AMD's promising Computex2022 had a slight stumble this morning as the CPU architects were forced to correct statements made representatives on the power draw rating for their upcoming AM5 socket platform. While the clarification won't materially affect the launch of the platform - currently slated for Fall 2022 - it's an embarrassing moment that may cause enthusiasts to doubt other assertions AMD will make in the run-up to its availability.
As part of the Computex2022 keynote coverage selected press were offered the opportunity to quiz AMD representatives on some of the more technical aspects of the announcement. One of the aspects queried was the headline 170W power draw figure associated with the AM5 socket, specifically whether that referred to the TDP or the peak power draw.
Initially AMD representatives explicitly stated that the 170W figure referred to the Package Power Tracking (PPT) limit, representing the maximum peak power AM5 would allow the CPU to draw. That's important in the context of demos presented during the AMD Keynote that portrayed an unnamed Ryzen 7000-series processor reaching frequencies in excess of 5.5GHz 'at reference specifications and without overclocking', implicitly leading press to infer that it could hit 5.5GHz on up-to 170W.
Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake processors struggle to hit that frequency at 240W during dual-core boost periods that typically last on the order of seconds.
Now, after further discussions, AMD have had to retract previous claims and present the following clarification which was published by Toms Hardware today:
"AMD would like to issue a correction to the socket power and TDP limits of the upcoming AMD Socket AM5. AMD Socket AM5 supports up to a 170W TDP with a PPT up to 230W. TDP*1.35 is the standard calculation for TDP v. PPT for AMD sockets in the Zen era, and the new 170W TDP group is no exception (170*1.35=229.5).
"This new TDP group will enable considerably more compute performance for high core count CPUs in heavy compute workloads, which will sit alongside the 65W and 105W TDP groups that Ryzen is known for today. AMD takes great pride in providing the enthusiast community with transparent and forthright product capabilities, and we want to take this opportunity to apologize for our error and any subsequent confusion we may have caused on this topic."
"This new TDP group will enable considerably more compute performance for high core count CPUs in heavy compute workloads, which will sit alongside the 65W and 105W TDP groups that Ryzen is known for today. AMD takes great pride in providing the enthusiast community with transparent and forthright product capabilities, and we want to take this opportunity to apologize for our error and any subsequent confusion we may have caused on this topic."
It's not clear what caused this miscommunication, but it isn't the first time disputed TDP/Power Draw figures have required some fast footwork from a chip designer. The clarification also potentially puts AMD's demonstrated 7000-series processor and Intel i9-12900KS on roughly equal footing when it comes to rated peak power draw, at 230W and 241W respectively.
This should be water under the bridge when the Ryzen 7000-series CPUs and 600-series motherboards reach maturity. Boost tables and other dynamic clocking tools have such an outsized impact on performance that consumer-centric discussions on power draw and TDP is only really necessary for assessing cooling and PSU requirements. That said, it may cause some friction between AMD and a tech. press less credulous of what should be fairly straightforward technical details.
SOURCE: Toms Hardware
