And…well, they kinda suck. Tipster @momomo_us recently posted alleged Cinebench R20 scores for Chinese manufacturer Zhaoxin’s upcoming KX-6780A and ZX-C4580 processors. The KX-6780A is the more competitive of the two, posting a multithreaded score of 845. The ZX-C4580, meanwhile, scores a pitiful 245. To put that in perspective, the KX part, at least, is more or less on par with Ivy Bridge i5s, such as the Core i5-3470. That in itself for a wholly developed Chinese chip is impressive. The ZX-C4580, meanwhile, is, not that powerful.

Both of these parts are built on the 28nm process node and while neither inspires awe, they showcase that Chinese CPU manufacturers are slowly catching up with the rest of the world. The KX-6780A, in particular, is notable with relatively high multithreaded performance.

It’s interesting to note that neither of these parts clocks higher than 3 GHz. An ongoing issue with Chinese CPU makers, including competitor Longsoon, is getting silicon stable at 3 GHz plus. The KX-6780A features relatively high IPC to offset the low clock speeds. What we’re more excited to see, though, is where Zhaoxian and its ilk get at 20nm, 14nm, and below. A die-shrunk KX-6780A, running at higher clocks could deliver Haswell levels of performance.

It’s important to note here that the purpose of these chips isn’t gaming, but rather supply independence for China. It is a security risk for the Chinese government to rely on Intel/AMD parts (who knows which Ryzen parts have NSA bugs on them). By developing an indigenous alternative, government offices, surveillance centers, and more can shift over to a more secure solution.