– Zen 7 is rumored to use TSMC A14 for the Zen 7 CCD (Grimlock) with up to 16 cores and 224 MB L3 cache via 3D V-cache, and may adopt FOPLP packaging.
– Not all Zen 7 parts may be on 14A; Samsung Foundry may supply IO die and Infinity Fabric for some components, suggesting mixed manufacturing.
– Cost pressure is a concern, as A14 wafers are expensive and AMD may split production to balance price competitiveness against Intel 14A offerings.
Overview
Even though Zen 6 is yet to surface, leaks have already started talking about its successor: Zen 7. Moore’s Law is Dead predicted it would first surface sometime in 2027-28 with new Epyc CPUs codenamed Florence, complete with a top-spec SKU with a whopping 288 physical cores. The chatter keeps shifting, yet the core idea remains: AMD plans to push more cores and bigger caches into the lineup, claiming a leap that could redefine workstation performance for multi-threaded workloads. The tone of the talk mixes optimism with cautious notes about supply and manufacturing realities, and it sets a horizon that enthusiasts and enterprise buyers are watching closely.
Spec highlights
Consumer Zen 8 CPUs should ideally launch a year later. Taiwanese news outlet Commercial Times has now tacitly confirmed yet another Zen 7 spec foretold by Tom. For starters, it states a Zen 7 CCD can support up to 16 cores and 224 MB of L3 cache with a 3D V-cache tile. The details suggest AMD plans to equip Zen 7 with substantial cache and core counts that could significantly boost performance in memory-bound workflows, gaming, and content creation. This spec read sounds ambitious, yet it lines up with AMD’s historical trend of expanding cache sizing to improve throughput.
Fabrication plans
AMD plans to use TSMC’s A14 node for its Zen 7 CCD, codenamed Grimlock. Unlike Intel 18A and newer nodes, TSMC A14 won’t support backside power delivery. That upgrade is expected to arrive in a subsequent node revision. The exact details about how 14A improves upon current-gen nodes like N2 and N2X are unclear. Zen 7 will also leverage cutting-edge tech like FOPLP (Fan-Out Panel-Level Packaging) to enable more efficient operation. The manufacturing story remains murky, with mixed signals about where each die will be produced and how packaging innovations could affect power handling and yields.
Industry implications
If true, it will be one of the first major players to fabricate its high-end chips on TSMC A14, joining the likes of Apple and likely Qualcomm. However, not all Zen 7 parts may be made on 14A, or, for that matter, even at TSMC. Jukan, a South Korean analyst, hints that Samsung Foundry has won some orders from AMD, likely for laptop CPUs. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume some non-critical components, such as the IO die and Infinity Fabric, could be manufactured on Samsung production lines. A14 wafers won’t be cheap, and AMD will definitely look for ways to keep overall costs low, lest it run the risk of being undercut by Intel’s 14A products.
