We've heard of the battle of the gigahertz. More recently, there's been the battle over the number of CPU cores. And now, what if AMD and Intel were to clash over megabytes of cache?
In quick succession, two rumors have given us a few clues as to the future direction of AMD's and Intel's processors. AMD - promoter of the Zen architecture for Ryzen CPUs - has long been committed to increasing the amount of cache memory built into processors. Mentioned on numerous occasions, 3D-Vertical Cache technology - or X3D for those in the know - was finally launched in April 2022 with the launch of a new chip, paving the way for a brand-new range, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. The idea behind 3D-Vertical Cache is quite simple: since it's difficult to integrate more cache horizontally - given the chips' limited surface area - why not go vertical and stack more cache?
Diagram showing 3D Vertical Cache © AMD
Easier said than done, the technology requires a certain amount of mastery which, of course, comes at a cost. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is significantly more expensive than the Ryzen 7 5800X, but that hasn't stopped it from being a great success... especially with gamers, since the first beneficiaries of this extra cache are video games. Following this success, AMD repeated the experiment with subsequent generations, and a few weeks after the release of the Ryzen 9000 last summer, three X3D chips were launched: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and, the strongest of the bunch, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, each with an imposing cache total - up to 144 MB on the most powerful processor.
Until now, Intel has had nothing to put up against it, and the gaming duel - at equivalent processor prices - has largely turned in AMD's favor. This is why Intel has turned its attention to a similar technology, BLLC for Big Last Level Cache. This technology is due to be introduced with the 2026 generation of Intel processors, the Nova Lake range, but who knows, maybe Panther Lake (launch end-2025) could also be equipped with it? Even more interestingly, Intel has no intention of stopping with BLLC, and it would appear that the firm already has its eye on doubling this cache unit: two additional cache units for twice the combined cache and a clear advantage over AMD?
Rumors point to the doubling of 3D-Vertical Cache on certain AMD Ryzen processors © VideoCardz
Nothing could be further from the truth! First of all, Intel has yet to confirm this, and while we've already mentioned the extra cost of X3D for AMD, we can only assume that the same will be true for Intel: it's hard to imagine the price of a processor with two BLLC units! That said, the rumor mill is gaining ground, and is also affecting AMD, which, according to some sources, is planning to increase the cache integrated into its own top-of-the-range chips. For the cost reasons mentioned above, Ryzen 9 chips only feature X3D on one of their two CCDs (units grouping Zen cores). AMD's idea would therefore be toadd X3D on each of the two CCDs, resulting in almost 200 MB of combined cache on a processor like the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which would have to change its name. A very expensive processor, no doubt, but one that could then serve as a technological showcase and maintain AMD's performance edge?
