Intel recently launched its 128-core “Granite Rapids” Xeon 6900P processor family, finally providing real competition to AMD’s EPYC 9004 Genoa/Bergamo server line.
Early reviews praised Intel’s new chips, with the general consensus being that the 6900P series successfully ushered in Intel’s long-awaited resurgence in the server CPU arena.
While Intel must have been pleased with the reception of its new processors, there was an elephant in the room. The
Not plain sailing
AMD’s new processors have now arrived and the first reviews for the EPYC 9575F, 9755 and 9965 Turin server CPUs have been received. As widely expected, these put AMD back on top. If Phoronix notes in its review, “The new top-of-the-line AMD EPYC Turin processor performance can wipe out the competition on most workloads and deliver a major generational leap in performance and power efficiency.”
Phoronix added: “The tested AMD EPYC 9575F high-frequency Turin 64-core processor, EPYC 9755 128-core Turin processor and EPYC 9965 192-core Turin Dense processors dominated over the wide variety of server, technical computing and HPC tested workloads. The dual 128-core EPYC 9755 Turin processor was 40% faster than the dual Xeon 6980P Granite Rapids server with MRDIMMs. Even a single EPYC 9755 (and EPYC 9965) effectively matched the dual Xeon 6980P processors in this larger selection of benchmarks than what was initially run for Granite Rapids.”
In his favorable review, Storage overview said: “What sets the EPYC 9005 Series apart is its ability to meet the diverse needs of modern enterprises with configurations that scale from high-frequency entry-level chips to super cache density chips and multi-core powerhouses. Whether for real-time AI inference, computational fluid dynamics, large-scale data analysis or high-resolution 3D rendering, the EPYC series delivers single-threaded responsiveness and multi-threaded efficiency. Advanced features such as 12-channel DDR5 memory support, PCIe 5.0 lanes and AMD’s secure, confidential computing make this series a performance upgrade and a comprehensive solution for future-oriented data centers.”
In his review, ServeTheHome said AMD EPYC 9005 Turin delivered “transcendental” performance, noting that “AMD’s formula was simple: increase TDP by 25%+, increase core count by 50%, use new process technology, and update server processors to Zen 5/ Zen 5c architecture.”
Although the site was extremely impressed with the new chips, STHPatrick Kennedy made an interesting observation. “When it comes to direct competition with Intel for the top-end sockets competing for the best AI nodes, the situation is a little more nuanced than you might think. With 192 cores, the Zen 5c-based AMD EPYC 9965 is great for throughput and excellent for virtualization and cloud workloads. However, with 128 cores on the Intel Granite Rapids-AP versus 128 cores on the AMD EPYC 9755, AMD does not have the same leadership as before. Or better said: AMD is no longer competing only with itself at the top.”
It’s not just Intel that AMD has to worry about. Arm is also a challenge in the data center and its impact in the future should not be overlooked.