AMD Epyc Venice versus Intel Xeon 6
Zowel AMD als Intel hebben hun nieuwe server flagships processoren aangekondigt: Epyc Venice en Xeon 6. Wij zetten de verschillen op een rij of eigenlijk enorm veel rijen.
EPYC Venice (en een beetje Turin) vs Xeon 6 — Server CPU Spec Comparison (June 2026)
Terwijl AMD een aantal dagen geleden de nieuwe “Venice” lijn Epyc processoren voorstelde heeft Intel de Xeon 6 serie geïntroduceerd. Kort door de bocht: AMD heeft nog steeds een aardige voorsprong en wel op meerdere belangrijke onderdelen. Op dit moment bieden de AMD CPU’s een hogere Core Count, 256 bij AMD en 144 bij Intel. Maar Intel is aan het inhalen en “Clearwater Forest” is nu aangekondigd en zal tot 288 Cores beschikbaar stellen. Opmerkelijk is that de uitvinder van Hyper Threading dit bij deze CPU achterwege laat, opvallend detail. Een van de belangrijkste factoren, bandbreedte, trekt op dit moment naar elkaar toe, tot de komst van AMD Venice die dan een “whopping” 1,6TB/s ten opzichte van 768GB/s faciliteert. Waar het vooral niet beter wordt is power. AMD heeft een max verbruik van 1400 Watt voor de Venice CPU aangekondigd waardoor deze processoren waarschijnlijk speciale cooling nodig zullen hebben. Dus Intel haalt in op core count maar zonder SMT en sinds AMD Venice (tot zover bekend) wel SMT zal hebben kan de grootste variant dus 512 threads aan. Samengevat geldt voor zowel Intel als AMD: sneller en meer. Blijft een belangrijk item over: wat kost dat? De bedragen zijn uiteraard best hoog maar een zinnige vergelijking is de prijs per core (SMT achterwege latend) en daar komt Intel niet al te best af: 77,15 AMD p/core en 139.06 Intel p/core. Wellicht dat de grotere L3 cache de Intels een aardige performance boost geeft, tot we dat zeker weten krijg je bij Intel minder voor meer.
Hieronder onze research lijst met alle tabellen en de bekende duizend stuks distributie prijzen (die uiteraard kunnen veranderen zoals helaas nu algemeen bekend is):
Platform-Level Comparison
| AMD EPYC Turin | Intel Xeon 6 (Granite Rapids) | Intel Xeon 6+ (Clearwater Forest) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core arch | Zen 5 / Zen 5c | Redwood Cove (P-core) | Darkmont (E-core) |
| Max cores | 192 (Zen 5c) / 128 (Zen 5) | 128 P-cores | 288 E-cores |
| SMT | Yes (2T/core) | Yes (2T/core) | No (1T/core) |
| Max threads | 384 | 256 | 288 |
| Socket | SP5 (LGA 6096) | LGA 7529 (AP) / LGA 4710 (SP) | LGA 7529 |
| Memory | 12-ch DDR5-6400 | 12-ch DDR5-6400 (AP) / 8-ch (SP) | 12-ch DDR5-8000 |
| Mem bandwidth | 614 GB/s | ~614 GB/s (12-ch) | ~768 GB/s (DDR5-8000) |
| PCIe | 128 Gen5 | 96 Gen5 + 64 CXL 2.0 | 96 Gen5 + 64 CXL 2.0 |
| Process | TSMC 3nm (CCD) | Intel 3 | Intel 18A |
| TDP range | 125–500W | 165–500W | 330–450W |
| 2S capable | Yes (all non-P) | Yes (6900P/6700P) | Yes |
| Availability | Shipping now | Shipping now | Paper launch June 2026, no review hardware |
Flagship Head-to-Head
| EPYC 9965 (Zen 5c) | Xeon 6980P (P-core) | Xeon 6990E+ (E-core) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cores/Threads | 192/384 | 128/256 | 288/288 |
| Base / Boost | 2.25 / 3.7 GHz | 2.0 / 3.9 GHz | TBD |
| L3 Cache | 384 MB | 504 MB | 576 MB |
| TDP | 500W | 500W | 450W / 330W |
| 1KU Price | $14,813 | $12,460 | TBD |
| Memory | 12-ch DDR5-6400 | 12-ch DDR5-6400 | 12-ch DDR5-8000 |
Mid-Range Sweet Spot (where most customers live)
| EPYC 9555 | EPYC 9455 | Xeon 6787P | Xeon 6754P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cores/Threads | 64/128 | 48/96 | 86/172 | 48/96 |
| Base / Boost | 3.2 / 4.4 GHz | 3.15 / 4.4 GHz | 2.0 / 3.8 GHz | 2.8 / 3.8 GHz |
| TDP | 360W | 300W | 350W | 270W |
| 1KU | ~$6,800 | ~$4,099 | TBD | TBD |
| Socket | SP5 | SP5 | LGA 4710 | LGA 4710 |
| Memory | 12-ch DDR5-6400 | 12-ch DDR5-6400 | 8-ch DDR5-6400 | 8-ch DDR5-6400 |
Dense / E-Core Shootout (cloud-native, scale-out)
| EPYC 9965 (Zen 5c) | Xeon 6780E (Sierra Forest) | Xeon 6990E+ (Clearwater Forest) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cores/Threads | 192/384 | 144/144 | 288/288 |
| Base / Boost | 2.25 / 3.7 GHz | 2.2 / 3.0 GHz | TBD |
| TDP | 500W | 330W | 450W |
| Process | TSMC 3nm | Intel 3 | Intel 18A |
| Memory | 12-ch DDR5-6400 | 8-ch DDR5-6400 | 12-ch DDR5-8000 |
| 1KU | $14,813 | $11,350 | TBD |
AMD EPYC Venice (Zen 6) — Next Gen
Status: Production ramp announced May 20, 2026. First HPC chip on TSMC N2 (2nm). Targeting H2 2026 launch (Helios AI rack Q3 2026).
Venice Platform Specs
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 6 / Zen 6c |
| Process | TSMC N2 (2nm) for CCDs — first 2nm HPC chip in production |
| Max Cores | 256 cores / 512 threads (Zen 6c dense) |
| Zen 6 Classic | Up to 96 cores / 192 threads (8 CCDs × 12 cores) |
| Zen 6c Dense | Up to 256 cores / 512 threads (higher CCD count, 32 cores/CCD reported for ES chips) |
| Socket | SP7 (new platform, replaces SP5). Body 123.6 × 100.6mm (~12% larger than SP5) |
| Memory | Up to 16-channel DDR5, up to 6TB per socket |
| Memory Bandwidth | 1.6 TB/s per socket (2.6× over Turin’s 614 GB/s) |
| PCIe | PCIe 6.0 support; doubled CPU-to-GPU bandwidth (~128 GB/s per direction) |
| Performance claim | AMD claims 70% more compute vs. EPYC Turin (Zen 5) |
| Thread Density | 1.3× vs. Turin; 1.7× performance (ServeTheHome FAD 2025) |
| TDP | SP7 platform scales from 700W up to 1,400W. Liquid-cooled cold plates pictured. |
| Platform | Helios AI rack (4× MI455X + 1× Venice per node), Q3 2026 |
| Arizona production | Venice planned for TSMC Fab 21 Phase 3 (N2/A16). Volume not expected before 2028. |
Venice Notes
- Engineering samples spotted at 64, 128, and 192 core configs on test platforms named “Congo,” “Kenya,” and “Nigeria”
- Package redesign: two slender centralized I/O dies (4nm) flanked by up to 8 CCDs (2nm)
- SP7 pin count not yet confirmed (SP5 = 6,096 pins)
- Zen 6 desktop (“Medusa”) expected 2027 on AM5
- Verano also announced: another 6th Gen EPYC on TSMC 2nm, optimized for performance-per-dollar-per-watt. Uses SP8 socket. Launching 2027.
- AMD holds 46% server CPU revenue share (Q1 2026, Mercury Research) — up from ~40% at FAD Nov 2025
- Intel’s competing P-core (Diamond Rapids) won’t ship until 2027 at earliest. Venice faces only Clearwater Forest (E-core) in 2026.
Turin → Venice Upgrade Comparison
| EPYC Turin (Zen 5) | EPYC Venice (Zen 6) | Delta | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max cores (dense) | 192 | 256 | +33% |
| Max threads | 384 | 512 | +33% |
| Socket | SP5 | SP7 | New platform |
| Memory channels | 12 | 16 | +33% |
| Memory bandwidth | 614 GB/s | 1,600 GB/s | +160% |
| PCIe | Gen 5 | Gen 6 | 2× bandwidth per lane |
| CPU↔GPU bandwidth | ~64 GB/s | ~128 GB/s | 2× |
| Process | TSMC 3nm | TSMC 2nm | Next node |
| TDP ceiling | 500W | Up to 1,400W (liquid) | Redefines server cooling |
Venice vs Clearwater Forest (the 2026 showdown)
| EPYC Venice (Zen 6/Zen 6c) | Xeon 6+ Clearwater Forest (Darkmont E-core) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cores | Up to 256 | Up to 288 |
| Threads | Up to 512 (SMT) | 288 (no SMT) |
| Core type | Full Zen 6 P-cores + Zen 6c | E-core only |
| Process | TSMC 2nm | Intel 18A |
| Memory | 16-ch DDR5 | 12-ch DDR5-8000 |
| Mem bandwidth | 1.6 TB/s | ~768 GB/s |
| PCIe | Gen 6 | Gen 5 |
| Target | General-purpose, AI host, HPC | Cloud density, edge, telco |
| Availability | H2 2026 (production ramp started) | Paper launch June 2026, no review hardware |
| Competition | No Intel P-core rival until 2027 | Only E-core — different market segment |
Full EPYC Turin SKU List
Zen 5 High-Frequency (“F”) SKUs
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP | 1KU Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9175F | 16/32 | 4.20 GHz | 5.00 GHz | 512 MB | 320W | ~$4,256 |
| 9275F | 24/48 | 4.10 GHz | 4.80 GHz | 256 MB | 320W | ~$3,746 |
| 9375F | 32/64 | 3.80 GHz | 4.80 GHz | 256 MB | 320W | ~$4,940 |
| 9475F | 48/96 | 3.65 GHz | 4.80 GHz | 256 MB | 400W | ~$6,683 |
| 9575F | 64/128 | 3.30 GHz | 5.00 GHz | 256 MB | 400W | ~$8,375 |
Zen 5 Standard SKUs
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP | 1KU Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9015 | 8/16 | 3.60 GHz | 4.10 GHz | 64 MB | 125W | ~$1,752 |
| 9115 | 16/32 | 2.60 GHz | 4.10 GHz | 64 MB | 125W | ~$1,849 |
| 9135 | 16/32 | 3.65 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 64 MB | 200W | ~$2,095 |
| 9255 | 24/48 | 3.20 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 128 MB | 200W | ~$2,332 |
| 9335 | 32/64 | 3.00 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 128 MB | 210W | ~$2,449 |
| 9355 | 32/64 | 3.55 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 256 MB | 280W | ~$3,500 |
| 9355P | 32/64 | 3.55 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 256 MB | 280W | ~$3,000 |
| 9365 | 36/72 | 3.40 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 192 MB | 300W | ~$4,425 |
| 9455 | 48/96 | 3.15 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 256 MB | 300W | ~$4,099 |
| 9455P | 48/96 | 3.15 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 256 MB | 300W | ~$3,449 |
| 9535 | 64/128 | 2.40 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 256 MB | 300W | ~$5,685 |
| 9555 | 64/128 | 3.20 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 256 MB | 360W | ~$6,800 |
| 9555P | 64/128 | 3.20 GHz | 4.40 GHz | 256 MB | 360W | ~$5,800 |
| 9565 | 72/144 | 3.15 GHz | 4.30 GHz | 384 MB | 400W | ~$9,900 |
| 9655 | 96/192 | 2.60 GHz | 4.50 GHz | 384 MB | 400W | ~$7,000 |
| 9655P | 96/192 | 2.60 GHz | 4.50 GHz | 384 MB | 400W | ~$6,200 |
| 9755 | 128/256 | 2.70 GHz | 4.10 GHz | 512 MB | 500W | $10,931–12,984 |
Zen 5c Dense SKUs
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP | 1KU Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9645 | 96/192 | 2.30 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 256 MB | 320W | ~$8,463 |
| 9745 | 128/256 | 2.40 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 256 MB | 400W | ~$10,009 |
| 9825 | 144/288 | 2.20 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 384 MB | 390W | ~$12,073 |
| 9845 | 160/320 | 2.10 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 320 MB | 390W | ~$12,264 |
| 9965 | 192/384 | 2.25 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 384 MB | 500W | $14,813 |
Naming convention: P = single-socket only (lower price). F = high-frequency optimized. No suffix = dual-socket capable.
Full Intel Xeon 6 SKU List
Granite Rapids 6900P (P-cores, LGA 7529, 2S)
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6980P | 128/256 | 2.0 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 504 MB | 500W | $12,460 |
| 6979P | 120/240 | 2.1 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 504 MB | 500W | — |
| 6972P | 96/192 | 2.4 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 480 MB | 500W | — |
| 6962P | 72/144 | 2.7 GHz | 3.9/4.4 GHz | 432 MB | 500W | — |
| 6960P | 72/144 | 2.7 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 432 MB | 500W | — |
| 6952P | 96/192 | 2.1 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 480 MB | 400W | — |
| 6944P | 72/144 | 1.8 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 432 MB | 350W | — |
Platform: 12-ch DDR5-6400, MRDIMM up to 8800 MT/s, 96 PCIe Gen5 + 64 CXL 2.0, 6× UPI 24 GT/s.
Granite Rapids 6700P (P-cores, LGA 4710, 2S)
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6788P | 86/172 | 2.0 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 336 MB | 350W |
| 6787P | 86/172 | 2.0 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 336 MB | 350W |
| 6772P | 72/144 | 2.5 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 288 MB | 350W |
| 6754P | 48/96 | 2.8 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 192 MB | 270W |
| 6743P | 36/72 | 2.7 GHz | 3.9 GHz | 192 MB | 270W |
| 6738P | 32/64 | 2.9 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 144 MB | 270W |
| 6730P | 32/64 | 2.5 GHz | 3.8 GHz | 288 MB | 250W |
| 6728P | 24/48 | 2.7 GHz | 4.1 GHz | 144 MB | 210W |
| 6724P | 16/32 | 3.6 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 72 MB | 210W |
| 6714P | 8/16 | 4.0 GHz | 4.3 GHz | 48 MB | 165W |
Platform: 8-ch DDR5-6400, MRDIMM up to 8000 MT/s, 88 PCIe Gen5 + 64 CXL 2.0, 4× UPI 24 GT/s.
Sierra Forest 6700E (E-cores, LGA 4710, no SMT)
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP | Scal. | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6780E | 144/144 | 2.2 GHz | 3.0 GHz | 108 MB | 330W | 2S | $11,350 |
| 6766E | 144/144 | 1.9 GHz | 2.7 GHz | 108 MB | 250W | 2S | $10,257 |
| 6756E | 128/128 | 1.8 GHz | 2.6 GHz | 96 MB | 225W | 2S | $8,428 |
| 6746E | 112/112 | 2.0 GHz | 2.7 GHz | 96 MB | 250W | 2S | $5,929 |
| 6740E | 96/96 | 2.4 GHz | 3.2 GHz | 96 MB | 250W | 2S | $5,265 |
| 6731E | 96/96 | 2.2 GHz | 3.1 GHz | 96 MB | 250W | 1S | $4,121 |
| 6710E | 64/64 | 2.4 GHz | 3.2 GHz | 96 MB | 205W | 2S | $2,749 |
No AVX-512. No Hyper-Threading. 8-ch DDR5-6400, 88 PCIe Gen5.
Clearwater Forest Xeon 6+ (E-cores, Intel 18A, LGA 7529)
| Model | Cores/Threads | TDP | Memory | Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6990E+ | 288/288 | 450W / 330W | 12-ch DDR5-8000 | Intel 18A |
| 6960E+ | 144/144 | TBD | 12-ch DDR5-8000 | Intel 18A |
Platform: 12 compute chiplets (Intel 18A), 3 base tiles (Intel 3), 2 I/O tiles (Intel 7). Foveros Direct 3D + EMIB. 96 PCIe Gen5 + 64 CXL 2.0. Socket-compatible with Granite Rapids-AP. Pricing TBD. No review hardware available yet (Phoronix, June 2026) — unclear if paper launch or volume shipping.
Xeon 600 Workstation (Granite Rapids-WS, LGA 4710, 1S)
| Model | Cores/Threads | Base | Boost | L3 Cache | TDP | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 698X | 86/172 | 2.0 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 336 MB | 350W | $7,699 |
| 696X | 64/128 | 2.4 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 336 MB | 350W | $5,599 |
| 678X | 48/96 | 2.4 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 192 MB | 300W | ~$3,899 |
| 676X | 32/64 | 2.8 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 144 MB | 275W | ~$2,499 |
| 674X | 28/56 | 3.0 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 144 MB | 270W | ~$1,799 |
| 658X | 24/48 | 3.0 GHz | 4.9 GHz | 144 MB | 250W | ~$1,399 |
| 656 | 20/40 | 3.4 GHz | 4.7 GHz | 96 MB | 185W | ~$799 |
| 634 | 12/24 | 3.7 GHz | 4.5 GHz | 48 MB | 125W | ~$541 |
Chipset: W890. 8-ch DDR5 MRDIMM up to 8000 MT/s, 128 PCIe Gen5, CXL 2.0. X-series = unlocked. Boxed retail available.
Roadmap
| AMD | Intel | |
|---|---|---|
| Current gen | EPYC Turin (Zen 5, TSMC 3nm) — shipping | Xeon 6 Granite Rapids (Intel 3) — shipping |
| Next gen | EPYC Venice (Zen 6, TSMC 2nm) — production ramp H2 2026 | Xeon 7 Diamond Rapids (18A-P) — 2027 |
| Dense variant | Venice Zen 6c up to 256 cores | Clearwater Forest up to 288 E-cores (just launched) |
| Follow-on | Verano (SP8, perf/$/W optimized) — 2027 | Coral Rapids — mid-2028 |
| Max cores (next) | 256 (Zen 6c) | 192 P-cores (no SMT) |
| Memory (next) | 16-ch DDR5, SP7 socket | 16-ch, LGA 9324 |
| PCIe (next) | PCIe 6.0 | TBD |
| Key claim (next) | 70% more compute vs Turin | 2x memory bandwidth vs Granite Rapids |
Samenvattend:
-
AMD biedt een hogere kerndichtheid + SMT. 192 kernen/384 threads versus Intel’s 128 kernen/256 threads (P-core) of 288 kernen/288 threads (E-core, geen SMT). Voor doorvoergerichte taken waarbij het aantal threads van belang is, wint EPYC op het gebied van dichtheid.
-
*Intel heeft (voorlopig) weer de overhand wat betreft geheugenbandbreedte. * Clearwater Forest biedt 12-kanaals DDR5-8000 — ~768 GB/s versus EPYC Turin’s 614 GB/s. Maar Venice komt met 16-kanaals / 1,6 TB/s — dat is 2× wat Clearwater Forest biedt. Intel’s korte bandbreedtevoordeel verdwijnt zodra Venice op de markt komt.
-
Platformfragmentatie is het probleem van Intel. Drie sockets (LGA 7529, 4710, 9324 in aantocht), E-core versus P-core, Xeon 6 versus 6+ versus 7. AMD heeft nu SP5, SP7 voor Venice (één overgang). Eenvoudiger platform = eenvoudigere inkoop.
-
Clearwater Forest is tot nu toe slechts een papier lancering. Geen testhardware, geen onafhankelijke benchmarks, geen openbare prijzen. EPYC Turin wordt in grote hoeveelheden geleverd. De productie van Venice is op gang gekomen.
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Workstation: Xeon 600 is eindelijk echt. Tot 86 P-cores op LGA 4710, MRDIMM op 8000 MT/s, in doos verkocht. Vult het gat ten opzichte van Threadripper 9000. Maar 8-kanaals geheugen versus EPYC’s 12-kanaals op SP5 — Threadripper wint nog steeds op het gebied van geheugenbandbreedte.
-
Venice versus Diamond Rapids is de echte strijd. Beide 2nm/18A-klasse, beide claimen enorme sprongen. Maar Venice wordt in de tweede helft van 2026 geleverd, Diamond Rapids schuift op naar 2027. Dat is een gat van 6-12 maanden waarin AMD helemaal geen P-core-concurrentie van Intel heeft. AMD heeft al een aandeel van 46% in de serveromzet.
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Venice verandert het gesprek over serverkoeling. Het SP7-platform schaalt op tot 1.400 W. Dat is geen luchtkoeling. Er zijn al afbeeldingen van vloeistofgekoelde coldplates. Dit heeft gevolgen voor het rack, de bekabeling en de stroomvoorziening bij elke implementatie.
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Verano is de verrassing. SP8-socket, geoptimaliseerd voor prestaties per dollar per watt, 2027.
Sources
- AMD EPYC 9005-series datasheet
- AMD product pages (amd.com) — individual SKU 1KU pricing
- Supermicro CPU spec table — 9005-series reference
- Colfax International EPYC 9005 comparison
- Thomas-Krenn Wiki AMD EPYC 9005 Turin overview
- TechPowerUp CPU Database — MSRP/specs verification
- Tom’s Hardware — Venice production ramp on TSMC 2nm (May 21, 2026)
- Tom’s Hardware — Venice 256-core announcement / CES preview
- AMD press release — Venice production ramp (May 20, 2026)
- AMD Financial Analyst Day 2025 — Venice roadmap slides
- ServeTheHome — Venice FAD 2025 preview (1.3× thread density, 1.7× performance)
- Wccftech — SP7/SP8 socket details + Venice power scaling (700-1400W)
- TechPowerUp — Venice breaking the 1,000W barrier
- Intel Xeon 6 press kit (newsroom.intel.com)
- Intel product briefs — Granite Rapids, Sierra Forest
- VideoCardz — Xeon 6+ Clearwater Forest launch coverage (June 1, 2026)
- Phoronix — Xeon 6+ Computex 2026 launch + no review hardware note
- Origin PC — Xeon 600 workstation spec page
- Fudzilla — Xeon 600 pricing
- WikiChip — Intel Xeon roadmap
- Tom’s Hardware — Xeon 600 Granite Rapids-WS launch
- Tom’s Hardware — Xeon 7 Diamond Rapids 2027 (leaked)