# Zen 3

> 4th generation Zen CPU microarchitecture by AMD

**Wikidata**: [Q96416013](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96416013)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_3)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/zen-3

## Summary
Zen 3 is the fourth-generation CPU microarchitecture developed by AMD, released on November 5, 2020. It succeeds Zen 2 and precedes Zen 4, featuring a 7 nm lithography process and significant architectural enhancements to improve performance and power efficiency. Zen 3 powers AMD's Ryzen 5000 series and EPYC 7003 server processors.

## Key Facts
- **Release Date**: November 5, 2020 (launch).
- **Developer**: AMD.
- **Fabrication Process**: 7 nm lithography (N7 node).
- **Preceded By**: Zen 2 microarchitecture.
- **Succeeded By**: Zen 4 microarchitecture.
- **Key Components**: Core Complex Die (CCD), cIOD (consumer I/O die), and sIOD (server I/O die).
- **Notable Products**: Ryzen 5000 series (desktop), EPYC 7003 (server), and Ryzen Threadripper PRO.
- **Architectural Improvement**: Unified 8-core CCD with 32 MB L3 cache per CCD.

## FAQs
### Q: When was Zen 3 released?
A: Zen 3 was launched on November 5, 2020.

### Q: What is the main difference between Zen 3 and Zen 2?
A: Zen 3 introduced a unified 8-core Complex Control Die (CCD) with double the L3 cache per CCD (32 MB) compared to Zen 2, improving latency and performance.

### Q: Which processors use Zen 3?
A: Zen 3 powers AMD's Ryzen 5000 desktop processors, EPYC 7003 server chips, and Ryzen Threadripper PRO workstation CPUs.

## Why It Matters
Zen 3 marked a significant leap in AMD's CPU architecture, addressing key bottlenecks from Zen 2. By unifying cores into a single 8-core CCD and doubling L3 cache access, it reduced latency and boosted single-threaded performance. This design helped AMD compete aggressively with Intel in both consumer and enterprise markets, offering higher instructions per clock (IPC) and power efficiency. Zen 3's success solidified AMD's position in the high-performance computing space, particularly in gaming and datacenter workloads, and set the stage for future architectures like Zen 4.

## Notable For
- **Unified CCD Design**: First AMD architecture to integrate 8 cores with 32 MB L3 cache in a single CCD, reducing memory latency.
- **7 nm Optimization**: Leveraged TSMC's N7 process for dense, power-efficient chiplets.
- **Chiplet Architecture**: Combined core complexes (CCD) with modular I/O dies (cIOD/sIOD) for scalability across desktop, server, and workstation products.
- **Competitive Edge**: Enabled Ryzen 5000 series to surpass Intel's 11th Gen Core processors in gaming and content creation benchmarks.

## Body
### Architecture
Zen 3 introduced a monolithic 8-core/16-thread Complex Control Die (CCD) with 32 MB of L3 cache shared across all cores in the CCD. This design eliminated the latency penalties from Zen 2's distributed L3 cache and improved core-to-cache communication.

### Chiplet Design
- **Core Complex Die (CCD)**: Contains the CPU cores and L3 cache.
- **cIOD**: Consumer I/O die for mainstream Ryzen processors, handling PCIe lanes, memory controllers, and Infinity Fabric.
- **sIOD**: Server I/O die for EPYC and Threadripper PRO, supporting higher PCIe lane counts and advanced security features.

### Fabrication
Manufactured using TSMC's 7 nm (N7) lithography process, with the I/O dies fabricated on a 12 nm process at GlobalFoundries.

### Products
- **Desktop**: Ryzen 5 5600X to Ryzen 9 5950X (Vermeer architecture).
- **Server**: EPYC 7003 series (Milan), offering up to 64 cores and 128 PCIe 4.0 lanes.
- **Workstation**: Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5000 series (Chagall), targeting professional workloads.

## Schema Markup
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  "description": "4th generation Zen CPU microarchitecture by AMD",
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  "datePublished": "2020-11-05",
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  "precededBy": "Zen 2",
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