AMD Shows Zen Running Doom During E3 2016

AMD’s current enthusiast CPU line-up isn’t able to compete very well with Intel and we’re waiting for the company’s hotly-anticipated Zen architecture to change the status quo. To be fair, AMD still manages to offer great processors and APUs for mainstream users, but the AM3+ platform is fairly outdated. Hopefully, AMD’s Zen architecture will release sometime this year and help to bring excellent performance at a more affordable price point. Currently, Intel is charging a hefty premium to acquire chips like the i7-6700K especially in the UK market. Of course, there have been some rumours questioning Zen’s release date and if AMD remains on track. Thankfully, AMD CEO Lisa Su displayed an upcoming processor during the company’s Computex event.

Even though the PC Gaming show at E3 is fairly new, AMD has been very supportive and acts as its main sponsor. Last year, they used this event to showcase the Fury X and 300 series. Therefore, I had high expectations for the 2016 show and hoped to hear more details about Zen. Unfortunately, Lisa Su only made a brief appearance and didn’t really give any detailed information on their upcoming CPU architecture. On the other hand, AMD released a quick video showing the testing procedure and a Zen-powered system running Doom with a perfectly smooth frame-rate. Ideally, I wanted to hear more technical information or hints regarding a release date. Judging by the footage, I’d predict the production is on schedule but this is pure speculation.

Do you think AMD’s Zen will release in 2016?