Earlier quoted context omitted.
Zen is already light on vector units, and microcodes 256-bit operations. It's certainly possible to build a more lightweight core, but most of that work is reducing the complexity of the out-of-order machinery. The FPU+ALU is under a quarter of each Zen core. https://en.wikichip.org/w/images/c/cb/amd_zen_core_%28annota...
It is definitely not "microcoded" - 256-bit operations are just sent in halves to the 128-bit ALUs and combined for the final answer. Don't get mixed up between "microcoding" and "micro-op" - the latter is something different, slower and which usually requires some kind of transition in the decoders and uop caches to start reading microcoded ops. The latter is the "normal" or "fast" mode for the CPU and just because…
Re: Unexpected benefit with Ryzen – reducing power for build server
#61Sorry, I meant "the former is something different..."