Rumor mill: AMD's Zen 3-based Ryzen 4000 desktop chips are arriving this year, and according to a recent claim, they will feature a new addition to the Ryzen lineup: a ten-core CPU.
The news comes from Yuri "1usmus" Bubliy, the person behind the ClockTuner for Ryzen and DRAM calculator for Ryzen utilities. He discovered a 10-core SKU in the Ryzen 4000 desktop family, known as Vermeer, within the new AGESA 1.0.8.1 firmware.
About Zen 3. Part 2.
--- Yuri Bubliy (@1usmus) September 7, 2020
10 core's processors - it's real :)@AMDRyzen @AMD #Ryzen
If true, this would be the first Ryzen CPU with ten cores; AMD's processors tend to jump from 8 core variants to 12 cores. It also suggests that team red is positioning the processor as a cheaper rival to Intel's 10-core Comet Lake-S flagship, the Core i9-10900K.
This ten core chip may be the Ryzen 7 4800X. That could mean the Ryzen 7 4700X will stay as an 8-core model, while the Ryzen 5 4600X might jump from six cores to eight.
1usmus adds that one of the key features of Zen 3 will be a"curve optimizer" that lets users configure the processors' boost frequency and customize the frequency of each core without any restrictions. Another feature relates to the Infinity Fabric dividers, which allows for slightly higher IMC frequencies in mixed mode.
Back in July, AMD confirmed that Zen 3 desktop processors remain on track to launch in 2020. The chips are rumored to boast massive IPC (instructions per clock) gains over their predecessors while also boosting clock speeds by around 200 - 300 MHz. Both 400- and 500-series chipsets will support the CPUs, but AMD says the latter will get the most out of them, naturally.