AMD 3D V-Cache teardown shows majority of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is dummy silicon

[rob74]

Dummy silicon, in the same way as the majority of Leonardo's Mona Lisa is dummy wood panel (which supports the painting applied on top of it and ensures its structural integrity)? But how is this different from other chips out there? Ok, I get it that this is because of the chiplet technology used, but in a "traditional" chip the dummy silicon that provides the structural integrity would just be part of the chip, while in this case it's separate?

[XzAeRosho]

It says so in the article itself:

>Excluding interconnects, the SRAM and CCD should add up to less than 20µm thick. To accommodate such small and fragile components, AMD has added a bulky layer of dummy silicon at the top and the bottom for structural integrity.

[veselin]

Yes. The article is click bait. With such a title I would have expected majority of the area to be dummy, but it is just structurally more silicon, exactly like a picture may be majority of its mass wood.

[croes]

> the findings of his first report suggest that a large part of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is just dummy silicon for structural integrity.

Since when is material for structural integrity dummy?

[shermantanktop]

Since tom's hardware needed to write a headline that would get clicks.

[wmf]

Original source (it's X, sorry): https://x.com/wassickt/status/1868812018733752339

I think the term "dummy silicon" is fair because those wafers don't have any transistors or wires on them but OTOH they also cost almost nothing so it's not as wasteful as it might sound.

[ItsTotallyOn]

Yes, they are bonded (glued-on) chunks of silicon with no logic. That is the definition of Dummy Silicon. The person who wrote the report is a professional chip analyst who does die deconstruction.

[wmf]

There's nothing bad about what AMD is doing here and the resulting product is amazing. I would like to see a similar teardown for Arrow Lake Foveros though.

[knowitnone]

Proof?