Zhaoxin

Chinese semiconductor chip manufacturer

Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

Zhaoxin's current logo, used since 2013

Industry| Semiconductors
Founded| 2013; 11 years ago (2013)
Headquarters|

Shanghai

China

Area served

| China
Products| Central processing units
Microprocessors
Website| www.zhaoxin.com

Zhaoxin (Shanghai Zhaoxin Semiconductor Co., Ltd.; /ˈʒaʊʃɪn/, Chinese: 兆芯; pinyin: Zhàoxīn [ʈʂâu ɕín]) is a fabless semiconductor company, created in 2013 as a joint venture between VIA Technologies and the Shanghai Municipal Government.[1] The company manufactures x86-compatible desktop and laptop CPUs.[2] The term Zhào xīn means million core.[note 1] The processors are created mainly for the Chinese market: the venture is an attempt to reduce the Chinese dependence on foreign technology.[3][4]

## Background

[edit]

Zhaoxin is a joint venture between VIA Technologies and the Shanghai Municipal Government.[1] In 2021 it was reported that VIA has a 14.75% shareholding in the company.[5] China has a domestic policy to "replace all foreign hardware and software from its public infrastructure with homegrown solutions" by 2023 (the so-called 3–5–2 policy).[6] VIA holds a x86 license which allows its subsidiaries to produce compatible microprocessors; this allows Zhaoxin to develop x86 computer chips.[5]

## Architecture

[edit]

The architecture of the initial ZX family of processors is a continuation of VIA's Centaur Technology x86-64 Isaiah design.[7][8] The ZX-A and ZX-B are based on the VIA Nano X2 C4350AL.[9] The ZX-B is identical to the ZX-A, except that it is manufactured by Shanghai Huali Microelectronics Corporation (HLMC) .[9] The ZX-C is based on the VIA QuadCore-E & Eden X4.[9] Zhaoxin calls this architecture "Zhangjiang", however, it is thought that the basis is the VIA Isaiah 2 architecture.[8] Like the VIA processors they were based on, early ZX processors were ball grid array chips sold pre-soldered onto a motherboard.

Zhaoxin came to the attention of the North American and European technology press when, in late 2017 and early 2018, it launched the ZX-D processor and revealed plans for future products.[1][2] Zhaoxin calls the ZX-D architecture "Wudaokou"; this is a complete re-design of the VIA Isaiah. It is also a departure from earlier microarchitectures, such as ZhangJiang, which were a lightly modified version of a VIA Technologies (Centaur) architecture. WuDaoKou was a new and complete SoC design.[10][8] Changes implemented in the ZX-D included the integration of a northbridge, like in modern x86 designs, as well as the addition of Chinese cryptographic functions.[8] The ZX-D series also had an integrated graphics processing unit (iGPU) based on S3 Graphics technology (previously owned by VIA).[11][12]

The former ZX naming was dropped around 2018 in favour of the KX ("KaiXian") designation for desktop processors and the KH ("KaisHeng") designation for server processors.

## Development

[edit]

The successor to the ZX-D, the KX-6000 system on a chip (also called ZX-E), was demonstrated to the press in September 2018.[11] The architecture, an evolution of the ZX-D architecture, was called "Lujiazui".[10] The KX-6000 was formally launched in 2019.[13] In June 2019 the KX-6000 was reported to being built on a 16 nm TSMC process.[14] The chip has a DirectX 11.1 compatible iGPU.[11][12] In 2022, Zhaoxin was noted to have added ZX-E specific compiler support for the GNU Compiler Collection.[13]

The successor to the KX-6000, the ZX-F or KX-7000 processor series, was initially planned for release in 2021. The KX-7000 chip was reported to be planned for release on a 7 nm process with DDR5 support.[13] An alleged benchmark result for a ZX-F appeared on GeekBench in 2020.[15]

The KX-7000 was finally released in December 2023, two years late.[16] According to test results reported by Tom's Hardware, this processor was twice as fast as the KX-6000 series that came before it.[17] The benchmark score indicated that not only had clock speeds improved substantially, but also instructions-per-clock. In comparison, the KX-7000 was deemed to be on par with similar processors made by AMD or Intel in the mid-to-late 2010s.[17] Zhaoxin was itself reported as saying that the KX-7000 reached the same level of performance as the seventh-generation Intel Core i5-7400 (which was launched in 2017).[17]

## Discrete GPU

[edit]

In 2020 Zhaoxin announced it was planning to release a dedicated graphics card.[12]

## Summary of architecture

[edit]

Family | μarch codename | Year introduced | Process | Cores | Frequency | Features | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

ZX-A[2][7] | VIA Isaiah | 2014 | 40 nm |  | 533 MHz to 1066 MHz  |  | Based on the VIA Nano X2 C4350AL
ZX-B[2][7] | VIA Isaiah | 2014–2015 | 40 nm |  | 533 MHz to 1066 MHz |  | Identical to ZX-A[9]
ZX-C[2] | Zhangjiang | 2015 | 28 nm | 4 | 2.0 GHz |

* SSE4.2, AVX
* SM3 and SM4 in VIA PadLock

| Based on the VIA QuadCore-E & Eden X4
ZX-C+[2] | Zhangiang | 2016 | 28 nm | 4/8 | 2.0 GHz | AVX2, AES-NI[18] | A TDP of 35W[19]
ZX-D / KX-5000[2][20] / KH-20k[19] | Wudaokou | 2017 | 28 nm[21] | 4/8[21] | 2.0 GHz |

* dual channel DDR4[19]
* PCI Express 3.0
* USB 3.1 (Gen 1 and 2)
* USB 2.0
* SATA 3
* System-on-a-chip (SoC) with DirectX 11.1[19]

| Manufactured by TSMC
ZX-E / KX-6000[22] / KH-30k[19][12] | Lujiazui[23] | 2019 | 16 nm[11][12] | 8 (up to)[11] | 3 GHz (up to)[11] |

* DDR4[11]
* PCIe 3.0[24]
* No HTT, AVX2, or FMA[25]
* RDSEED, RDRAND, SHA, UMIP supported[25]
* SoC[19][11]

| Manufactured by TSMC[26]
KX-6000G[27] | Lujiazui[23] | 2022  | 16 nm[27] | 4 (up to)  | 3.3 GHz (up to)[27] | GPU supports: DX12, OpenCL 1.2, OpenGL 4.6

* DDR4[27]
* PCIe 3.0
* SoC

| With Glenfly GT-10C0 integrated GPU[28][29]
KH-40000[27] | Yongfeng[30] | 2022[31] | 16 nm | 32 (up to)[27] | 2.2 GHz (up to)[27] |

* DDR4[27]
* PCIe 3.0
* SoC

ZX-F / KX-7000[1][32] | Shijidadao[33] | 2023[16] | 7 nm[32](unconfirmed)  | 8 (up to)  | 3.7 GHz (up to)[34] |

* DDR5
* PCIe 4.0[24]
* SoC[19]

Family | μarch codename | Year introduced | Process | Cores | Frequency | Features | Notes

## Uses

[edit]

Zhaoxin processors have mainly been used for Chinese laptops.[14]

## Performance

[edit]

The Zhaoxin ZX-C+ 4701 CPU was reviewed in 2020, and showed significantly worse performance against older Intel (i5 2500K) and AMD (Athlon 3000G) processors.[35] The ZX-D was noted to have roughly the performance of the Intel Silvermont (Avoton) processors (which were launched in 2013).[8]

The ZX-E / KX-6000 is reported to have a 50% performance increase over the KX-5000, and comparable performance to a 7th generation Intel i5 core processor from 2016 (namely the Core i5-7400).[11][14][12] The 8-core ZX-E U6780A was reviewed by Linus Tech Tips in August 2020.[36] The review processor was benchmarked to be slightly slower than a 3rd generation Intel i5 quad-core processor (originally released in 2012–2013) using Cinebench.[36] Gaming performance was noted to be poor, whilst the machine itself was noted to be expensive for its performance by 2020 standards.[36] Tom's Hardware also reviewed the U6780A and reported poor gaming performance in 2020.[10]

The aim for the ZX-F series is for performance parity with the 2018 series Ryzen processors (i.e. the AMD Zen+ microarchitecture, the predecessor to AMD Zen 2).[8]

## See also

[edit]

* Semiconductor industry
* Semiconductor industry in China
* AMD–Chinese joint venture
* Loongson
* FeiTeng
* Sunway (processor)
* Category:Microprocessors made in China

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Chan, Leon (3 January 2018). "Via's Chinese Joint Venture Aims For Competitive Home-Grown X86 SOCs By 2019". Hexus.net. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
2. ^ a b c d e f g Tyson, Mark (2 January 2018). "VIA and Zhaoxin ZX- family of x86 processors roadmap shared". Hexus.net. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
3. ^ Clark, Don (21 April 2016). "AMD to License Chip Technology to China Chip Venture". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2018. "The VIA/Shanghai Zhaoxin KX-5000 series of x86-compatible CPUs will never be sold outside of China to avoid an Intel lawsuit.","...will use the technology to develop chips for server systems to be sold only in China"
4. ^ Wu, Yimian (23 May 2018). "China Supports Local Semiconductor Firms By Adding Them To Government Procurement List". China Money Network. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
5. ^ a b Shilov, Anton (28 October 2020). "Chinese Chip-Producer Zhaoxin and Via Technologies Strengthen Ties". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
6. ^ Potoroaca, Adrian (5 March 2021). "China will use aging chips while its semiconductor industry catches up". TechSpot. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
7. ^ a b c "KaiXian (ZX/KX) – Zhaoxin". WikiChip. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
8. ^ a b c d e f Schor, David (21 January 2018). "Zhaoxin launches their highest-performance Chinese x86 chips". WikiChip. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
9. ^ a b c d "What's going on with VIA/Zhaoxin and x86 processors?". Reddit. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
10. ^ a b c Alcorn, Paul (10 April 2020). "Zhaoxin KaiXian x86 CPU Tested: The Rise of China's Chips". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shilov, Anton (24 September 2018). "Zhaoxin Displays x86-Compatible KaiXian KX-6000: 8 Cores, 3 GHz, 16 nm FinFET". Anandtech. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
12. ^ a b c d e f Tyson, Mark (10 July 2020). "Chinese CPU maker Zhaoxin to launch a dGPU this year". HEXUS. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
13. ^ a b c Larabel, Michael. "Zhaoxin Finally Adding "Lujiazui" x86_64 CPU Tuning To GCC". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
14. ^ a b c Connatser, Matthew (20 June 2019). "Chinese-Produced Zhaoxin KX-6000 CPUs Purportedly Match Intel's Core i5-7400". Tom's Hardware. Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
15. ^ Olšan, Jan (10 November 2019). "2GHz čínský x86 procesor Zhaoxin KX-7000 v Geekbench". Cnews.cz (in Czech).
16. ^ a b Shilov, Anton (13 December 2023). "Zhaoxin Unveils KX-7000 CPUs: Eight x86 Cores at Up to 3.70 GHz". www.anandtech.com. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
17. ^ a b c updated, Paul Alcorn last (2020-04-10). "Zhaoxin KaiXian x86 CPU Tested: The Rise of China's Chips". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
18. ^ "CPUID Dump, ZX-C+ C4580". instlatx64.
19. ^ a b c d e f g "兆芯开胜KH-20000新品点亮安全可靠技术和应用研讨会". EETrend. 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018. Translated through Google Translate at https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://www.eetrend.com/article/2018-03/100078081.html
20. ^ "VIA Technologies Subsidiary Zhaoxin Announces New x86-64 CPUs – ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com.
21. ^ a b "Via joint venture reveals KX-5000 x86 SoCs for Chinese PCs". January 2, 2018.
22. ^ "Zhaoxin to roll out 16nm CPU in 2018". digitimes.com.
23. ^ a b "LuJiaZui – Microarchitectures – Zhaoxin – WikiChip". en.wikichip.org. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
24. ^ a b "兆芯自主CPU路线图公布：将追平同期AMD、支持DDR5". MyDrivers.com. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018. Translated through Google Translate at https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://news.mydrivers.com/1/561/561579.htm
25. ^ a b "x86, x64 Instruction Latency, Memory Latency and CPUID dumps (instlatx64)". users.atw.hu.
26. ^ Matthew Connatser (2019-06-20). "Chinese-Produced Zhaoxin KX-6000 CPUs Purportedly Match Intel's Core i5-7400". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
27. ^ a b c d e f g h Mujtaba, Hassan (2022-11-01). "Zhaoxin Launches KX-6000G High-Performance & KH-40000 Server CPUs For China's Domestic PC Market". Wccftech. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
28. ^ Mark Tyson (2022-07-17). "Chinese Glenfly Arise GT-10C0 GPU Rivals Nvidia's GTX 1630 On Paper". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
29. ^ Mujtaba, Hassan (2022-07-30). "Chinese-Made Zhaoxin KX-6000G CPU With GT10C0 Integrated GPU Features The Same Performance As NVIDIA's GT 630". Wccftech. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
30. ^ "Zhaoxin introduces KH-40000 server CPU series and KX-6000G APUs with improved DX12 graphics". VideoCardz.com. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
31. ^ Larabel, Michael (23 March 2023). "Zhaoxin Beginning Work Bringing Up "Yongfeng" CPU Support For The Linux Kernel". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
32. ^ a b Matthew Connatser (2023-12-13). "The only Chinese chipmaker with an x86 license releases surprisingly modern new chips made with a mystery process node — Zhaoxin KX-7000 CPU launches with eight cores, 3.7GHz clocks, PCIe 4.0, DDR5 memory support, and chiplet-based design". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
33. ^ Larabel, Michael (19 June 2024). "Zhaoxin "Shijidadao" x86_64 CPU Support Merged Into The GCC 15 Compiler". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
34. ^ "兆芯新一代开先® KX-7000系列自主高性能桌面处理器正式发布 - 兆芯". www.zhaoxin.com. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
35. ^ ""Trillion Core" Chinese CPU vs. AMD & Intel: ZhaoXin X86 CPU Review ZX-C+ 4701". YouTube. Gamers Nexus. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
36. ^ a b c Sebastian, Linus. "A Chinese Intel competitor? – 16 August 2020". YouTube. Linus Tech Tips. Retrieved 17 August 2020.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ In China 兆 can mean either short-scale million (1e6) or trillion (1e12). However, for IT-related topics 兆 always means mega/million in mainland China.

## External links

[edit]

* Zhaoxin homepage
* WikiChip article on Zhaoxin

* v
* t
* e

VIA Technologies

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* VIA PadLock
* Centaur Technology
* WonderMedia
* Zhaoxin JV

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