I'm thrilled to talk about an important addition to the AMD EPYC server processor family: 4th Gen AMD EPYC™ 4004 Series Processors. Large enterprises, demanding data centers, supercomputers, and hyperscalers have come to rely on the robust performance and scalability of AMD EPYC 7000, 8000, and 9000 Series Processors. By contrast, AMD EPYC 4004 Series Processors targets dedicated hosting providers and small businesses seeking cost-effective solutions for entry-level server workloads. These processors feature low core counts, Thermal Design Power (TDP) as low as 65 watts, and competitive pricing while maintaining the performance, scalability, and reliability expected from the AMD EPYC product line. This blog delves into some of the workloads for this market segment and the performance benefits offered by AMD EPYC 4004 processors.
The AMD EPYC™ 4004 Series Processors offer a powerful solution with boost frequencies reaching up to 5.7 GHz. These processors feature configurations ranging from 4 to 16 "Zen 4" cores, spanning up to 2 Core Complex Dies (CCDs), and support 8 to 32 threads with Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) enabled. Each CCD provides up to 32 MB of shared L3 cache, totaling up to 64 MB per processor. Equipped with Gen 3 Infinity Fabric architecture, the AMD EPYC 4004 processors support die-to-die bandwidth of up to 32 Gbps and can accommodate up to 192 GB of ECC-enabled DDR5-5200 RAM. They also feature up to 28 PCIe® Gen 5 lanes, with additional lanes available based on system vendor specifications (please consult your vendor for detailed information). Notably, these processors are designed with low TDP ratings, ranging from 65 to 170 watts.
All AMD EPYC 4004 models utilize the reliable AM5 socket, providing flexible deployment options for various computing needs. The 12-core AMD EPYC™ 4484PX and 16-core AMD EPYC™ 4584PX take advantage of AMD’s 3D V-Cache™ die stacking technology, which effectively doubles the maximum L3 cache to 128 MB per processor.
Features are only meaningful when they enhance performance and efficiency. Hosting providers and small businesses need robust systems that can handle critical workloads while keeping acquisition and operating costs manageable. Servers powered by the high-performance AMD EPYC 4004 processors, combined with the streamlined memory and I/O features, deliver compelling cost-to-performance ratios for essential workloads. Let’s delve deeper into the impressive performance and value these processors offer by comparing the capabilities and potential cost savings of the 16-core 4th Gen AMD EPYC 4004 processors against the competition.
The AMD EPYC™ 4004 processor offers versatility, performance, and cost-effectiveness for a diverse array of computing tasks, from general business applications to compute-intensive workloads. Here are some key use cases:
The AMD EPYC 4004 Series Processors provide a powerful solution for businesses looking to upgrade their server capabilities while keeping costs manageable, making them suitable for a broad range of applications.
Small and medium businesses must strike a balance between affordability and performance, particularly when selecting processors for server builds. The cost of processors is a significant consideration in this regard. Here, I will illustrate the exceptional cost-effectiveness of AMD EPYC 4004 processors compared to their competitors, using the following
In other words, the cost per AMD EPYC 4584PX processor core cost is only ~58% of the Intel Xeon costs per core. These prices underscore how AMD EPYC 4004 processors offer competitive affordability alongside leadership performance capabilities, making them a compelling option for small and medium businesses looking to optimize their server infrastructure investments.
SPEC CPU® 2017 is a widely recognized industry standard benchmark for evaluating the performance of general-purpose workloads. SPEC CPU® 2017 measures compute-intensive tasks by stressing processor(s), memory subsystems, and compilers across various computer systems. This benchmark comprises 43 tests categorized into four suites, with this blog focusing on SPECrate® 2017 Integer. Figure 1 shows that a single-socket 16-core AMD EPYC 4584PX system delivers a ~1.73x SPECrate® 2017_int_rate_base performance uplift versus a single-socket 8-core Intel Xeon E-2488 system. The same AMD EPYC 4584PX also yields a ~1.50x performance/the same Intel Xeon E-2488 processor.[3]
Figure 1: 16-core SPECrate® 2017 int_rate_base performance and performance/CPU$
Energy costs pose a significant challenge for both large-scale data centers and small- to medium-sized businesses. The SPECpower_ssj® 2008 benchmark provides a standardized method for assessing the energy efficiency of volume server-class computers, enabling customers to compare energy efficiency across various server configurations. 4th Gen AMD EPYC 4004 processors deliver leadership SPECpower_ssj® 2008 power efficiency. Figure 2 shows a 16-core AMD EPYC 4584PX system exhibiting ~1.81x greater energy efficiency than the same Intel system.[4] Here again, the AMD EPYC4004 processor delivers a significant ~1.57x performance/CPU dollar uplift.[5]
Figure 2: 16-core SPECpower_ssj@ 2008 performance and performance/CPU dollar
Figure 3: 16-core SPECjbb® 2015 composite max-jOPS and critical-jOPS performance and performance/CPU dollar
MySQL™ is one of the most widely adopted open-source database management systems, utilized by both small and large enterprises for various applications. We used TPROC-C to perform transaction processing performance comparison. Figure 4 illustrates a single-socket 16-core AMD EPYC 4584PX system achieving ~1.50x performance and ~1.30x the performance/CPU dollar of the same Intel processor.[8][9]
Figure 4:16-core MySQL TPROC-C TPM performance and performance/CPU dollar
Media processing performance is crucial as it increasingly emerges as a key edge workload driven by the growing demand for high-quality video content management, distribution, and collaboration tools. FFmpeg serves as a robust multimedia framework, facilitating encoding, decoding, transcoding, streaming, filtering, and playback of video content across both legacy and modern formats and standards. Figure 6 illustrates a single-socket 16-core AMD EPYC 4584PX system achieving average FFmpeg encode speed-ups of ~2.13x (8 jobs @ 2 threads per job), ~2.25x (4 jobs @ 4 threads per job), and ~2.45x (2 threads @ 8 cores per job) compared to the same Intel system at a processor cost only ~15% higher than the Intel processor.[10]
Figure 5: 16-core FFmpeg transcoding performance
A single-socket 16-core AMD EPYC 4584PX system achieves average FFmpeg encode processor performance/CPU dollar uplifts of ~1.85x (8 jobs @ 2 threads per job), ~1.95x (4 jobs @ 4 threads per job), and ~2.12x (2 threads @ 8 cores per job) compared to the same Intel system.[11]
Figure 6: 16-core FFmpeg transcoding performance/CPU dollar
The 4th Gen AMD EPYC™ 4004 Series Processors offer an ideal solution for dedicated hosting providers and small businesses seeking cost-effective options for entry-level server workloads, including infrastructure management, hosting services, middle-tier applications, and gaming. While large enterprises, data centers, supercomputers, and hyperscalers have benefited from the robust performance of the AMD EPYC 7000, 8000, and 9000 Series, the 4004 Series is specifically designed with low core counts and TDP as low as 65 watts, all at competitive prices.