AMD Reportedly Planning Zen 4 EPYC Genoa CPUs With HBM Memory To Tackle Intel Sapphire Rapids Xeons

Intel may not be the only chip maker to offer HBM powered server CPUs as AMD is reportedly planning its own EPYC Genoa variants based on the Zen 4 architecture for bandwidth-bound workloads.

AMD To Answer Intel's Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPUs With Its Own HBM Powered Zen 4 EPYC Genoa CPUs, Alleges Rumor

The rumor comes from Inpact-Hardware who have reportedly received information from their sources that AMD is planning an HBM variant of its upcoming EPYC Genoa CPUs powered by the Zen 4 core architecture. While we have learned much about the standard Genoa CPUs, this is the first time we are hearing of an HBM variant.

There is indeed a recurring question of an HBM version of Zen 4 among partners, but for the moment nothing seems definitively decided on this subject. The manufacturer could indeed reserve such a solution for certain customers or ultimately prefer a variation with 3D V-Cache .

via Inpact-Hardware

According to the report, an EPYC CPU with HBM memory is a recurring question among AMD's partners. Intel has already announced its HBM variant of Sapphire Rapids though those chips aren't expected around 2023 (in volume). AMD is reportedly preparing its Milan-X lineup as an intermediate between Zen 3 and Zen 4 which would house 3D chip stacking technology though nothing is clear whether the die stacking is based around CCD's or V-Cache (similar to next-gen Ryzen Zen 3 Desktop CPUs).

It is likely that AMD could offer Milan-X with 3D V-Cache as a showcase of how the low-level cache can help boost performance in bandwidth-bound workloads and ultimately scale it up with more premium HBM options when EPYC Genoa launches. The difference between Milan and Milan-X in terms of launch is around 2-3 quarters and the same timeframe can be expected for an AMD EPYC Genoa lineup with HBM.

What's definitely going to be interesting is AMD's HBM implementation as they can go with either traditional off-die methods or a more next-gen 3D Chip stacking tech. Intel hasn't confirmed what solution it will use for its HBM integration but they are most likely going to utilize their EMIB and Forveros interconnect/packaging technologies to integrated HBM memory on Xeon CPUs. It will be great to see both companies offer HBM server variants to expand their workload portfolio in the HPC segment.

AMD EPYC CPU Families:

Family Name	AMD EPYC Verano	AMD EPYC Venice	AMD EPYC Turin-X	AMD EPYC Turin-Dense	AMD EPYC Turin	AMD EPYC Siena	AMD EPYC Bergamo	AMD EPYC Genoa-X	AMD EPYC Genoa	AMD EPYC Milan-X	AMD EPYC Milan	AMD EPYC Rome	AMD EPYC Naples
Family Branding	EPYC 9007	EPYC 9006	EPYC 9005	EPYC 9005	EPYC 9005	EPYC 8004	EPYC 9004	EPYC 9004	EPYC 9004	EPYC 7004	EPYC 7003	EPYC 7002	EPYC 7001
Family Launch	2027	2026	2025	2025	2024	2023	2023	2023	2022	2022	2021	2019	2017
CPU Architecture	Zen 7	Zen 6	Zen 5	Zen 5C	Zen 5	Zen 4	Zen 4C	Zen 4 V-Cache	Zen 4	Zen 3	Zen 3	Zen 2	Zen 1
Process Node	TBD	2nm TSMC	4nm TSMC	3nm TSMC	4nm TSMC	5nm TSMC	4nm TSMC	5nm TSMC	5nm TSMC	7nm TSMC	7nm TSMC	7nm TSMC	14nm GloFo
Platform Name	SP7	SP7	SP5	SP5	SP5	SP6	SP5	SP5	SP5	SP3	SP3	SP3	SP3
Socket	TBD	TBD	LGA 6096 (SP5)	LGA 6096 (SP5)	LGA 6096	LGA 4844	LGA 6096	LGA 6096	LGA 6096	LGA 4094	LGA 4094	LGA 4094	LGA 4094
Max Core Count	TBD	96	128	192	128	64	128	96	96	64	64	64	32
Max Thread Count	TBD	192	256	384	256	128	256	192	192	128	128	128	64
Max L3 Cache	TBD	TBD	1536 MB	384 MB	384 MB	256 MB	256 MB	1152 MB	384 MB	768 MB	256 MB	256 MB	64 MB
Chiplet Design	TBD	8 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 2 IOD?	16 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	12 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	16 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	8 CCD's (1CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	12 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	12 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	12 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	8 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	8 CCD's (1 CCX per CCD) + 1 IOD	8 CCD's (2 CCX's per CCD) + 1 IOD	4 CCD's (2 CCX's per CCD)
Memory Support	TBD	DDR5-12800	DDR5-6000?	DDR5-6400	DDR5-6400	DDR5-5200	DDR5-5600	DDR5-4800	DDR5-4800	DDR4-3200	DDR4-3200	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2666
Memory Channels	TBD	16-Channel (SP7)	12 Channel (SP5)	12 Channel	12 Channel	6-Channel	12 Channel	12 Channel	12 Channel	8 Channel	8 Channel	8 Channel	8 Channel
PCIe Gen Support	TBD	128-192 PCIe Gen 6	TBD	128 PCIe Gen 5	128 PCIe Gen 5	96 Gen 5	128 Gen 5	128 Gen 5	128 Gen 5	128 Gen 4	128 Gen 4	128 Gen 4	64 Gen 3
TDP (Max)	TBD	~600W	500W (cTDP 600W)	500W (cTDP 450-500W)	400W (cDP 320-400W)	70-225W	320W (cTDP 400W)	400W	400W	280W	280W	280W	200W

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