After a long wait, AMD is making the final preparations for its Zen architecture launch which offers a staggering 40% IPC improvement over Excavator. The introduction of Zen could dramatically change the processor market and give AMD a strong foothold among enthusiast users. If the performance is similar to Intel offerings, prices might fall and the competition will be highly beneficial for consumers. The latest leak stems from the website Hwsu.hu and shows a very clear photograph of the AM4 socket and Zen pin arrangement. As you can see, socket AM4 is based on the company’s Pin Grid Array (PGA) and not the Land Grid Array (LGA) seen on Intel products. The new platform will support PCI-E 3.0, DDR4, USB 3.1 and is capable of using up to 24 PCI-E lanes.
Interestingly, Zen’s pin count comes to a total of 1331 which is a huge increase on the 942 pins seen throughout the AM3+ platform. On another note, the processors measure 40mm x 40mm and feature a similar appearance to previous designs. While these pictures don’t really provide an insight into the performance, it’s great to see both the AM4 socket and a Zen processor. As a result, the current roadmap seems on track and AMD is working hardware to ensure Zen lives up to people’s expectations.
Update: We’ve been informed by a helpful reader, that the CPU image is not genuine and actually displays a Bristol Ridge Athlon X4 950.
