire Rapids Xeon family which is expected to launch in 2022 too with PCIe Gen 5 and DDR5 memory support. The lineup was recently rumored to not get a volume ramp until 2023. Overall, AMD's Genoa lineup seems to be in great form after this leak and could be a major disruption for the server segment if AMD plays its cards right till Genoa's launch by 2022.
AMD EPYC CPU Families:
| Family Name | AMD EPYC Verano | AMD EPYC Venice | AMD EPYC Turin-X | AMD EPYC Turin-Dense | AMD EPYC Turin | AMD EPYC Siena | AMD EPYC Bergamo | AMD EPYC Genoa-X | AMD EPYC Genoa | AMD EPYC Milan-X | AMD EPYC Milan | AMD EPYC Rome | AMD EPYC Naples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Branding | EPYC 9007 | EPYC 9006 | EPYC 9005 | EPYC 9005 | EPYC 9005 | EPYC 8004 | EPYC 9004 | EPYC 9004 | EPYC 9004 | EPYC 7004 | EPYC 7003 | EPYC 7002 | EPYC 7001 |
| Family Launch | 2027 | 2026 | 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2017 |
| CPU Architecture | Zen 7 | Zen 6 | Zen 5 | Zen 5C | Zen 5 | Zen 4 | Zen 4C | Zen 4 V-Cache | Zen 4 | Zen 3 | Zen 3 | Zen 2 | Zen 1 |
| Process Node | TBD | 2nm TSMC | 4nm TSMC | 3nm TSMC | 4nm TSMC | 5nm TSMC | 4nm TSMC | 5nm TSMC | 5nm TSMC | 7nm TSMC | 7nm TSMC | 7nm TSMC | 14nm GloFo |
| Platform Name | SP7 | SP7 | SP5 | SP5 | SP5 | SP6 | SP5 | SP5 | SP5 | SP3 | SP3 | SP3 | SP3 |
| Socket | TBD | TBD | LGA 6096 (SP5) | LGA 6096 (SP5) | LGA 6096 | LGA 4844 | LGA 6096 | LGA 6096 | LGA 6096 | LGA 4094 | LGA 4094 | LGA 4094 | LGA 4094 |
| Max Core Count | TBD | 96 | 128 | 192 | 128 | 64 | 128 | 96 | 96 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 32 |
| Max Thread Count | TBD | 192 | 256 | 384 | 256 | 128 | 256 | 192 | 192 | 128 | 128 | 128 | 64 |
| Max L3 Cache | TBD | TBD | 1536 MB | 384 MB | 384 MB | 256 MB | 256 MB | 1152 MB | 384 MB | 768 MB | 256 MB | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Chiplet Design | TBD | 8 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 2 IOD? | 16 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 12 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 16 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 8 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 12 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 12 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 12 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 8 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 8 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD | 8 CCD's (2 CCX's per CCD) + 1 IOD | 4 CCD's (2 CCX's per CCD) |
| Memory Support | TBD | DDR5-12800 | DDR5-6000? | DDR5-6400 | DDR5-6400 | DDR5-5200 | DDR5-5600 | DDR5-4800 | DDR5-4800 | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-3200 | DDR4-2666 |
| Memory Channels | TBD | 16-Channel (SP7) | 12 Channel (SP5) | 12 Channel | 12 Channel | 6-Channel | 12 Channel | 12 Channel | 12 Channel | 8 Channel | 8 Channel | 8 Channel | 8 Channel |
| PCIe Gen Support | TBD | 128-192 PCIe Gen 6 | TBD | 128 PCIe Gen 5 | 128 PCIe Gen 5 | 96 Gen 5 | 128 Gen 5 | 128 Gen 5 | 128 Gen 5 | 128 Gen 4 | 128 Gen 4 | 128 Gen 4 | 64 Gen 3 |
| TDP (Max) | TBD | ~600W | 500W (cTDP 600W) | 500W (cTDP 450-500W) | 400W (cDP 320-400W) | 70-225W | 320W (cTDP 400W) | 400W | 400W | 280W | 280W | 280W | 200W |
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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