Loongson 3B6600 8-Core Chip to Tape-Out, Rivals Intel Core

On February 17, Loongson Technology unveiled its plans for the next-generation desktop chip, the 3B6600, through an investor relations report. The company revealed that the new chip will continue to utilize established manufacturing processes while upgrading its architecture with the all-new LA864 core, featuring eight cores. Compared to the previous LA664-based 3A6000, the 3B6600 delivers a significant 30% performance boost, placing it among the world's leading chips.

The 3B6600 is expected to maintain a base clock speed of 2.5GHz, but with single-core turbo boost technology, it can achieve a 20% increase, reaching up to 3.0GHz.

In benchmark tests, the 3B6600's single-core and multi-core performance align with Intel's 12th and 13th generation Core mid-to-high-end processors, comparable to the Core i5 and i7 series.

Additionally, the 3B6600 will feature the new LG200 GPGPU graphics core, offering support for DDR5 memory, PCIe 4.0, and HDMI 2.1 output, marking a significant leap forward in performance.

Loongson Technology's Chairman and CEO, Weiwu Hu, also disclosed that the 3B6600 is scheduled for tape-out in the first half of this year, with mass production expected in the second half. The chip's single-core performance is anticipated to be among the world's best.

Moreover, Loongson is working on the 2K3000/3B6000M terminal SoC with eight cores. The single-core performance is expected to be comparable to the 3A5000. Testing is currently underway following a recent return of the chips.

For server CPUs, the next-generation 3C6000 series is in the sample stage, with product finalization and official release expected by Q2 this year. Internal tests indicate that the 16-core, 32-thread 3C6000/S can compete with Intel's Xeon 4314, while the 32-core, 64-thread 3D6000 (3C6000/D) in a dual-die package can match the Xeon 6338. The 3E6000 (3C6000/Q) features a four-die package with 60-64 cores and 120-128 threads, currently in testing since its return in November 2024.

Loongson's first GPGPU chip, the 9A1000, is also in development, targeting entry-level graphics cards and AI inference acceleration for terminals (32 TOPS). Its graphics performance is expected to be comparable to AMD's RX550, with tape-out scheduled for the first half of this year.