Random comment about AMD, but damn their cpu line naming is really confusing. between zen, zen+, zen2, threadripper, ryzen 7,8,9. ryzen is actually 3 different architectures? then there's like ryzen 7 2000, 3000, now 4000. But for the laptop cpus the architectures are actually different. zen2 isn't used in the ryzen 3000 mobile cpus. Then you can look at best buy and see a laptop listed using a 3rd gen ryzen. Im not sure what that is actually referring to. I'm not sure how this compares to their epyc line either. I still need to read up on that...
How is this any different from Intel Core i7? Intel Core i7 are a line of architectures from 2008. The i7-950 is a Quad-core Nehalem. The i7-2600k was a quad core Sandy Bridge.
Then Ivy Bridge, then Haswell. Crystalwell (laptop-only L4 cache version). Broadwell. Skylake. Ice-lake. Skylake-X. Sapphire Rapids. Etc. etc.
All under the "Core i7" name, despite being a ton of different computers.
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The "innovation" was realizing that customers want a long-running name based on price. The Intel i7 is the $300 processor, be it from 2008 or from 2020. Customers otherwise don't really care about the specific hardware details (AVX, BMI instructions, 256-bit or 128-bit Load/store mechanisms. AVX512, etc. etc.)
For the technical people who DO care about those details, Intel (and AMD) release manuals on the details. We know its more important to read the number that comes after the name. "Ryzen 9 3950k", the "3950" is way more important from an architectural perspective than the "Ryzen 9" part.
The "Ryzen 9" or "Core i7" part is just simplified marketing, for the people who are more concerned with price points than technical details.
Zen was the first core design, Zen+ was an enhancement on it, Zen 2 the newest generation. This is analogous to intel chip generations.
Ryzen 3, 5, 7 and 9 are like your Core i3, i5, i7 and i9 - market differentiators.
I agree that when you start looking at the actual model numbers, they're all over the place. Zen 2 laptop products are 4000 series, but Zen 2 desktop products are 3000. I think this was a mistake, personally.
Yeah. Other "favorites", which include also unclear directions where products are heading, are eg Microsoft Xbox naming: Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox Series X (compare against PlayStation 1--5), and the Google chat/videocall product lines: Duo, Hangout, Meet, etc.
To be honest Nintendo is just as bad at naming their consoles but for some reason get a lot less hate (outside of Wii U)
Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite
or the handheld ones
Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advanced, Game Boy Advanced SP, Game Boy Advanced Micro, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DSi XL
zen, zen+ and zen2 are the architecture. Threadripper and Ryzen are product lines. I find that quite straight forward.
The really confusing part is, is that the Ryzen 4000 APUs will be zen2 architecture but the desktop CPUs without APUs or the mobile Ryzen 4000 series are zen3 architecture.
While unfortunate, this has been the case since Ryzen launched. Ryzen 2000G(E)/U series were Zen-based like Ryzen 1000(X), Ryzen 3000G(E)/H/U series were Zen+-based like Ryzen 2000(X), Ryzen 4000G(E)/H(S)/U is Zen2-based like Ryzen 3000(X(T)).
I suspect they do this because the APUs typically launch half a year after the GPU-less variants and
What's really confusing and unfortunate is that there are some Ryzen 1000 series variants (Ryzen 3 1200, Ryzen 5 1600) that were re-released well over a year after their initial launch and which are actually Zen+ based.
Ryzen 4000 mobile parts were released early this spring with Zen 2 cores in a monolithic design. The model numbers end in U or H.
Ryzen 4000 APUs were just announced and also use Zen 2 cores in a monolithic design. These have model numbers that end in G.
Zen 3 based desktop parts are expected late this year. If they follow past naming, they will also be Ryzen 4000 with model numbers sporting an optional X at the end, or no letter suffix.
