AMD details EPYC 9006 CPUs from 8 to 256 cores and full pricing
The lineup pushes core counts and memory bandwidth up while driving down per-core costs at the high end.
AMD has published full pricing and specs for its EPYC 9006 “Venice” server CPUs, spanning SP7 and SP8 platforms and ranging from 8 to 256 Zen 6 cores. The SP7 line targets high-end deployments with up to 16 DDR5-12800 memory channels, 96 PCIe 6.0 lanes, TDPs up to 600W, and a flagship EPYC 9996 part delivering 256 cores, 1,024MB L3, and a $14,904 list price. Because price per core drops as core counts rise — from about $125 per core on the 64-core EPYC 9556 to roughly $58 per core on the 256-core EPYC 9996 — the biggest SKUs are positioned as the best per-core value for large data centers and cloud operators. A dual-socket SP7 configuration can host two EPYC 9996 chips for a 512-core system, with CPUs alone totaling $29,808 before memory. The SP8 lineup offers a lower-cost alternative with 8-channel memory, up to 128 PCIe 6.0 lanes, lower 130–400W TDPs, and pricing from $700 for an 8-core part up to $11,679 for the 128-core EPYC 9746, plus several 5 GHz “F” models tuned for maximum boost clocks at a power and price premium.
Why it matters
This launch sharpens AMD’s positioning in dense compute: operators can now trade cash for cores with clear price steps from small to very large deployments, and the economics favor packing as many cores as possible into each socket. At the same time, the split between SP7 and SP8 gives buyers a choice between maximum memory bandwidth and more moderate power and pricing, which could shape how future cloud and data center nodes are configured.
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Sources
- Tom's Hardware