Eagerly awaited: AMD has completely pulled back the curtain on its first Zen 6 CPU lineup. The new architecture debuts with Epyc server chips and offers up to 256 cores and 512 threads at the top end. AMD has promised significant improvements in AI, GPU hosting and performance per watt.
AMD’s first Zen 6 Epyc processors, designated 9006 series and codenamed Venice, are now shipping to server customers, with SP7 systems launching first and SP8 following in the first half of 2027. The company recently released the full technical specifications for each SP7 and SP8 CPU in the series, most importantly highlighting their usefulness for AI workloads.
As expected, AMD’s new flagship Epyc 9996 increases the maximum core count to 256, with 512 threads clocked at up to 4.1 GHz. With 1GB of L3 cache, it operates at a base clock of 2.55GHz and defaults to 600W, but can also be reduced to 400W.
AMD’s rack density comparisons also include a 400W 9956 chip with 256 cores, but that chip is not on the published list. According to AMD’s internal benchmarks, the 9996 at least doubles the performance of the Intel Xeon 6980P in some tasks, and more than triples in others.
Initial independent tests confirm the extent of the gains: Tom’s Hardware measured in the Intratate test of SPEC CPU 2026 that a dual 9996 server is up to 93% faster than a dual Epyc 9965. AMD lists the top-end chip for $14,904, but the lineup also extends to the eight-core, 16-thread Epyc 9016 for just $700.
By switching to TSMC’s N2 process node, Epyc Venice achieves up to 2.6x performance per watt increase. AMD also claims to have 1.87 times as many AI agents per CPU dollar as current Intel Xeon processors.
With a maximum boost clock of 5.3 GHz on its high-frequency host node parts, Venice is also said to deliver up to 1.8x the LLM inference performance of the previous Epyc generation. PCIe 6.0 doubles CPU-to-GPU I/O bandwidth with up to 128 lanes in dual-socket SP7 systems and on SP8.
| name | Number of CPU cores | Number of threads | Max Boost Clock | Basic clock | L3 cache | Standard CPU performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Epyc 9996 | 256 | 512 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.55GHz | 1024MB | 600W |
| AMD Epyc 9956 | 256 | 512 | Up to 4.1GHz | 1.7GHz | 1024MB | 400W |
| AMD Epyc 9966 | 192 | 384 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.05GHz | 768MB | 600W |
| AMD Epyc 9846 | 168 | 336 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.9GHz | 768MB | 500W |
| AMD Epyc 9756 | 128 | 256 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.2GHz | 512MB | 500W |
| AMD Epyc 9G76 | 96 | 192 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.65GHz | 384MB | 500W |
| AMD Epyc 9686F | 96 | 192 | Up to 5.3GHz | 4.05GHz | 384MB | 600W |
| AMD Epyc 9656 | 96 | 192 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.85GHz | 512MB | 400W |
| AMD Epyc 9586F | 64 | 128 | Up to 5.3GHz | 4.05GHz | 384MB | 400W |
| AMD Epyc 9556 | 64 | 128 | Up to 5.1GHz | 3.6GHz | 192MB | 400W |
Memory bandwidth per socket reaches up to 1.6 TB/s. AMD also maintained its claim that Zen 6 delivers up to 3.3 times as many agents per CPU watt as Nvidia Vera.
With AMD recently declaring itself a data center-first company, it remains unclear exactly when Zen 6’s architectural advantages will impact consumer products. The successor to the Ryzen 9000 CPU series, presumably called the Ryzen 10000, is now widely expected in 2027, with a CES announcement and first-half availability being the most likely time frame.
| name | Number of CPU cores | Number of threads | Max Boost Clock | Basic clock | L3 cache | Standard CPU performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Epyc 9746 | 128 | 256 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.9GHz | 512MB | 400W |
| AMD Epyc 9736P | 128 | 256 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.7GHz | 256MB | 360W |
| AMD Epyc 9736 | 128 | 256 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.7GHz | 256MB | 360W |
| AMD Epyc 9726N | 128 | 256 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.15GHz | 512MB | 280W |
| AMD Epyc 9676F | 96 | 192 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.1GHz | 384MB | 400W |
| AMD Epyc 9646P | 96 | 192 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.8GHz | 256MB | 300W |
| AMD Epyc 9646 | 96 | 192 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.8GHz | 256MB | 300W |
| AMD Epyc 9576F | 64 | 128 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.55GHz | 384MB | 400W |
| AMD Epyc 9536P | 64 | 128 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.25GHz | 256MB | 300W |
| AMD Epyc 9536 | 64 | 128 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.25GHz | 256MB | 300W |
| AMD Epyc 9526 | 64 | 128 | Up to 4.1GHz | 2.75GHz | 256MB | 220W |
| AMD Epyc 9476F | 48 | 96 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.65GHz | 192MB | 330W |
| AMD Epyc 9456P | 48 | 96 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.2GHz | 256MB | 265W |
| AMD Epyc 9456 | 48 | 96 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.2GHz | 256MB | 265W |
| AMD Epyc 9376F | 32 | 64 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.8GHz | 192MB | 285W |
| AMD Epyc 9356P | 32 | 64 | Up to 4.8GHz | 3.6GHz | 192MB | 250W |
| AMD Epyc 9356 | 32 | 64 | Up to 4.8GHz | 3.6GHz | 192MB | 250W |
| AMD Epyc 9336 | 32 | 64 | Up to 4.1GHz | 3.15GHz | 128MB | 195W |
| AMD Epyc 9276F | 24 | 48 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.8GHz | 96MB | 230W |
| AMD Epyc 9256 | 24 | 48 | Up to 4.8GHz | 2.85GHz | 96MB | 190W |
| AMD Epyc 9176F | 16 | 32 | Up to 5.3GHz | 3.9GHz | 192MB | 200W |
| AMD Epyc 9116 | 16 | 32 | Up to 4.8GHz | 2.85GHz | 48MB | 160W |
| AMD Epyc 9016 | 8 | 16 | Up to 4.8GHz | 3.05GHz | 48MB | 130W |
These processors are expected to support existing AM5 socket motherboards and increase the maximum core count to 24. The flagship of the series could also hit a groundbreaking 7GHz boost clock with an astounding 288MB of L3 cache.
Low-power Zen 6 CPU cores could also be scaled down to a new level for portable devices in the future, reportedly including a PlayStation handheld, while new PlayStation and Xbox consoles are expected to launch in 2027 or 2028 with Zen 6 processors.
