AMD's next Epyc server chip debuts this year with 256 cores and 70% better performance

[Daniel Sims]

Looking ahead: AMD's Zen 6 architecture is set to debut later this year with the Epyc Venice server processors. The company's CEO recently outlined AMD's ambitions for the lineup and hinted at its broader strategy for future data center processors. Her comments also appeared to offer an early glimpse at what could become the foundation for Zen 7.

During an investor call following the release of AMD's first-quarter 2026 earnings, CEO Lisa Su confirmed that the Epyc Venice processors remain on schedule for launch later this year. The server CPUs will mark the debut of the Zen 6 architecture and AMD's first move to TSMC's 2nm process technology.

AMD initially unveiled Venice last year. The transition from 4nm to 2nm is expected to double CPU-to-GPU bandwidth, improve performance by up to 70%, and increase the maximum core count by 33%, reaching as many as 256 cores.

However, Su indicated that the Venice lineup will eventually include several specialized processors. During a Q&A session, the CEO explained that AMD aims to introduce a broad portfolio of CPUs optimized for agentic AI, head nodes, general-purpose computing, and other workloads.

Su also mentioned Verano, which will debut as part of the Venice series as the company's first CPU designed specifically for AI infrastructure. However, Verano is also expected to serve as the foundation for the first Zen 7 processors.

AMD first referenced Zen 7 in a vague roadmap released late last year. The company stated only that the architecture would arrive after 2026, use a process node beyond 2nm, and incorporate a new matrix engine with expanded AI data format support. Although Su did not directly mention Zen 7 during the call, she confirmed that AMD is already working with partners on products that will succeed Venice, likely including Zen 7-based processors.

The company remains fully committed to AI expansion, which Su described as still being in its early stages. Although the ongoing buildout of data centers has become increasingly controversial and the long-term pace of expansion remains uncertain, there is little doubt that its effects on the broader hardware market will extend well beyond 2027.

Su and AMD CFO Jean Hu warned that rising client hardware costs could reduce the company's gaming revenue by more than 20% in the second half of the year. Critical components such as GPUs, CPUs, motherboards, and especially RAM are becoming increasingly expensive as manufacturers shift production capacity toward AI data centers. How long these market conditions will persist remains unclear.

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AMD's next Epyc server chip debuts this year with 256 cores and 70% better performance

 

[Squid Surprise]

Wonder if they’ll release a Threadripper series based on it… or just delay until Zen 7…

 

[Lionvibez]

Wonder if they’ll release a Threadripper series based on it… or just delay until Zen 7…

For sure there will be Zen 6 based TR.

 

[Squid Surprise]

For sure there will be Zen 6 based TR.

Hope so… but AMD has disappointed before…

 

[Lionvibez]

Hope so… but AMD has disappointed before…

How so in this specific instance?

There has been a TR version for almost every version of Zen.

 

[Squid Surprise]

How so in this specific instance?

There has been a TR version for almost every version of Zen.

5000 was disappointing - and the 9000 is only a minor update on 7000…

I have high hopes for 10000 (or 11000 depending on their naming scheme)

 

[Rapob]

5000 was disappointing - and the 9000 is only a minor update on 7000…

I have high hopes for 10000 (or 11000 depending on their naming scheme)

What are you talking about? Ryzen 5000? Literally the best AM4 generation. Calling it disappointing proves you know nothing about this. Ryzen 3000 and 5000 was literally what made Intel kill off their HEDT segment, which they did in 2019. Ryzen 3000 was 2019 and Ryzen 5000 is 2020. HEDT killers.

Ryzen 7000 to 9000 delivered more than Intel did with 12th Gen to 14th Gen and even including Arrow Lake and the Refresh. Ryzen 9000X3D also perfected the X3D solution, with relocated cache, hence lower temps and vastly higher clockspeeds with OC now possible.

Intel 14th gen = Refresh of 13th gen that was close to 12th gen to begin with. E-cores on Skylake IPC level, which is 2015 tech.

Intel 200 Plus series = Refresh of 200 series on a dead platform.

AMD might have disappointed before but Intel surely did disappoint for 5-6-7 years straight.

Intel will reset with socket 1954 and Nova Lake late this year or next. bLLC is a true X3D alternative. Lets hope they won't fail again because Zen 6 looks good, offering improved IOD, increased clockspeeds and 50% higher core count.

Intel literally don't have an aswer to Threadripper at all. HEDT space, up to 96C/192T.
I would like to see Intel in the HEDT space again in the coming years. However, Intel had nothing for 7 years that would be considered HEDT level.

 

[Vanderlinde]

How far we came from having a high-end dual socket server with both 4 cores and 8 threads.

256 cores (with threading it's 512 lol); that thing is a beast.

 

[Squid Surprise]

What are you talking about? Ryzen 5000? Literally the best AM4 generation. Calling it disappointing proves you know nothing about this. Ryzen 3000 and 5000 was literally what made Intel kill off their HEDT segment, which they did in 2019. Ryzen 3000 was 2019 and Ryzen 5000 is 2020. HEDT killers.

Ryzen 7000 to 9000 delivered more than Intel did with 12th Gen to 14th Gen and even including Arrow Lake and the Refresh. Ryzen 9000X3D also perfected the X3D solution, with relocated cache, hence lower temps and vastly higher clockspeeds with OC now possible.

Intel 14th gen = Refresh of 13th gen that was close to 12th gen to begin with. E-cores on Skylake IPC level, which is 2015 tech.

Intel 200 Plus series = Refresh of 200 series on a dead platform.

AMD might have disappointed before but Intel surely did disappoint for 5-6-7 years straight.

Intel will reset with socket 1954 and Nova Lake late this year or next. bLLC is a true X3D alternative. Lets hope they won't fail again because Zen 6 looks good, offering improved IOD, increased clockspeeds and 50% higher core count.

Intel literally don't have an aswer to Threadripper at all. HEDT space, up to 96C/192T.
I would like to see Intel in the HEDT space again in the coming years. However, Intel had nothing for 7 years that would be considered HEDT level.

Did you read what I was replying to??

THREADRIPPER 5000 was disappointing!!!

Be sure to read BEFORE you rant…

 

[Rapob]

Did you read what I was replying to??

THREADRIPPER 5000 was disappointing!!!

Be sure to read BEFORE you rant…

Disappointing compared to what? Intel had no counter, for any Threadripper series. HEDT monopoly. Intel killed off HEDT in 2019 as mainstream Ryzens beat Intels HEDT offerings.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Disappointing compared to what? Intel had no counter, for any Threadripper series. HEDT monopoly. Intel killed off HEDT in 2019 as mainstream Ryzens beat Intels HEDT offerings.

Disappointing compared to my expectations obviously… it was only about 20% better performance than the 3000 series - whereas the 7000 series was about 50% better than the 5000 series.

Obviously it beat Intel - but that’s not saying much….
9000 doesn’t even offer 20% over the 7000 series either… yes, it’s still the best HEDT - again, Intel has no competition for this sector - but I was hoping for more.
They knew they had no competition and coasted…

 

[Rapob]

Disappointing compared to my expectations obviously… it was only about 20% better performance than the 3000 series - whereas the 7000 series was about 50% better than the 5000 series.

Obviously it beat Intel - but that’s not saying much….
9000 doesn’t even offer 20% over the 7000 series either… yes, it’s still the best HEDT - again, Intel has no competition for this sector - but I was hoping for more.
They knew they had no competition and coasted…

Even 20% sounds massive compared to the 5-10% gains you saw under Intel monopoly, if even, and with same core count for years

Besides you better get used to 10-20% gains because the days of leaps are pretty much gone in the consumer space

Ryzen 9000X3D was the pinnacle of 9000s series, X3D perfected, relocated cache, lower temps due to better heat dissipation, hence higher clocks and with OC unlocked, regular 9000 was decent but nothing special compared to 7000 series which was already good, 9000 was just better and they did not really increase the prices either, ie. 9950X is like 7% faster than 7950X while costing the same pretty much, yet would anyone make that exact upgrade? No, this is AM5, so a 7950X owner would just wait for stuff like 9950X3D2 or Zen 6, platform longevity matters, also keeps resell value higher, since many people can use the chips

Meanwhile on Intel, you can upgrade from a 265K to a 270K plus, yay and new socket in 6 months again, with socket 1954 they will copy AMDs platform longevity, lets hope that

Intel socket 1954 is the most important Intel release ever. They can't afford to fail again this time. Nova Lake and bLLC is going to be crucial. Finally Intel will have a X3D alternative.

More and more programs even likes X3D cache. Adobe Photoshop loves it. More cache is the future, Zen 6 even non-X3D and regular Intel chips will get alot more cache too, than today. X3D and bLLC will just get even more.

No room for low cache garbage these days. Only in low-end and low-end is pretty much dead. Hence why you don't see Ryzen 3 and i3 / Core 3

Last gen with price reductions = Low-end effectively, till sold out then EOL.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Even 20% sounds massive compared to the 5-10% gains you saw under Intel monopoly, if even, and with same core count for years

Besides you better get used to 10-20% gains because the days of leaps are pretty much gone in the consumer space

Ryzen 9000X3D was the pinnacle of 9000s series, X3D perfected, relocated cache, lower temps due to better heat dissipation, hence higher clocks and with OC unlocked, regular 9000 was decent but nothing special compared to 7000 series which was already good, 9000 was just better and they did not really increase the prices either, ie. 9950X is like 7% faster than 7950X while costing the same pretty much, yet would anyone make that exact upgrade? No, this is AM5, so a 7950X owner would just wait for stuff like 9950X3D2 or Zen 6, platform longevity matters, also keeps resell value higher, since many people can use the chips

Meanwhile on Intel, you can upgrade from a 265K to a 270K plus, yay and new socket in 6 months again, with socket 1954 they will copy AMDs platform longevity, lets hope that

Intel socket 1954 is the most important Intel release ever. They can't afford to fail again this time. Nova Lake and bLLC is going to be crucial. Finally Intel will have a X3D alternative.

More and more programs even likes X3D cache. Adobe Photoshop loves it. More cache is the future, Zen 6 even non-X3D and regular Intel chips will get alot more cache too, than today. X3D and bLLC will just get even more.

No room for low cache garbage these days. Only in low-end and low-end is pretty much dead. Hence why you don't see Ryzen 3 and i3 / Core 3

Last gen with price reductions = Low-end effectively, till sold out then EOL.

Yeah, no… I only upgrade when I can get 50% or better performance… if the next gen doesn’t offer that, I don’t upgrade. Hence my disappointment with the 5000 and 9000 series.

While I appreciate your rant, I am not interested in an Intel vs AMD discussion. I am very aware that AMD owns the HEDT market. I can afford to wait until there is a real improvement on my 7980x.

 

[Rapob]

Yeah, no… I only upgrade when I can get 50% or better performance… if the next gen doesn’t offer that, I don’t upgrade. Hence my disappointment with the 5000 and 9000 series.

While I appreciate your rant, I am not interested in an Intel vs AMD discussion. I am very aware that AMD owns the HEDT market. I can afford to wait until there is a real improvement on my 7980x.

Zen 6 will probably be that, due to 50% more cores plus ipc and clockspeed gains

Just strange to call something disappointing because it does not deliver 50% gen 2 gen in the CPU segment, from flagship to flagship, haha, that is rare, so I wonder how you can be disappointed about whats normal and to be expected

 

[Squid Surprise]

Zen 6 will probably be that, due to 50% more cores plus ipc and clockspeed gains

Just strange to call something disappointing because it does not deliver 50% gen 2 gen in the CPU segment, from flagship to flagship, haha, that is rare, so I wonder how you can be disappointed about whats normal and to be expected

Less than 20% improvement was NOT normal over a generation back during 5000 days… we’ve been conditioned to think that 10-15% improvement is normal nowadays… foolish to spend thousands of dollars for that.

You’ll notice in the “when do you upgrade your PC” thread that very few posters said they upgrade every generation. Looks like most people agree with me…

As for ZEN 6… I am hopeful

 

[Rapob]

Less than 20% improvement was NOT normal over a generation back during 5000 days… we’ve been conditioned to think that 10-15% improvement is normal nowadays… foolish to spend thousands of dollars for that.

You’ll notice in the “when do you upgrade your PC” thread that very few posters said they upgrade every generation. Looks like most people agree with me…

As for ZEN 6… I am hopeful

So i7-2600K -> 3700K -> 4700K -> 6700K -> 7700K was good generations? 4 gens, same 4C/8T, almost similar performance in the end, post OC. 2600K overclocked to 5 GHz.

You need to go way longer back to see big gen 2 gen improvements, and this was mainly due to chip fabrication delivered vastly bigger gains than today, where they in many ways, have hit the ceiling, especially for consumer stuff, becauese people are not going to pay top dollar for best nodes

So 20% seems really good.

People don't upgrade for that anyway. Pretty much no-one upgrades every generation. It makes little to no sense. Only makes sense if you go from a lower end chip to a higher end chip, when talking gen 2 gen.

 

[Squid Surprise]

So i7-2600K -> 3700K -> 4700K -> 6700K -> 7700K was good generations? 4 gens, same 4C/8T, almost similar performance in the end, post OC. 2600K overclocked to 5 GHz.

No - again, I’m not turning this into an Intel vs AMD… I’m entitled to be disappointed with BOTH companies… but as I purchase HEDT systems, my disappointment is with AMD right now (and Intel for not competing and driving prices lower).

My system before my 7980x was the Intel 5960 - the last HEDT that Intel released that wasn’t disappointing

You need to go way longer back to see big gen 2 gen improvements, and this was mainly due to chip fabrication delivered vastly bigger gains than today, where they in many ways, have hit the ceiling, especially for consumer stuff, becauese people are not going to pay top dollar for best nodes

Yes - which is why I upgrade every several years…

So 20% seems really good.

Nope - just because that’s the way it is, doesn’t make it less disappointing!

People don't upgrade for that anyway. Pretty much no-one upgrades every generation. It makes little to no sense. Only makes sense if you go from a lower end chip to a higher end chip, when talking gen 2 gen.

Agreed… but I can still hope for more - as should everyone else!

 

[Rapob]

No - again, I’m not turning this into an Intel vs AMD… I’m entitled to be disappointed with BOTH companies… but as I purchase HEDT systems, my disappointment is with AMD right now (and Intel for not competing and driving prices lower).

My system before my 7980x was the Intel 5960 - the last HEDT that Intel released that wasn’t disappointing

Yes - which is why I upgrade every several years…

Nope - just because that’s the way it is, doesn’t make it less disappointing!

Agreed… but I can still hope for more - as should everyone else!

You are disappointed by AMD's HEDT yet AMD made Intel close down their HEDT segment entirely, makes sense.

5960 is ancient tech, who cares. Back from Intels milking days. A 8C/16T beast with low clocks the only reason this felt like HEDT is because Intel gimped mainstream segment with 4C/8T tops for generations.

The fact you lived with a 5960 till 7980X makes me question how much CPU power you really need and why you buy HEDT stuff.. Tons of CPUs would have brought massive performance gains over 5960 long before 7980X, please tell me you had some systems in between

 

[Squid Surprise]

You are disappointed by AMD's HEDT yet AMD made Intel close down their HEDT segment entirely, makes sense.

5960 is ancient tech, who cares. Back from Intels milking days. A 8C/16T beast with low clocks the only reason this felt like HEDT is because Intel gimped mainstream segment with 4C/8T tops for generations.

The fact you lived with a 5960 till 7980X makes me question how much CPU power you really need and why you buy HEDT stuff.. Tons of CPUs would have brought massive performance gains over 5960 long before 7980X, please tell me you had some systems in between

So now you’ve just decided to attack me? Just give up on this argument. My use case has nothing to do with you. I’m entitled to be disappointed with anything I desire - right now I’m disappointed with you for being inane…