Meet AMD's new 192-core processor: the EPYC 9965, its most expensive model to date, nearing $15,000.
With a cost of nearly $15,000, this is the most complex microprocessor that AMD has created to date.
AMD has introduced a new range of server processors under the EPYC series. These fifth-generation products, known as Turin and already pre-announced at an event in June 2024, belong to the 9005 series and range from an 8-core model to one with 192 cores. The EPYC 9965 processor, priced at under $15,000, utilizes the Zen 5c architecture and features 192 cores and 384 threads, competing with Intel's Xeon 6 Granite Rapids lineup and Ampere's AmpereOne server CPUs. With a base CPU clock speed of 2.25 GHz and a TDP of 500W, which is the highest ever recorded by AMD, it also offers a 384 MB L3 cache. The company claims it will deliver 2.7 times the performance compared to Intel's equivalent, focusing on the fifth generation Xeon Scalable, specifically the 64-core Platinum 8592+ model.
One notable processor is the EPYC 9575F, which has 64 cores and is a high-frequency model with a base speed of 3.3 GHz and a boost capability of up to 5 GHz, marking its highest record. This model appears to be an indicator of the upcoming Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9000WX expected in 2025 and is designed as a host processor for artificial intelligence, optimized to work with Nvidia's H100 and H200 GPUs.
Compared to the previous fourth-generation Genoa platform, AMD claims that Turin offers a 17% improvement in IPC and provides support for 12 channels of DDR5-6400 and 128 channels of PCIe 5.0. For the first time, official support for CXL 2.0 is also included in the specifications sheet.
AMD's most advanced processor, the 9755, maintains 128 cores; it has a higher base frequency (2.7 GHz vs. 2.25 GHz), a considerably greater TDP (39% higher), and double the cache, reaching 512 MB. Although it is slightly more expensive, many consider the increase justifiable given the significant improvements.
Observing the trend, 10 CPUs launched in 2024 have had a TDP of 400W or more, in contrast to just one last year. This highlights a significant increase in power consumption and dissipation. Although Intel's TDP for the Xeon P models also reaches 500W, their more efficient Xeon models have much lower TDP compared to AMD's Zen 5c.
AMD has also shared more details about its upcoming MI325X accelerator and its successor, the MI355X.
