Moar core blimey: 384-core AMD EPYC Venice server chip with Zen 6 architecture enters the rumor mill

The YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead has been a frequent source of leaks and rumors in the past but this latest one from show host Tom will definitely require a pinch of salt, especially as it discusses naming schemes and configurations that are potentially years away. Regardless of the veracity, it is interesting to hear about what may be coming out of AMD’s workshops in the not-too-distant future. This particular leak concerns the EPYC line of chips, which are used in servers and often have sky-high core counts (AMD “Genoa” will hit 96 cores later this year).

Apparently, after AMD is done with “Genoa” (Zen 4) and “Bergamo” (Zen 4c), it will be the turn for “Turin” (Zen 5) to rock the server world with its up to 256-core, 512-thread parts with DDR5-6000 memory support and high power requirements of 600 W. However, even though we will have to wait until 2023 or 2024 before EPYC “Turin” turns up, this hasn’t stopped Tom from sharing some very early details about the “Venice” (Zen 6) family. For starters, he reckons a +200-core count is a “conservative” estimate, with there being potential for a 384-core monster rearing its head at some point in 2024 or 2025.

Big changes in the memory configuration can also be expected for Zen 6, which Tom insists will be called “Zen 6” after some insider double checking. Along with an L2 and L3 cache redesign, it also looks like there will be some development with High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) support, which should be expected at that point, but at an alleged custom level. A healthy dose of skepticism should be in place here, because as has been pointed out elsewhere, AMD already used the codename “Venice” for an Athlon 64 processor back in 2005, and recycling the name for a future EPYC series seems both unlikely and unnecessary.

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