The cat’s out of the bag folks, Zen is finally here. AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su has unveiled a Zen processor for the first time. Zen processors will be equipped alongside the high-performance x86 Summit Ridge family of processors. Consumers can expect the first wave of Zen processors to be aimed at the desktop market.

According to Lisa Su, the final testing phase for Zen processors will begin in the coming weeks, with the final tape-out to follow after. In addition, AMD’s Zen processors will be based on the new AM4 socket, which means that users will have to get a new motherboard to be able to use AMD’s upcoming Summit Ridge processors – which is pretty common with new CPUs nowadays.

There aren’t any specific release date given by AMD when it comes to Zen processors, but consumers should expect to see them released some time next year. What we do know however, is that several Zen processors will feature 8 CPU cores and 16 threads. That aside, Lisa Su has also stated that after desktops, Zen will be made available in other markets such as HPCs, severs, as well as notebooks.

Unfortunately, that’s all the information about Zen given by AMD, which means that one will have to wait a little longer before knowing the detailed specifications. That said, it would be interesting to see just how good Zen processors will be – after all the hype that’s currently surrounding them.