We have known for some time that AMD was ready to launch its family of next-generation business EPYC processors, collectively known by its code name Milan, sometime in the first quarter of this year. Today, AMD released a press release confirming the date and time of its online event – the launch of the new 7003 series processors will take place from 8am PT / 11am ET on March 15, 2021.
The launch event will feature presentations by CEO Dr. Lisa Su, CTO Mark Papermaster, GM Enterprise and Embedded Solutions (EESC) Forrest Norrod and GM’s server business unit Dan McNamara. Leading data center partners and customers will also make an appearance.
So far, we know that AMD’s Milan line of processors will feature up to 64 Zen 3 cores, using a seamless transition from the Zen 2 EPYC Roma ecosystem with pin-compatible processors. Milan will also offer up to 128 PCIe tracks, eight-channel memory and dual socket configurations. If Zen 3-based processors for the desktop serve as a measurement, + 19% of IPC generation gains are expected with the new processor, although access to main memory is likely to remain the same. We have doubts about the exact performance, frequencies and efficiency, but this release date should show all product specifications so that we can see where the solution fits in comparison to current market offerings.
AMD provided some previous benchmarking figures – at CES, the company introduced a weather simulation code, with two new 32-core Milan processors versus two of Intel’s popular 28-core Xeon Gold 6258R units. In the original demonstration, a six-hour simulation showed that Milan was 46% faster in dual-socket computing. Subsequently, a single socket comparison was shown, where the difference rose to 68%. These were the first tests without any details of the comparison system, however, we expect more data on March 15thº throw.
Questions will be asked about AMD’s ability to supply EPYC, as it currently has a tightening in its supply chain for a number of products. We are aware that AMD has already supplied complete silicon to key customers and, to add to that, Dr. Lisa Su has stated that one of AMD’s main targets for 2021 will be the corporate market.
We will be doing a live blog about the AMD launch – it can also be found online on the AMD event website.