AMD's Zen 3, 4000 CPUs are just around the corner, so the rumors and information leaks are turning from a trickle into a flood. The latest are some alleged frequency reports about what will presumably be the top-tier 4950X, which according to a translated OPN code will have a base clock of 3.5GHz and a boost clock as high as 4.8GHz.
That would represent a mere 100MHz increase in clock speed over the existing 3950X, which is itself a 16 core and 32 thread CPU. If the 4950X is much the same but with such a mild increase in clock speed, it would be somewhat of a disappointment — even with its alleged 15 percent or more increase to IPC. Many are hoping that AMD's top CPUs will be capable of hitting the coveted 5GHz.
Still, these are just engineering samples and typically they are a few percent slower than their eventual launch counterparts, so there's still time for frequencies to improve further.
In other AMD news, the new-generation CPUs would also allegedly include the ability to adjust voltages on a per core basis to improve single and limited-thread overclocking, further enhancing boost clocks on a per core, or per CCX basis.
Videocardz also reports that there's a rumor AMD will finally fix its naming conventions to make CPUs of the same architecture all part of the same name scheme. With 4000 series APUs and mobile CPUs just making their debut, it may launch its next-generation as the Ryzen 5000 series.
Still, we wonder if AMD won't be able to resist holding off on that for Ryzen 5000, with PCIE5 and DDR5 on 5nm in 2021/2022.