(Credit: AMD)
AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 9000-series processors are set to launch later this month, but those won’t be the only new CPUs we see from the chip maker this year. AMD also intends to release a new generation of Epyc processors in the second half of 2024. Based on AMD’s latest "Zen 5" microarchitecture, these server mega-chips are slated to have higher performance per clock than earlier Epyc efforts and ship with higher core counts, with models supporting up to 192 cores and 384 threads.
Details on the upcoming Zen 5-based Epyc processors, code-named "Turin," are few and far between now. But a few key facts hint at what sort of performance these processors might provide.
Epyc 'Turin': The Next Wave of Server Processors
First and foremost is a change to the Zen 5 microarchitecture, which was reworked to be wider and allow more data to pass through the processor faster. You can check this deeper dive on Zen 5 and the consumer Ryzen 9000-series of processors for more details, but suffice it to say for now that Zen 5 is expected to deliver, on average, up to 16% better instructions per clock (IPC).
(Credit: AMD)Depending on your workload on the processor, it's possible to see even more significant performance gains from Zen 5 over Zen 4 than just this 16%. Much work went into improving the floating point unit (FPU) on Zen 5 processors, which can be particularly important for the compute-intensive workloads servers are often tasked with running. The FPU on Zen 5 now consists of six pipelines that can complete a floating add (FADD) operation in just two clock cycles. The FPU designed for Zen 5 also has full support for AVX-512, with new instructions added to boost support over the FPUs used on Zen 4 processors.
(Credit: AMD)An increase in core count boosts performance further. Zen 4-based Epyc processors topped out with 128 CPU cores and 256 threads. This was achieved using the Zen 4c architecture, a compact variant of Zen 4 designed to reduce the physical footprint of each CPU core to fit more cores in the same space. Zen 5 will also have a Zen 5c variant with the same design goal, likely part of how AMD managed to squeeze up to 192 cores on an Epyc Turin CPU die. Each core will support simultaneous multithreading (SMT), enabling up to 384 threads.
(Credit: AMD)More important, Zen 5 Ryzen 9000-series processors, according to AMD, will run at lower operating temperatures and with lower thermal design power (TDP) ratings. This suggests the processors will also be more energy-efficient, consuming less power, being faster, and running less hot. This is excellent news for the desktop market but outstanding news for the server industry, where power consumption and cooling costs tend to be significant expenses for operating these systems in bulk.
This boost in energy efficiency and decrease in heat production comes from a combination of factors, including the Zen 5 architecture and a move to new manufacturing processes. Like most AMD desktop processors in recent years, Epyc Turin processors are built using a chiplet design that combines multiple separate chips into a single module. The primary building blocks of this design are the core complex dies (CCDs). Built on a 3-nanometer (nm) TSMC manufacturing process, each CCD typically contains eight cores, though this might differ for the Zen 5c CCDs.
The CCDs share a central I/O die built on a 4nm TSMC process. Smaller manufacturing processes tend to be more energy-efficient, so while we don’t know how much power these new Epyc processors will consume, it is pretty safe to expect better performance per watt and overall efficiency.
(Credit: AMD)AMD indicated that these new processors will also support a new feature called “Confidential AI.” Though it isn’t clear precisely what this feature is or how it will work, AMD did say it is based on a new trusted I/O feature.
The Shroud Around Turin: Soon to Be Lifted
We’ll undoubtedly find out more about this as the Epyc processors get closer to launch. AMD intends to release its Ryzen 9000-series consumer processors later this month on July 31, and the release of these new Epyc processors will likely come sometime after that. However, it's not expected to be that much longer; AMD has tagged these chips for release sometime during the second half of 2024. As we are already in the second half of 2024, they should be less than six months away.