AMD Could Move to 1.4nm as Early as 2028 — The Process Node Race Keeps Rolling

While we're still speculating about AMD's Zen 6 chips, information on the next-gen Zen 7 has already surfaced online. According to Taiwanese outlet Commercial Times, the "red team" has started preparing its supply chain for chips codenamed Grimlock. The future CPUs will feature CCD dies manufactured using TSMC's A14 (1.4nm) process, which will be the next step after the 2nm node expected for Zen 6.

Don't expect these new chips before 2028 — engineering samples are rumored to appear in 2027, with mass production kicking off a year later. No official info yet, but insiders are already sketching out bold roadmaps. Each Zen 7 CCD chiplet might pack up to 16 cores, and if that pans out, high-end desktop processors could see an even bigger core count boost.

Additionally, a new generation of 3D V-Cache technology is promised. With it, the L3 cache per chiplet could hit 224MB. Server-grade EPYC versions based on Zen 7 are rumored to get beefed-up AI compute capabilities, including an updated MATRIX engine and support for new data formats.

AMD CEO Lisa Su's recent trip to Taiwan also fits into this picture. Reportedly, she visited Powertech, where advanced chip packaging methods were discussed. For Zen 7, they'll likely use FOPLP (Fan-Out Panel-Level Packaging), which should improve heat dissipation and power delivery compared to current solutions.

It's important to keep in mind that Zen 7 is still a very distant prospect. This year, AMD is only planning to launch its EPYC Venice server processors on the Zen 6 architecture. Desktop Ryzen 6th-gen chips are still several months away as well. So news about 1.4nm chips in 2028 is more of a glimpse into the technological future than a reason to hold off on buying anything today.

What do you think — does the process node race still matter for everyday users, or will the advantages of 1.4nm over 2nm only be noticeable in servers and data centers? Let us know in the comments.