AMD’s 5th Gen EPYC Embedded 9005 processors boost storage performance, core density, and PCIe Gen5 bandwidth for enterprise storage.
AMD has introduced its latest generation of processors designed explicitly for embedded markets—the 5th Gen AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series. Based on AMD’s new Zen 5 CPU architecture, these processors cater to networking, industrial edge, and enterprise storage workloads, delivering substantial performance and efficiency enhancements.
Technical Deep Dive
The new processors have core counts ranging from 8 to 192 cores per socket, leveraging AMD’s Zen 5 and Zen 5c architectures. High-density Zen 5c cores significantly increase core density, enabling dramatic gains in processing power and throughput—up to 1.6× higher for storage-intensive workloads than previous generations topping out at 128 cores.
Memory density stays the same with the EPYC Embedded 9005 Series, offering 12 DDR5 memory channels per socket, supporting up to 6TB per socket. Memory bandwidth is where things improve with the 9005 Series, increasing from 460GB/s to 614GB/s.
The EPYC Embedded 9005 Series delivers up to 128 lanes of PCIe Gen5 per socket or 160 lanes in dual-socket configurations. The processors also support the emerging Compute Express Link (CXL 2.0) standard, facilitating innovative memory-tiering and accelerator use-cases.
IBM Storage Scale System 6000
AMD storage customers like IBM are already on board. “IBM Storage Scale System 6000 is designed to deliver speed, performance, and reliability for demanding enterprise AI workloads,” said Matthew Geiser, Product Management, IBM Storage for Data, AI and HPC. “One of the main benefits of the AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 processors is the introduction of redundant paths for high data availability and robust connectivity options, which will pair nicely with performance intensive applications running on IBM Storage Scale System.”
Additional embedded-specific enhancements include robust reliability features like advanced ECC memory support, DRAM flush to NVMe on power loss, and dual SPI boot support, which bolster uptime and reduce maintenance requirements for mission-critical storage environments. Security improvements, such as Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) and new Secure I/O (SEV-TIO), add layers of protection essential in secure enterprise deployments.
AMD 5th Gen EPYC Embedded 9005 Series Processors SKUs
| Model | Cores | Architecture | Base/Boost (GHz) | TDP | L3 Cache |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9965 | 192 | Zen 5c | 2.25 / 3.7 | 500W | 384MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9845 | 160 | Zen 5c | 2.25 / 3.7 | 390W | 320MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9745 | 128 | Zen 5c | 2.40 / 3.7 | 400W | 256MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9655 | 96 | Zen 5 | 2.60 / 4.5 | 400W | 384MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9555 | 64 | Zen 5 | 3.20 / 4.4 | 360W | 256MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9455 | 48 | Zen 5 | 3.15 / 4.4 | 300W | 256MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9355 | 32 | Zen 5 | 3.25 / 4.3 | 280W | 128MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9255 | 24 | Zen 5 | 3.25 / 4.3 | 200W | 128MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9135 | 16 | Zen 5 | 3.25 / 4.3 | 200W | 64MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9134 | 16 | Zen 5 | 2.75 / 4.0 | 155W | 128MB |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9034 | 8 | Zen 5 | 2.50 / 4.0 | 120W | 64MB |
Bottom Line
AMD’s 5th Gen EPYC Embedded processors significantly raise the bar in storage and other embedded system performance and flexibility. By providing increased core density, higher memory capacity, expansive I/O capabilities, and robust security features, these processors empower storage OEMs to design advanced solutions that efficiently address data-intensive workloads. With sampling already underway, these processors should start appearing in new enterprise storage products by mid-2025, driving innovation and performance gains in the storage market.
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