AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs come in two flavors, one with a single CCD design and the higher core count variants with dual Zen 4 CCDs. However, it looks like AMD might be shipping some AM5 Ryzen 5 & Ryzen 7 chips with two CCDs.

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU Spotted With Dual Zen 4 CCDs, Defective Ryzen 9 Chips or Actually Usable?

Recently, Der8auer posted a video showcasing his latest Delid Die Mate which can be used to delid the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs if you plan on using direct-die cooling. The overclocker used a Thermal Grizzly Direct Die Frame for this demonstration but upon delidding the Ryzen 5 7600X, an interesting discovery was made.

An AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU with dual Zen 4 CCDs is pictured. (Image Credits: Der8auer)

As soon as the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU was delidded, Der8auer noticed that it featured two Zen 4 CCDs instead of one. The 7600X features 6 cores and 12 threads so it doesn't need the extra CCD. All AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs below the Ryzen 9 segment make use of a single CCD so it's definitely a bit interesting to see a dual Zen 4 CCD implementation on the PCB.

Since the chip was already delidded, Der8auer put the chip under a thermal probe and checked to see if the other Zen 4 CCD was active or not. Three tiny copper blocks were used that say on each chiplet (two Zen 4 CCDs and a single IOD). When booted, only the IO die, & a single Zen 4 CCD was shown to be active since they started producing heat. This means that the other die is not running.

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So that brings us to the question as to why there are two Zen 4 CCDs on this particular AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU. There could be two reasons, first and foremost, AMD may simply be using defective Ryzen 9 chips that only have one working Zen 4 CCD and labeling them as Ryzen 5 & Ryzen 7 parts. This would suggest that the other die is totally defective and not usable. But there is also a small possibility that this die could've been artificially locked and there might be a bypass to enable it. It is known that AMD locks several features of its chips artificially such as the Ryzen 7 5800X3D OC that would soon be overcome. But actually enabling a whole CCD won't be as simple as it looks & even if this was a functional die, it would take someone with a lot of experience to bypass this.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to see AMD shipping dual Zen 4 CCDs on some of its Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 chips. There could be a lot more chips out there but unless you are delidding them (an actual risk that voids the warranty), you'll never know what lies under the hood of your CPU.