Yes, it sounds a little strange, but that’s the way it is. The chip is really Chinese. In 2021, Loongson Technology developed an architecture from scratch, called Loongson Architecture or LoongArch. Loongson developers said that the new architecture’s command system includes about 2,000 unique instructions. Thanks to the fact that all technologies were developed practically from scratch, the company managed to achieve increased energy efficiency of the processor.

In 2022, the Godson 3C5000 processor appeared, then another one, the 3C6000 with 16 cores. Later there is the 32-core 3D6000, which includes two 3C6000 crystals on a single substrate. Well, finally, a little later, the company announced the release of the 3A6000. It was stated that the performance of the chip can be compared with AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series chips. And only recently, a review with tests of this processor appeared. Details – under the cat.

What kind of review is this?

It was made by Geekwan, providing a number of technical details. According to the review, the Loongson 3A6000 processor, although it does not have enough performance, actually almost matches the latest AMD and Intel architectures in terms of IPC. This number of instructions per clock.

This does not mean at all that it is more productive than modern chips, on the contrary, it lags far behind. But it is IPC that matters here because future generations of chips can be much more productive.

In 2022, only one test was conducted, SPEC CPU 2006, where it was found that the 3A6000 processor shows a 68% higher result compared to its predecessor, the 3A5000 (which was introduced in the spring of 2021). The test checks performance in single-core mode in floating-point operations. But, as mentioned above, it is far from modern x86 and arm chips.

As for the specifications, the processor is manufactured on the 12nm process, as far as we can tell, by SMIC, another Chinese contract chip manufacturer. The processor has four cores and eight threads, capable of overclocking up to 2.5 GHz with a TDP of 50 W. It also has 256KB of L2 cache, 16MB of L3 cache and is compatible with DDR4-3200 memory.

It is positioned as a processor for consumer devices, but it can only hold its own when compared to entry-level chips from AMD and Intel. The same Pentium Gold G7400 reaches 3.7 GHz in acceleration mode. The Chinese processor has fallen behind the already outdated Intel Core i3-10100 of 2020.

No matter the fountain.

But that’s not all

The fact is that, as mentioned above, a good IPC indicator can indicate the performance potential of more advanced processors that will be manufactured on the same architecture.

For example,

in the SPEC 2017 performance test

with integers and floating-point numbers, our Chinese shows much more interesting results. Yes, if you limit the frequency of the cores of other processors to 2.5 GHz, it turns out that the Loongson 3A6000

ahead of the Ryzen 9 5950X

based on Zen 3 and barely inferior to Ryzen 9 7950X based on Zen 4 and Raptor Lake Core i9-14900K.

The Loongson 3A6000 has exhausted its possibilities. But the manufacturer has the opportunity to increase the number of cores, the size of the cache and increase the clock frequency of the chip. The manufacturer will be able to do this with the next generation of 3A7000 processors. They will be manufactured already according to the 7-nm process, which will allow to achieve a significant improvement in the parameters of the chip.

When will the new product appear?

It is not that there are any difficulties, but it will not be possible to quickly switch to the 7nm process. Yes, only the development of new chips will begin in 2024. This will require new technologies, equipment and production capacity. So, the processors will appear no earlier than 2025. By that time, perhaps the Chinese will be able to develop their own modern lithographs.

The processor will most likely be SMIC. She also develops and purchases equipment for her lithographers, and in large quantities. Recently, the American commission indicated in its report that in a period of a little more than six months, China managed to introduce from the Netherlands specialized equipment worth about $3.2 billion. This is about 100% more than in the same period in 2022. Analysts note that the total amount spent by China for these purposes is approximately $14 billion.

How real is it? The probability of success is far from zero. Yes, a lithographer that works on the 28 nm process has already been created. It was developed by the Chinese company Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group (SMEE), which produces not the most modern lithographic machines.

It is worth noting that most of the successes of Chinese electronics manufacturers have been made possible by the import substitution program of China’s electronics industry, for which the government allocates several trillion US dollars. They have their own problems, but their Chinese are gradually solving them, often successfully.

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