AMD Hints At Hybrid Zen 4 And 4C CPU Design For Upcoming Phoenix 2 APUs

AMD has reportedly confirmed that a new six-core Ryzen CPU is coming, called the Ryzen 3 7440U, but did not clarify the processor’s hybrid core layout, so we don’t know for a fact if it will actually be a Phoenix 2 product. A hybrid six-core model (with a six-core die) has been rumored for months, so the fact that AMD says this is a six-core part all but confirms the chip’s hybrid design.

Phoenix 2 is rumored to be another iteration (or fork) of the original Phoenix architecture that is designed for low-power applications. The architecture calls for smaller core counts, and a substantially weaker GPU compared to standard Phoenix CPUs, as well as the integration of a hybrid core layout, consisting of standard Zen 4 cores and smaller efficiency-focused cores.
These new efficiency cores come in the form of Zen 4c cores, which are spatially compressed versions of the standard Zen 4 core designed for low-power applications. Some of the core’s biggest alterations include a halving in L3 cache capacity and a massive reduction in clock targets. Peak clock speeds could be reduced from 5GHz+ (as we see on Ryzen 7000) to just over 3GHz to conform to the core’s smaller physical size.

Current estimations believe the mysterious six-core part—likely the Ryzen 3 7440U that AMD mentioned—will have two standard Zen 4 cores paired to four additional power-efficiency cores with a TDP rating of 28W. The GPU is also expected to be a severely cut-down model from 12 GPU cores on the Phoenix design to just four cores on Phoenix 2. AMD’s Ryzen XDNA AI unit is also believed to be disabled, probably as another way to reduce power consumption.

The situation is a bit confusing, but essentially AMD is hinting that a Zen 4 hybrid chip is coming soon named the Ryzen 3 7440U that could feature the same specifications listed above. If this is true, it will be the first hybrid CPU to come from AMD featuring two different types of cores and the first CPU to feature AMD’s Zen 4c cores outside of the server ecosystem.