AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs: 32 cores, 64 threads, 8 memory channels, 128 PCIe lanes

Re:AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs: 32 cores, 64 threads, 8 memory channe... by chao- on Thursday June 15, 2017 @10:24PM (#14566195)

I wouldn't be so sure. As Intel's customers, the cloud providers are very interested in not seeing Intel maintain the near-monopoly they have inched toward over the last 5 years. They don't want to pay $7K each for the highest performance Xeon if it could be $6K in a slightly more competitive market. So much so that Google and others joined the OpenPOWER Foundation. Whether that was just for signaling alone, or if they legitimately thought a POWER8 chip would come available that met their needs, I of course do not know.

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Re:AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs: 32 cores, 64 threads, 8 memory channe... by nodesocket on Thursday June 15, 2017 @10:26PM (#14566201)

I agree, but there is inherent risk to switching for a cloud provider, even though AMD might offer a cheaper and faster CPU.

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Re:AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs: 32 cores, 64 threads, 8 memory channe... by arcanus on Thursday June 15, 2017 @10:49PM (#14566307)

Certainly a risk, but this is Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook we are talking about here. The largest public companies in the world. Some of the most technologically advanced as well. If they cannot bring pressure to Intel, no one can.

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Re:AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs: 32 cores, 64 threads, 8 memory channe... by wmf on Thursday June 15, 2017 @11:57PM (#14566584)

Cloud providers aren't going to switch fully to AMD, but I wouldn't be surprised if they buy a mix like 70% Intel / 30% AMD.

There may be a situation, however, where the servers that are rented to customers are 100% Intel which would perpetuate the appearance of a monopoly even if it no longer exists.

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