Zhaoxin’s x86-Compatible CPUs for DIY Enthusiasts Now Available
by Anton Shilov on January 29, 2020 1:00 PM EST
Zhaoxin, a joint venture between Via Technologies and the Chinese government, has been selling processors for various client systems for years, but recently the company rolled out its latest CPUs that some of the local PC makers position as solutions for DIY enthusiasts. At least initially, Zhaoxin’s KaiXian KX-6780A will be available only in China.
Zhaoxin’s KaiXian KX-6780A is an eight-core x86-64 processor with 8 MB of L2 cache, a dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory controller, modern I/O interfaces (PCIe, SATA, USB, etc.), and integrated DirectX 11.1-capable graphics (possibly S3 based but unknown). The CPU cores are in-house designed LuJiaZui cores, built around a superscalar, multi-issue, out-of-order microarchitecture that supports modern instruction sets extensions like SSE 4.2 as well as AVX along with virtualization and encryption technologies. The processor is made using TSMC’s 16 nm process technology.
Zhaoxin formally introduced its KaiXian KX-6000-series CPUs back in 2018, but it looks like higher-end models like the KX-U6780A and the KX-U6880A are entering the consumer market this quarter.
As it turns out, Xinyingjie, one of Chinese PC makers, uses the C1888 motherboard based on the KX-U6780A that is designed for enthusiast-grade PCs and therefore supporting expandability using a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, two SO-DIMM slots, M.2 slots, and various internal and external interfaces. One thing to keep in mind about the Zhaoxin’s KaiXian KX-6780A/C1888 platform is of course lack of CPU upgrade path because the processor uses an BGA packaging.
When Zhaoxin originally introduced its Kaixian KX-6000, it said that their performance was comparable to that of Intel’s 7thGeneration Core i5 processor, a quad-core non-Hyper-Threaded CPU. Since then, we have not really got a proper confirmation to the claim and will certainly be interested to test the chip in our labs.
According the to the video source, this mini-PC design is expected to be available from March for consumers. Currently this is a prototype, with enhancements expected between now and the final product.
Related Reading:
- Zhaoxin Displays x86-Compatible KaiXian KX-6000: 8 Cores, 3 GHz, 16 nm FinFET
- China Calling: AMD Forms Joint Venture for x86 Server SoCs in China
- AMD Creates Quad Core Zen SoC with 24 Vega CUs for Chinese Consoles
- Cypress and Zhaoxin Have USB 3.1 Gen 2 USB Controllers
Source: 二斤自制 YouTube Channel
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Fataliity - Thursday, January 30, 2020 - link
You can make everything negative and sound like shit. Because everyone in every country does shitty things. But then your just an old, jaded person who wishes they didn't exist.Every single country does these things, none of them are different.
Reflex - Saturday, February 1, 2020 - link
haghands: You have a valid point, but the real issue here is that calling out China's massive human rights abuses is not a reason to do a whatabout on the US or anyone else. I am fully capable of condemning both without pretending they are equivilent in all ways.What China is doing is horrible and should be opposed. I also believe that not protesting the prison-industrial complex, refugee concentration camps and an economy built on slavery and genocide here in the US is a loss of moral high ground.
Spunjji - Monday, February 3, 2020 - link
@Reflex - agreed entirely here, but the conversation started because people were alleging that these products would be worse than US products "because China". Pointing out US spying activities wasn't whataboutism in that context, but man did it blow up from there...Reflex - Monday, February 3, 2020 - link
I try to avoid direct comparisons, but having spent time in both countries it's difficult to consider US activities as remotely comparable. US targets are significantly different than Chinese (which are basically every Chinese person, cradle to grave, temporally and geographically) vs targetted intelligence on the US side (often too broad, but not nearly on the same scale).Again, this isn't a moral statement per say, but direct comparisons and the impact of these efforts are just on wildly different scales.
I mean the current corona virus quarantine is being enforced by state control into WeChat via Tencent which is now digitally quarantining citizens by removing their ability to do transactions outside of narrowly defined geographies. If something like that happened here there would be riots.
haghands - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
The fact is that at some point any nation state to this point in history has inevitably become corrupted by the concentration of money and power into the hands of its elite. No state is innocent, the only way that this can meaningfully be changed(to my understanding at least) is through an internationalist revolution of the working class. But god damn is that gonna be hard to pull off, easier than ever before in history thanks to the internet, but still a massive organizational challenge and one that will necessitate a tremendous amount of hard hard work and bloodshed.khanikun - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
Won't change anything. You just end up with elites, who were originally working class or from working class families. Which is what we have today. It'll just loop around.coburn_c - Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - link
Incorrect, the people in power will stay in power through the revolution, and solidify their control forever. Capitalism allows for people to change classes, millionaires come and go all the time. Communism makes the party immortal.Notmyusualid - Thursday, January 30, 2020 - link
Where are the missing Falun Gong?Reflex - Saturday, February 1, 2020 - link
Good question. Many likely didn't exist in the first place. Falun Gong, while not deserving of the oppression they got, are also a leading source of misinformation and propaganda here in the USA. The Epoch Times is a Falun Gong front and has been banned from advertising on FB and other platforms for inventing and spreading large amounts of misinformation including building an AI system to make fake accounts and spread this misinformation. Shen Yun 'traditional Chinese dance troupe' is another Falun Gong front.I'm against the PRC government, but I am still wary that just because others are also does not mean they are being honest or allies. FG is a cult, and at times a dangerous one.
levizx - Thursday, January 30, 2020 - link
Of course not, at least the Chinese government is somewhat upfront about eavesdropping.