AMD Zen 4 rumor could be bad news for Intel

AMD will kit out all of its Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 CPUs with integrated graphics in a move that could spell trouble for rival Intel, according to online rumors.

While AMD already ships its APUs with integrated graphics, the firm is reportedly planning to equip all of its processors with Navi-based graphics when it shifts away from the AM4 socket. That's according to a roadmap pieced together by a Reddit user that collates rumors from all corners of the internet.

If this rumor is true, it would be bad news for Intel. The US chipmaker currently ships most of its processors with integrated graphics, which means it’s typically the go-to for businesses – and consumers –  who don't want to deal with the added expense of kitting out every machine with discrete graphics cards. 

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As pointed out by PC Gamer, by implementing an iGPU into each of its processors, there will be almost no reason for IT professionals, nor budget-conscious PC buyers, to side with Intel over AMD.

However, the reported move is likely still some way off yet. AMD still has plans for Zen 3 yet, as rumors suggest that the firm’s next-generation Ryzen 6000 CPUs will be based on the 6nm Zen 3+ architecture.

It won’t be until the arrival of 5nm Zen 4 that AMD shifts from the AM4 socket to the newer AMD 5 platform, which looks set to bring a number of features including DDR5, LPDDR5, USB 4.0, and PCIe 5.0.

This means that, if the piecemeal roadmap is correct, AMD’s Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 CPUs, codenamed ‘Raphael’, will likely be the first to feature built-in Navi graphics. According to users on ChipHell, AMD will switch to an I/O fabricated at 6nm with this generation so that from now on there would be graphics integrated into every processor. 

The piecemeal roadmap also suggests that AMD's Ryzen 7000 mobile processor, codenamed 'Phoenix', will be coming to the desktop as well, complete with a newer GPU based on RDNA 3. According to rumors, AMD is set an internal goal of achieving 50% better performance per watt with RDNA 3 compared to RDNA 2.

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