With the formal introduction of the EPYC 8004 Series, AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) has completed its lineup of 4th generation EPYC CPUs. This innovative solution, which uses the ‘Zen 4c’ core, is poised to transform edge and data center applications in telecom, manufacturing, retail, and other industries.
Dan McNamara, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD's Server Business, touted the new processors as a hallmark in their commitment to exceptional CPU energy efficiency. "With the completion of our 4th Gen EPYC CPU portfolio. AMD stands at the forefront of delivering processors that excel in efficiency, performance, and innovative capabilities, meeting the diverse demands of sectors from enterprise and cloud to technical computing."
The Edge of Efficiency and Performance
AMD’s new EPYC 8004 Series would be a clear nod to industries that are not only performance-hungry but also prioritize energy efficiency, platform density, and quiet operations. Key features of this processor series include:
- Peak Energy Efficiency - Thanks to the efficient “Zen 4c” core and the innovative SP6 socket, the EPYC 8004 Series boasts up to double the SPECpower performance per system watt compared to its closest competitors.
- Balanced Performance - For sectors that value the highest performance per watt in tight spaces, the EPYC 8004 delivers both power and efficiency, especially crucial for edge applications. In real-world tests, its capabilities were evident: the EPYC 8534P outperformed competitors in video encoding workloads by providing “up to 2.4x the aggregate frames per hour per system watt.”
- Savings on the Intelligent Edge - Unlike traditional data centers, intelligent edge deployments focus on smaller server nodes. Over a five-year period, AMD's EPYC 8004-based servers could save businesses thousands of dollars in energy costs compared to competitors, with the added benefits of better core density and increased throughput.
Ecosystem Expansion and Collaboration
The release of the EPYC 8004 has already spurred a flurry of excitement among OEMs and partners, each unveiling systems and solutions optimized for this latest processor. Among them:
- Dell Technologies has launched the Dell PowerEdge C6615 server, specifically designed to balance performance with cost-efficiency for scale-out workloads. Travis Vigil of Dell emphasized the system’s capability to provide optimal compute performance in air-cooled environments without additional power or cooling requirements.
- Ericsson has highlighted the EPYC 8004 Series as pivotal in managing significant traffic growth on mobile networks in an energy-efficient manner. Mårten Lerner, Head of Cloud RAN at Ericsson, praised the collaboration with AMD in driving forward Open RAN technology, specifically emphasizing the potential for enhancing Cloud RAN performance and capacity.
- Lenovo unveiled its flagship edge-optimized server, the ThinkEdge SE455 V3. Tailored for next-gen AI applications at the edge, Charles Ferland of Lenovo touted the server's unparalleled performance, efficiency, and capability to function discreetly even in challenging remote settings.
- Microsoft Azure has also expressed enthusiasm for the EPYC 8004 Series. Bernardo Caldas of Azure Edge PM commented on the series' potential to benefit Azure services in sectors like retail and manufacturing.
- Supermicro introduced its edge platforms equipped with AMD EPYC 8004 series processors, ideal for edge and telco data centers. Vik Malyala of Supermicro emphasized the processor's improved performance per core, lower TDP, and extended lifecycle support.
