AMD wasted no time responding to Intel’s Xeon 6 6000 series launch — introducing its fifth-generation EPYC 9005 lineup based on the Zen 5 and Zen 5c architectures. The results are decisive: AMD’s new chips clearly dominate across nearly every metric.
Independent testing from Phoronix confirms the trend, showcasing AMD’s overwhelming lead across more than 140 benchmarks.
Test Configuration #
Three EPYC 9005 SKUs were benchmarked:
- EPYC 9965 — Zen 5c flagship: 192 cores / 384 threads, 384MB L3 cache, 2.25–3.7GHz, 500W TDP
- EPYC 9575F — High-frequency Zen 5 model: 64 cores / 128 threads, 256MB L3 cache, 3.3–5.0GHz, 400W TDP
- EPYC 9755 — Zen 5 flagship: 128 cores / 256 threads, 512MB L3 cache, 2.7–4.1GHz, 500W TDP
For comparison, Intel’s Xeon 6980P features 128 Performance cores, 256 threads, 504MB L3 cache, 2.0–3.9GHz, and a 500W TDP.
All tests ran on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with the Linux 6.12 kernel.
Benchmark Results: AMD Leads Across the Board #
In both single-socket and dual-socket configurations, the EPYC 9755 dominates Intel’s Xeon 6980P—even when paired with cutting-edge MRDIMM 8000MHz memory.
- Dual-socket advantage: +40.0%
- Single-socket advantage: +18.4%
- Against Xeon 6 using standard DDR5-6400: up to +41.7% and +19.3%
A single EPYC 9755 even outperforms two Xeon 6980P CPUs running DDR5-6400 memory.
The EPYC 9965 and 9575F also deliver commanding wins, with the dual-socket 9575F maintaining a 22.6% lead over Xeon 6980P (MRDIMM 8000).
Even in single-socket tests, AMD trails by just 8.4%, demonstrating exceptional dual-socket scaling efficiency.
Generational Leap Over Zen 4 #
Compared to their predecessors:
- EPYC 9755 (128-core Zen 5) delivers +63.1% more performance than EPYC 9654 (96-core Zen 4)
- EPYC 9965 (192-core Zen 5c) improves +47.6% over EPYC 9754 (128-core Zen 4c)
- A single EPYC 9965 surpasses dual EPYC 9754 or 9654 configurations by 8.4% and 17.7%, respectively
Power Efficiency and Thermal Performance #
Despite massive core counts, power efficiency remains a highlight:
- EPYC 9965 and 9575F stay below 400W
- EPYC 9755 operates around 450W
- Intel’s Xeon 6980P hits 500W, offering no headroom
The result: AMD’s fifth-generation EPYC chips deliver superior performance-per-watt, lower total power, and greater thermal efficiency—ideal for hyperscale and cloud deployments.
Outlook #
AMD now holds a commanding position across performance, energy efficiency, and scalability.
Intel’s upcoming 288-core Xeon variant may offer higher thread counts but relies on E-cores rather than full-performance cores, leaving AMD’s 192-core EPYC 9965 in a strong competitive position.
With Zen 5, AMD’s EPYC platform doesn’t just edge ahead—it decisively reshapes the data center performance landscape.