AMD Launches 2nd Generation EPYC Processers for Servers and Datacenters

[Guest_Jim_*]

Yesterday AMD launched its 2^nd Generation EPYC family of CPUs targeting servers and datacenters. These are using the new 7 nm Zen2 cores and chiplets present in the Ryzen 3000 series of processors, and thanks to the smaller process technology the lineup includes a 64 core/128 thread part. All of the processors, even the 8 core/16 thread parts offer 128 PCIe 4.0 lanes, eight DDR4 memory channels and support for up to 3200 MHz memory.

At the top of the stack is the EPYC 7742, one of three 64 core/128 thread parts with a base clock of 2.25 GHz, a boost of 3.40 GHz, and a TDP of 225 W. That can be had for $6950, while at the bottom of the stack is the 7232P, the cheapest of the three 8 core/16 thread processors at $450. The EPYC 7232P has a base clock of 3.10 GHz and a boost of 3.20 GHz with a TDP of 120 W.

While these might not be the processors we will install and use in our computers, they can give us some insight to what the upcoming Threadripper 3000 series of HEDT processors will be able to offer. Also, server parts like EPYC can generate a great deal of revenue for chip manufacturers, so the news that both Google and Twitter are going to be adopting EPYC processors is important as the sales could be used to fund development for still more amazing components in the future. Google has deployed these new EPYC processors in its internal infrastructure production datacenter and later this year will be adding it to the Google Cloud Compute Engine. Twitter will be deploying the CPUs later this year to reduce its total cost of ownership by 25%. Microsoft is bringing the processors to Azure virtual machine previews; Cray announced a new Shasta system for the Air Force Weather Agency that will use the new EPYCs; and HPE, Lenovo, and Dell all announced they will be offering new systems based on the CPUs as well. AMD and VMware are also going to be working closely together on support for new security features and more.

You can already find reviews for some of the processors at Anandtech and Phoronix, for anyone interested in what so many threads are capable of.

Source: AMD

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