AMD's Zen 5 CPUs, APUs Will Likely Tap TSMC's 3nm Process Node
AMD's Zen 4 processors haven't even launched yet, and rumors are already emerging about the chipmaker's future Zen 5 chips. Given the time frame that we expect for the Zen 5 chips to debut, the information from the leaks makes sense. Nevertheless, we still recommend you approach all rumors with caution.
The partial AMD roadmap, which originated from China, claims that AMD will market its Zen 5 processors under the Ryzen 8000 branding, with both mainstream Ryzen processors and APUs reportedly uniting under the Ryzen 8000 branding umbrella. The rumored codenames for Ryzen 8000 chips and APUs are Granite Ridge and Strix Point, respectively.
ExecutableFix, a hardware leaker with a solid record, believes that Zen 5 is based on the 3nm process node. Given AMD's long-lasting relationship with TSMC, it's very likely that Zen 5 will tap into the foundry's 3nm (N3) manufacturing process. Then again, Samsung also has its own 3nm process node, so it'll be interesting to see whether the South Korean giant can woo AMD away from TSMC.
Granite Ridge is the successor to Raphael (Zen 4), so it should be compatible with the AM5 socket, which is allegedly making a transition from a Pin Grid Array (PGA) design over to a Land Grid Array (LGA) design. The general speculation for Zen 4's debut is sometime next year, meaning we shouldn't see Zen 5 until 2023.
