AMD’s Epyc 9004 generation with up to 96 processor cores has been on a wave of success since its release in autumn 2023, steadily chipping away at rival Intel’s market share. To support these 96 cores, AMD equipped the system with 12 memory channels, allowing them to achieve maximum memory transfer rates and capacity.
Recently, AMD’s servers had been missing the full memory configuration, with no servers capable of utilizing the 12 memory channels with two registered DIMMs per channel. This raised concerns, as more memory is typically a selling point for servers.
However, mainboard manufacturers have listed products with 24 RDIMMs, such as the GENOAD24QM3-2L2T/BCM from AsrockRack or Transport CX GC68A-B8056 from Tyan. Two-socket boards for up to 12 TB of total memory have yet to be found.
Rumors then spread that there was a hardware bug in the AMD server processor, and a firmware patch was required for stable operation in 2-DPC mode. AMD has now confirmed that an updated firmware has been delivered to OEM partners, with availability expected by the end of the first quarter of 2023. However, AMD has not yet responded to a request from c’t.
Overall, AMD’s Epyc 9004 generation has been a success, but there have been some concerns regarding memory configuration and hardware bugs. However, with an updated firmware already delivered to partners, these issues may soon be resolved.
