Information gleaned from Chinese forum Chiphell suggests that AMD could release mainstream desktop CPUs with "up to 16 cores and a 10 to 15 percent IPC (instructions per cycle) uplift when the company moves to 7nm." While pushing 16 cores in a dual-channel memory configuration would be a serious challenge, some say it could be done by overhauling the CCX design and increasing L3 cache to decrease pressure on the memory bus.

AMD's modular approach with Ryzen gives it some freedom to experiment with hitting different core counts, but jumping up to 16 cores as a baseline consumer product is quite a leap. It's possible that AMD won't change the baseline core count of a Ryzen 2 die, but might offer CPUs with up to 16 cores as part of a lower-cost Threadripper alternative on its conventional desktop socket.