Ryzen Zen 6 First Look: AMD Partners Receive Early Samples with Promising Upgrades

AMD has started distributing engineering samples of its upcoming Ryzen Zen 6 processors to key partners, including motherboard manufacturers. This information comes from Ukrainian developer Yurii Bubliy (known as 1usmus), who is recognized for tools like DRAM Calculator for Ryzen, HYDRA, and CTR. According to him, Zen 6 is more of an evolution of Zen 5 rather than a complete overhaul.

The updated architecture will bring more cores per CCD and include a dual memory controller for the first time. However, memory channels will remain limited to two. Performance-enhancing technologies are not expected to change significantly. The familiar Curve Optimizer will still be supported, and compatibility with HYDRA should remain stable.

What to Expect from Zen 6

Although AMD hasn’t made official announcements yet, several key features have been revealed through leaks and software support. AIDA64 added preliminary Zen 6 support over a month ago, suggesting working silicon already exists.

Zen 6 CCDs are expected to feature up to 12 cores in the Classic variant and up to 16 in the Dense version. L3 cache may increase up to 48 MB per CCD. Despite the addition of a second memory controller, desktop platforms will likely still support dual-channel DDR5 memory, not quad-channel.

Looking Ahead

Ryzen Zen 6 desktop chips are expected to launch between mid and late 2026. AMD is aiming for better memory handling, higher core and thread counts—possibly up to 24 cores and 48 threads—and improved clock speeds. There’s even talk of scaling up to 32 or 64 cores with dual Zen 6C dies. Around the same time, Intel plans to release its Nova Lake-S desktop CPUs, rumored to feature up to 52 cores.