AMD's Zen 6 Low Power core will be a mixture of various Zen core architectures but will be able to match or exceed Zen 5 cores.

Starting with Zen 6, AMD will include three core types: a classic core, a dense core, and a low-power core. The company has already introduced Zen 6 classic and Zen 6C dense cores for its EPYC 9006 family , but the third core is yet to see any product announcements. It looks like the company will be aiming this specific core at client platforms that are designed for low-power devices such as laptops, handhelds, etc.

Based on recent entries in the Linux Kernel Patch, it looks like AMD's Zen 6 LP has been spotted once more. The chip features the "80000026h.EBX[31:28]=2" CPU ID, and based on the details, it will adopt a low-power core design for minimal power consumption during background or idle workloads. AMD states two main reasons for distinguishing the low-power "Zen 6" core from the regular efficiency "Zen 6C" cores:

• user space exposure via /sys/kernel/debug/x86/topo/cpus/*, which today reports cpu_type "unknown" for low-power cores
• amd_get_boost_ratio_numerator(): on every X86_FEATURE_AMD_HTR_CORES-capable AMD/Hygon part, low-power cores must scale by amd_get_highest_perf() rather than the fixed CPPC_HIGHEST_PERF_PERFORMANCE ceiling, matching the existing efficiency-core path

Additionally, it looks like the Zen 6LP or Zen 6 Low-Power core, despite using the same Zen 6 ISA (Instruction Set Architecture), makes use of several underlying aspects from existing and past-gen Zen cores. The uArch is said to be similar to Zen 5 cores, the 256b FPU is similar to Zen 4 cores, the 512 KB L2 cache is similar to Zen 3 cores, and the 1 MB L3 cache per core is similar to Zen 2 & Mendocino series.

So it is not just the same Zen 6 core like Zen 6C, which is tuned for efficiency or lower power platforms, but a collage of various Zen architectures, all coming together, while adopting a Zen 6 ISA.

Based on an X post by Gotou_3rd , the Zen 6 LP cores will be able to match or exceed Zen 5(C), which is the efficiency-optimized offering. It is not mentioned if this means performance, efficiency, or both.

The Zen 6 LP (Low-Power) core type is expected to be used in AMD's Medusa APU family. The next-generation APU family is going to span multiple products with multiple configurations . We will see the use of standard Zen 6, Zen 6C, and Zen 6LP cores in the chips.

AMD's listing states that the low-power core is designed for minimal power consumption during background or idle workloads, which means that we can see a drastic increase in efficiency and match the idle / low-power standards set by competing platforms. AMD Medusa chips will land around CES 2027 , so we will definitely get a lot more information on the new core types powering the Zen 6 lineup.

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