Hygon Dhyana: Chinese x86 Server CPUs Based On AMD Zen

While there are the VIA/Centaur-based Zhaoxin desktop CPUs targeted for the Chinese market, it turns out there is another x86 Chinese CPU effort but this time is a collaboration with AMD.

Chengdu Haiguang IC Design Co is a new x86 CPU vendor that is a joint venture between AMD and Haiguang Information Technology Co. This joint venture is aiming to make x86 CPUs for the Chinese server market. This deal was announced back in May and paid out $293 million to AMD for using their intellectual property.

The first Hygon CPU offerings is the "Dhyana" family that is based upon AMD technology and is derived from the AMD Family 17h "Zen" micro-architecture.

We know this as the new company today sent out Linux kernel patches for adding in the new x86 CPU vendor ID and for allowing the Dhyana Family 18h processors to use the AMD Family 17h code paths within the kernel. The Dhyana appears to be a SoC-based solution and not socketed.

With these patches, the Hygon Dhyana CPUs should now work under Linux... The patches are quite straight-forward and amount to less than 200 lines of new kernel code, so indeed at this point seems to be mostly a re-branded Zen CPU for the Chinese server market.

We'll pass along any other details as we work them out.