Imagine one of the advanced models in the Ryzen family: 8 cores, 16 processing threads, a respectable clock speed, and a very competitive price. Now… multiply those specifications by four. The result in your mind is EPYC, a new family of processors aimed at the always demanding server market. AMD plans to offer a dozen variants with prices ranging from $400 to $4,000, and a ceiling of 32 cores in its top configuration.
Ryzen processors easily stole all the attention of the specialized press, but AMD's overall strategy goes beyond desktop hardware. Even if its dominance in the console market is absolute, the rain of money can only materialize with a solid presence among servers, a space where Sunnyvale hasn't seriously competed for years. The original code name for Zen-architecture server chips was Naples, however, AMD confirmed a while ago that they will be distributed under the EPYC brand. Today, we have its technical data.
The 7000 series of EPYC processors comprises twelve distinct models. The smallest of them is the EPYC 7251, which brings 8 cores and 16 threads at 2.1 GHz. That frequency might surprise a bit if we compare it to a Ryzen chip, but the difference is much wider than it appears. All EPYC units come with 64 MB of L3 cache, support for 128 PCI Express lanes, and octa-channel DDR4, while the Ryzen 7 1800X delivers 16 MB, 24 lanes, and dual-channel respectively. At the top of the mountain we find the EPYC 7601 and 7551P. The "P" designation in the model establishes that it is a processor compatible with single-socket platforms, but both put on the table 32 cores and 64 processing threads.
Needless to say, AMD won't have it easy since Intel Xeon with Skylake SP cores are about to arrive (we need benchmarks!), but we definitely welcome a new phase in the competition. On the other hand, it would be very interesting if some manufacturer dared to launch an EATX motherboard compatible with the SP3 socket of EPYC. Prices were not fully confirmed, and range from $400 to $4,000.
