AMD targets Xeon CPU with Zen-based Naples

Following the big splash AMD caused with its Ryzen processors, the firm has now revealed initial details on its ‘Naples’ CPUs destined for servers and data centres.

These processors are built on the same Zen architecture as Ryzen, and will be delivered in models with up to 32-cores, boasting what AMD describes as ‘superior’ memory bandwidth.

Apparently the Naples processors beat out Intel’s ‘top competitive offering’ on vital categories across the board according to AMD. We’re talking 45% more cores compared to the Xeon E5-2699A v4 (32-cores versus 22-cores for the Intel chip), and 122% more memory bandwidth, along with 60% greater input/output capacity.

Two-socket monsters

AMD states: “With up to 64-cores, 4TB of memory, and 128 lanes of PCIe connectivity, two-socket servers built with the AMD Naples processor will have the flexibility, performance and security to support workloads that once required 4-socket or larger server configurations.

“With this much capacity, organisations can support even more virtual machines per server in virtualised and cloud computing environments.”

The company further noted that the processor benefits from a highly optimised cache structure for high-performance computing which delivers on the power efficiency front.

We can expect to hear much more about these chips in several AMD presentations scheduled for later this week at the Open Compute Summit. As for availability, these processors are expected to emerge in the second quarter of this year.

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).