AMD’s 4th-Gen EPYC Genoa processors are the business’s first 5nm x86 CPUs for the info heart, and the flagship 96-core 192-thread EPYC 9654 leads the cost. The $11,805 EPYC 9654 permits packing an unprecedented quantity of compute into slim server designs — as much as 192 cores and 384 threads in a single chassis — courtesy of AMD’s chiplet-based chip design paired with the denser 5nm node and the Zen 4 microarchitecture. As well as, AMD says that a big selection of advances, together with a 14% improve in IPC from the Zen 4 structure and improved energy supply, culminate in as much as ~30% extra efficiency per core in each integer and floating level operations than Intel’s Ice Lake. That’s made much more spectacular by the sheer core depend benefit; the highest-end Genoa processor has greater than twice the variety of cores of the Ice Lake Xeons, and 60% extra cores than the as-yet-unreleased Sapphire Rapids’ rumored peak of 60 cores.
The 9004-series Genoa chips additionally come full of as much as 384MB of L3 cache and the most recent in connectivity tech, together with help for as much as 6TB of reminiscence unfold throughout twelve channels of DDR5, 128 lanes of PCIe 5.0, and CXL 1.1+, all of which makes Intel’s Ice Lake product stack, which tops out on the 40-core Intel Xeon Platinum 8380 for $9,400, look moderately dated. After all, a lot of that’s as a result of Intel’s oft-delayed Sapphire Rapids, which additionally comes brimming with superior connectivity tech and has a number of in-built accelerators, is Genoa’s actual competitor. Nevertheless, it gained’t arrive till January 2023.
EPYC Genoa additionally brings loads of different new components, too, like help for AVX-512 and AI-accelerating VNNI and Bfloat16 directions.
However the hefty core counts and efficiency come at a price: Genoa’s flagship fashions include a peak default TDP of 360W, the very best of any x86 server processor so far, and clients can tune them as much as 400W to extract the utmost in efficiency.
As we’ve seen with GPUs, energy consumption is growing quickly due to the insatiable demand for extra compute packed into the smallest kind elements. Genoa is not any exception — AMD’s clients have requested larger TDP limits to enhance compute density and whole price of possession (TCO), and enhancements in each processor and cooling expertise have enabled the corporate to ship as much as 400W of efficiency utilizing commonplace air cooling. That does include secondary energy necessities, although: As an example, our check system’s followers can draw as much as 300W alone, and that’s earlier than we pencil within the 300W consumed by the 1.5TB of DDR5 reminiscence.
All instructed, that leads to a platform with a voracious urge for food for energy, however EPYC Genoa converts that energy into unimaginable quantities of efficiency and a decreased TCO that’s merely unmatched by its x86 opponents. Immediately we put AMD’s Genoa to the check with the 96-core EPYC 9654, 64-core 9554, and frequency-optimized 32-core 9274F in our labs. Let’s dive in.
AMD 4th-Gen EPYC Genoa 9004 Collection Specs and Pricing
As you’ll be able to see on the left, the Genoa processors are a lot bigger than the previous-gen Milan chip subsequent to it, to not point out the patron AMD and Intel processors we additionally threw in for comparability.
Genoa’s bigger chip bundle homes as much as twelve 5nm Core Compute Dies (CCDs), every packing eight cores. That’s a rise of 4 further CCDs in comparison with the earlier gen Milan, necessitating a bigger chip bundle and built-in warmth spreader (IHS), which in flip helps enhance cooling. The chip additionally features a heart 6nm I/O die to tie all of the chiplets collectively, which we’ll cowl in additional depth on the next pages.
The Genoa processors drop into the brand new SP5 socket that isn’t backward suitable with the Socket SP3 discovered on previous-gen EPYC methods, that means the chips require a wholly new platform. Sooner or later, SP5 will even help the Genoa-X processors, which incorporate 3D-stacked L3 cache like Milan-X, and the Bergamo chips, which have new dense Zen 4c cores that allow as much as 128 cores in a single socket.
| Mannequin | Value | Cores/Threads | Base/Increase (GHz) | TDP | L3 Cache (MB) | cTDP (W) | Bundle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPYC Genoa 9654 | $11,805 | 96 / 192 | 2.4 / 3.7 | 360W | 384 | 320-400 | 12+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9634 | $10,304 | 84 / 168 | 2.25 / 3.7 | 290W | 384 | 240-300 | 12+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9554 | $9,087 | 64 / 128 | 3.1 / 3.75 | 360W | 256 | 320-400 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Milan 7763 | $7,890 | 64 / 128 | 2.45 / 3.5 | 280W | 256 | ||
| EPYC Genoa 9534 | $8,803 | 64 / 128 | 2.45 / 3.7 | 280W | 256 | 240-300 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Milan 7663 | $6,366 | 56 / 112 | 2.0 / 3.5 | 240W | 256 | ||
| EPYC Genoa 9454 | $5,225 | 48 / 96 | 2.75 / 3.8 | 290W | 256 | 240-300 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Milan 7643 | $4.995 | 48 / 96 | 2.3 / 3.6 | 225W | 256 | ||
| Xeon Platinum 8380 | $8,099 | 40 / 80 | 2.3 / 3.2 – 3.0 | 270W | 60 | ||
| Xeon Platinum 8368 | $6,302 | 38 / 76 | 2.4 / 3.4 – 3.2 | 270W | 57 | ||
| EPYC Genoa 9354 | $3,420 | 32 / 64 | 3.25 / 3.8 | 280W | 256 | 240-300 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9334 | $2,990 | 32 / 64 | 2.7 / 3.9 | 210W | 128 | 200-240 | 4+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9254 | $2,299 | 24 / 48 | 2.9 / 4.15 | 200W | 128 | 200-240 | 4+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9224 | $1,825 | 24 / 48 | 2.5 / 3.7 | 200W | 64 | 200-240 | 4+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9124 | $1,083 | 16 / 32 | 3 / 3.7 | 200W | 64 | 200-240 | 4+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9474F | $6,780 | 48 / 96 | 3.6 / 4.1 | 360W | 256 | 320-400 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9374F | $4,850 | 32 / 64 | 3.85 / 4.3 | 320W | 256 | 320-400 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Milan 7F53 | $4,860 | 32 / 64 | 2.95 / 4.0 | 280W | 256 | ||
| EPYC Genoa 9274F | $3,060 | 24 / 48 | 4.05 / 4.3 | 320W | 256 | 320-400 | 8+1 |
| EPYC Genoa 9174F | $3,850 | 16 / 32 | 4.1 / 4.4 | 320W | 256 | 320-400 | 8+1 |
The whole EPYC Genoa 9004 Collection household spans 18 fashions in three classes — Core Efficiency, Core Density, and Balanced and Optimized — making a vastly less complicated product stack in comparison with Ice Lake Xeon, which has 56 whole fashions with a variety of various function units.
AMD has made a concerted effort to restrict its product stack to the essential swim lanes. The majority of the Genoa household are general-purpose chips that slot into the ‘Core Density’ for the very best core counts, and the ‘Balanced and Optimized’ class that’s geared for a mixture of efficiency and TCO. In the meantime, the F-Collection chips, which include larger frequencies and bigger core-to-cache ratios, slot into the ‘Core Efficiency’ tier. AMD additionally has a smattering of P-series fashions, just like the 9354P, which can be designed for single-processor (1P) methods (listed within the slides beneath).
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The Genoa chips vary from 16 to 96 cores, and we discover there are not 8-, 28- or 56-core choices, at the very least for now. Peak clock speeds additionally span from 3.7 GHz to 4.4 GHz, with the very best boosts coming from the F-series fashions. The Genoa TDP scores span from 200W to 360W, so the bottom TDP has elevated by 45W whereas the very best finish has elevated by 80W. The configurable TDP (cTDP), which is a buyer/OEM adjustable parameter to supply elevated efficiency in methods with sturdy cooling, now high out at 400W, an unimaginable 120W improve over the prior-gen chips.
As you’ll be able to see from the previous-gen 7003-Collection Milan chips we added to the desk, the Genoa flagship brings an extra 32 cores over the previous-gen halo half, the EPYC Milan 7763, and prices $3,915 extra. AMD has additionally elevated pricing for its 64-core fashions by $1,200 and $1,750 over the prior-gen fashions, however we see a lot extra muted value will increase additional down the stack. As an example, the 2 32-core fashions have elevated by $341 and $150, whereas the 48-core mannequin has solely elevated by $200. Additionally, keep in mind that, like Intel, AMD’s server chip pricing is merely a suggestion, so precise pricing, notably to bigger clients, can fluctuate dramatically.
We added a number of Ice Lake Xeon fashions to the above desk however saved the additions to a minimal because of the giant variety of competing SKUs and since Genoa will primarily face off in opposition to the forthcoming Sapphire Rapids — we’ll have to attend for that launch for a good comparability. It ought to go with out saying, however the flagship Xeon Platinum 8380 is just outgunned with 40 cores and a 60MB of L3 cache, whereas the Genoa stack tops out at 96 cores and 384MB of L3 cache. AMD has six SKUs with larger core counts and claims that 9 SKUs supply extra efficiency in integer workloads (final slide in album).
All the Genoa chips help the next:
- Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT)
- 12 channels of DDR5-4800 reminiscence in 1DPC configuration (2DPC speeds will probably be introduced in Q1, 2023)
- 6TB of reminiscence per socket
- 128 Lanes of PCIe 5.0 (64 lanes help CXL 1.1+)
- AVX-512, VNNI, Bfloat 16
The Genoa processors mark the debut of a number of new applied sciences for x86 servers, like DDR5 and PCIe 5.0, with the previous at the moment commanding a hefty premium over the incumbent DDR4 reminiscence, and the latter leading to larger motherboard prices. Different advances, together with the 5nm/6nm manufacturing nodes used contained in the chips and elevated energy and cooling necessities for the highest-end fashions, additionally add price. As such, AMD concedes that many shoppers will proceed to deploy its EPYC Milan chips for lower-priority methods, so the 2 households will co-exist out there for a while.
In the meantime, probably the most compute-intensive and reminiscence bandwidth and reminiscence capability hungry workloads will migrate to Genoa. Whereas the upfront prices are larger with Genoa, the TCO benefits pencil out properly as a consequence of elevated performance-per-watt and rack density, as proven within the above slides.
Naturally, supporting these new options requires a brand new SP5 socket, platform, and chip design. Let’s transfer on to the technical particulars, platform overview, and our testing outcomes.