Join us For A Tom's Hardware Ask Me Anything With AMD, Thursday April 6th

[Jsimenhoff]

Hey there Toms' Hardware members! I'm proud to announce another exciting AMA with the fine folks at AMD. Don Woligroski, AMD Desktop Processor Marketing Manager, will be joining us Thursday April 6th for a 24 hour live AMA event.

Have a question about Ryzen? Now's your chance to speak with AMD directly!

This thread will be unlocked, open and live for 24 hours starting at 12:00 p.m. noon EDT on Thursday April 6th. Questions will be moderated and supervised by Tom’s Assistant Community Managers, Joshua Simenhoff and Caitlin Strachan, as well as a full team of Senior Moderators.

We teamed up with ASRock to bring you two back-to-back giveaways for its all-new X370 Taichi AM4 Motherboard. This is the second and final X370 Taichi giveaway so be sure to enter for your final chance to win. With even more ways to enter there are loads of chances to win! We're even giving entries for asking questions in the AMD AMA on Thursday April 6th. To enter, simply join the raffle above. The sweepstakes will run until 12pm EST on April 13th. Please see the contest entry page for a full list of rules and ways to enter.

Ask Me Anything Rules

• No tech support questions, as these require in-depth personal follow-up and diagnostics.

• All Rules of Conduct apply.

• Keep questions direct and to the point.

• Avoid opinion bias, as in, "Why are all your products awesome/horrible?"

• Be respectful of our guests--no insults, no leading questions.

• Do not post duplicate questions or repost your question multiple times.

• Not all questions may be answered. Questions may not be answered in the order in which they are received or posted.

To reiterate: No opinion bias, insults, leading questions, or breaking the Rules of Conduct. Breaking these rules may result in a one-day ban.

Only registered users will be able to ask questions, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to register now for your chance to participate!

The official representatives will reply periodically over the time the AMA is active, using a recognized and verified account.

Please join us on this date to throw your questions into the mix and ask AMD what you've always wanted to ask!

What: Ask Me Anything – AMD

When: Thursday, April 6, 12pm EST

Where: The Tom’s Hardware Forums!

Who: Don Woligroski, AMD Desktop Processor Marketing Manager

 

[turkey3_scratch]

When it comes to TDP, how exactly are the values created? I notice both the Ryzen 7 1800X and 1700X are labeled as a 95W TDP. I can see there are differences in the frequency between the two, and looking at the data on these processor I would think the 1700X would use less power than the 1800X. How come the TDPs are the same then?

I think knowing the power requirements of a processor is important when it comes to picking a motherboard and power supply. Do you think the current TDPs for these processors best exemplify average power under maximum load (i.e. torture test) or a typical heavy load (i.e. gaming)? Do you think any more data relating to the power of these processors would be helpful to consumers under the specifications, such as the peaks in an oscilloscope graph?

And lastly, do you think it would be helpful for information on the AMD website to be available relating to TDP based on various overclock configurations? A lot of people like to overclock but when overclocking the TDP no longer is the same and requires some guesswork. Do you think there could actually be some form of data presented to consumers that could tell them more about the power requirements of the processor if they overclock to certain amounts and voltages, or do you think it's too unpredictable and/or best left to third party sites' independent testing?

Thank you so much for your time!

 

[James Mason]

Will AMD eventually be able to fix the RAM clock speed issues through software updates alone?

For example, I bought a set of G.skill 3200mhz 16CL 16GB. But because of who manufactured the ram chips, I can't achieve the speeds it's advertised at on AM4 motherboards.

 

[imrazor]

What price will the lowest end 4c/8t R3 be available at?

 

[atljsf]

now that am4 will support apus, what kind of apus can we expect, 4 cores and 4 threads?

any tdp limit? perhaps 65 watts?

perhaps 4 cores and 8 threads?

 

[redgarl]

With Nvidia pursuing self driving car opportunities and Intel looking at Optane, is there a new focus for AMD in the upcoming future?

Also, with this morning recent Goldman Sachs depreciation, do you think the public and the industry is still missing what AMD is trying to accomplish with their new lineup of products?

Thanks,

 

[Aspiring techie]

What are the low hanging fruits that AMD can easily improve from Zen to Zen 2 and do you think the gains will be significant? Are they things like clock rates, SMT, CCX scheduling, overclocking, other microarchitecture features etc.?

 

[scout_03]

Hi would like to know witch cooler will come with the 1500x or the 1600 x as oem cpu sale in box kit .

 

[jaymc]

Hello and welcome to Tomshardware

It's great to have you here, I have been looking forward to this Q & A since it was announced.

Congratulation's on Ryzen, it's starting to really shine ! An also, best of luck with Naples and Vega's launch by the way.

I have a few question's regarding Ryzen's architecture, here's my first:

I believe the Infinity Fabric run's at half the RAM speed...
An I have seen some YT reviewer's getting 3600mhz DDR4 to run smoothly with Ryzen.
My question is are we close to hitting the wall with the Infinity Fabric's speed yet, an how future proof is it ?
Will the Fabric keep up with DDR4 4000mhz ? An how about the extreme speeds of the Trident Z 4500mhz DDR4 memory ?

Jay

 

[cleeve]

Will AMD eventually be able to fix the RAM clock speed issues through software updates alone?

For example, I bought a set of G.skill 3200mhz 16CL 16GB. But because of who manufactured the ram chips, I can't achieve the speeds it's advertised at on AM4 motherboards.

We are absolutely be able to address RAM performance improvements through motherboard BIOS! (as long as there isn't a physical motherboard hardware limitation)

Some perspective here - Socket AM4 is brand new, and our first DDR4 socket. Our competition took a year to get the RAM speed and stability they enjoy, but in the month since we launched Ryzen 7 we've gone from testing our original data at 2400 MHz to giving Ryzen 5 reviewers stable 3200 MHz B350 platforms to test with thanks to BIOS updates. Consumers can expect those updated BIOSes to arrive for X370 motherboards in the Ryzen 5 launch timeframe around April 11th for X370 boards.

That's not to say we've achieved perfection in a month. We still have a lot more work to do on the AM4 platform, but the strides we've already taken are incredible. We're also tracking toward another BIOS update in May to help with overclocked memory stability and performance even more, and we have a standing team of people working to develop this indefinitely.

The best part of this is, memory speed is a big piece of the platform, and rears its head in platform-limited applications like games running at the relatively-low 1080p resolution. So we're realy happy about the improvements we've made, and this is definitely a priority for us going forward.

 

[cleeve]

What price will the lowest end 4c/8t R3 be available at?

We haven't even launched Ryzen 5 and you're talking about Ryzen 3, huh? Cheeky! I like that.

We haven't disclosed any Ryzen 3 pricing yet, but you can probably where prices will be relative to Ryzen 5.
I'm also sure we haven't announced a 4c/8t version, Ryzen 3 specs will be revealed later.

Sorry, wish I could say more. But I invite you to enjoy the 4c/8t Ryzen 5 1400 when it's released on the 11th at a suggested price of $169 USD!

 

[TechyInAZ]

As you guys continue to improve memory stability at higher frequencies, do you think that soon, Ryzen will be able to run the same very high frequencies (above 4000mhz) as Kaby Lake?

 

[Presentato]

As someone interested in doing virtualization and PCI passthrough of a GPU early reports of IOMMU groupings don't look promising for the consumer motherboards. Is that something AMD is able to address or entirely up to the motherboard makers?

 

[cleeve]

When it comes to TDP, how exactly are the values created? I notice both the Ryzen 7 1800X and 1700X are labeled as a 95W TDP. I can see there are differences in the frequency between the two, and looking at the data on these processor I would think the 1700X would use less power than the 1800X. How come the TDPs are the same then?

I think knowing the power requirements of a processor is important when it comes to picking a motherboard and power supply. Do you think the current TDPs for these processors best exemplify average power under maximum load (i.e. torture test) or a typical heavy load (i.e. gaming)? Do you think any more data relating to the power of these processors would be helpful to consumers under the specifications, such as the peaks in an oscilloscope graph?

And lastly, do you think it would be helpful for information on the AMD website to be available relating to TDP based on various overclock configurations? A lot of people like to overclock but when overclocking the TDP no longer is the same and requires some guesswork. Do you think there could actually be some form of data presented to consumers that could tell them more about the power requirements of the processor if they overclock to certain amounts and voltages, or do you think it's too unpredictable and/or best left to third party sites' independent testing?

Thank you so much for your time!

This is a can of worms, but I'll do my best. A couple points to frame the conversation:

1. TDP is not electrical watts (power draw), it's thermal watts.

2. Published processor TDPs are often rounded up to fit a desired spec. For example, AM4 motherboards are spec'd to run processors with 65W and 95W TDPs. It gives motherboard manufacturers and system builders a thermal framework to fit within.
i.e. At AMD we call the Ryzen 7 1800X, Ryzen 7 1700X, and Rzen 5 1600X 95W processors, but in practice there might be a couple of thermal watts difference during operation due to a number of factors.

So right off the bat, power draw conclusions based on processor TDPs are probably not going to be perfect, although they can give you a rough idea.

And to be frank, people tend to overspec the heck out of their PSUs. Primarily I think important to look for a well-reviewed model from a reliable manufacturer, than to worry about processor power draw on 95W Ryzen CPUs.
Heck, 125W FX processors tend to run fine on a decent 450W juice box from my experience, but Igor at Tom's Hardware frankly knows a hell of a lot more than I ever will about PSUs. He's your guy when it comes to power draw.

 

[PC-Cobbler]

Many corporations have discovered to their great dismay that China does not respect IP ownership. Weinig AG's CEO often sees Chinese copies of his company's products at trade shows. China's high-speed trainset was cobbled together from the crown jewels of Siemens, TGV, and others. Germany's Transrapid consortium videotaped Chinese engineers breaking into its factory during the night and taking measurements. AMD recently signed a technology transfer agreement with THATIC, which is actually under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a national research institution. Did AMD cut its own throat?

BACKGROUND:

Product Piracy Goes High-Tech: Nabbing Know-How in China
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/product-piracy-goes-high-tech-nabbing-know-how-in-china-a-402464.html

Harmony and Ambition: China's Cut-Throat Railway Revolution
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/harmony-and-ambition-china-s-cut-throat-railway-revolution-a-692969.html

 

[cleeve]

now that am4 will support apus, what kind of apus can we expect, 4 cores and 4 threads?

any tdp limit? perhaps 65 watts?

perhaps 4 cores and 8 threads?

I can't comment on unannounced products and specifications, but the Ryzen-based APUs will be awesome.
That is all I will say.

 

[atljsf]

now that am4 will support apus, what kind of apus can we expect, 4 cores and 4 threads?

any tdp limit? perhaps 65 watts?

perhaps 4 cores and 8 threads?

I can't comment on unannounced products and specifications, but the Ryzen-based APUs will be awesome.
That is all I will say.

ok, wait and see, hopefuly it will not be a long wait, and, with some mini itx mainboards

 

[cleeve]

With Nvidia pursuing self driving car opportunities and Intel looking at Optane, is there a new focus for AMD in the upcoming future?

Also, with this morning recent Goldman Sachs depreciation, do you think the public and the industry is still missing what AMD is trying to accomplish with their new lineup of products?

Thanks,

Optane:
The elephant in the room is that Intel has made a very expensive cache drive available. Remember the first SSDs? Been there, done that.
It says something that they don't recommend Optane for users who already have an SSD as their primary drive.
As for AMD, our finger is definitely on the pulse of storage tech. Of course I can't comment on unannounced products, so if we did have something in the works I couldn't talk about it...

Goldman Sachs depreciation
This is my personal and not AMD-related opinion: AMD is really well positioned for the long haul, so frankly I'm not worried one iota about it. We've only just begun with Ryzen, Naples isn't released yet, and the public has no idea of our detailed plans. Take from that what you will.

 

[hendrickhere]

Hello,

Big AMD fan - always have been. I have a simple question:

Why should a standard PC user who is primarily interested in gaming and graphic software performance chose Ryzen and it's AM4 platform over a competing platform of a similar caliber?

Thank you for your response and for making yourself available to the community!

 

[atljsf]

With Nvidia pursuing self driving car opportunities and Intel looking at Optane, is there a new focus for AMD in the upcoming future?

Also, with this morning recent Goldman Sachs depreciation, do you think the public and the industry is still missing what AMD is trying to accomplish with their new lineup of products?

Thanks,

Optane:
The elephant in the room is that Intel has made a very expensive cache drive available. Remember the first SSDs? Been there, done that.
It says something that they don't recommend Optane for users who already have an SSD as their primary drive.
As for AMD, our finger is definitely on the pulse of storage tech. Of course I can't comment on unannounced products, so if we did have something in the works I couldn't talk about it...

Goldman Sachs depreciation
This is my personal and not AMD-related opinion: AMD is really well positioned for the long haul, so frankly I'm not worried one iota about it. We've only just begun with Ryzen, Naples isn't released yet, and the public has no idea of our detailed plans. Take from that what you will.

but, we are not talking about amd ssds, right? because in some form, those r3 ssds, well, they are already here

 

[cleeve]

What are the low hanging fruits that AMD can easily improve from Zen to Zen 2 and do you think the gains will be significant? Are they things like clock rates, SMT, CCX scheduling, overclocking, other microarchitecture features etc.?

Ryzen represents a double introduction here: an all-new architecture, and an all-new 14nm FinFET process.

So there's a lot of levers to pull in pretty much every aspect of the CPU. The ones you mentioned are all part of that.

And that's a really awesome place to be, when Ryzen is only 6% slower than Intel's newest Kaby Lake architecture clock-for-clock in CInebench single-thread right out of the gate...

 

[cleeve]

but, we are not talking about amd ssds, right? because in some form, those r3 ssds, well, they are already here

Well, if it's already here it's not an unannounced product!

 

[cleeve]

Hi would like to know witch cooler will come with the 1500x or the 1600 x as oem cpu sale in box kit .

The Ryzen 5 1500X comes with the Wraith Spire cooler.
This is the same cooler on the Ryzen 7 1700, but without the illuminated LED ring on the Ryzen 5.

The Ryzen 5 1600X is sold without a fan, like the Core i5-7600K, which is its main competition in the price segment.

 

[cleeve]

Hello and welcome to Tomshardware
It's great to have you here, I have been looking forward to this Q & A since it was announced.
Congratulation's on Ryzen, it's starting to really shine ! An also, best of luck with Naples and Vega's launch by the way.

Thanks man!

I have a few question's regarding Ryzen's architecture, here's my first:

I believe the Infinity Fabric run's at half the RAM speed...
An I have seen some YT reviewer's getting 3600mhz DDR4 to run smoothly with Ryzen.
My question is are we close to hitting the wall with the Infinity Fabric's speed yet, an how future proof is it ?
Will the Fabric keep up with DDR4 4000mhz ? An how about the extreme speeds of the Trident Z 4500mhz DDR4 memory ?

Jay

Well, I haven't heard of any engineering concerns about infinity fabric interconnect. On the contrary, if you speed up the fabric you should drop some latency, so it's all good.

As I've answered already, we're very focused on improving memory speeds and latency, but I haven't heard any concerns about how far we can go before we're capped yet.

 

[scout_03]

thanks Cleeve for the details any of them would be a great update for my phenom 11 720x3 one .