NUREMBERG, Germany, Mar 17, 2025 – AMD has announced the expansion of its x86 embedded processor portfolio by introducing 5th Gen AMD EPYC Embedded processors.
AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series CPUs are optimized for embedded markets, balancing cutting-edge compute capabilities with purpose-built embedded features that enhance product longevity, reliability, system resiliency, and ease of embedded application development. Powered by the proven “Zen 5” architecture, the processors deliver performance and energy efficiency that enable networking, storage, and industrial edge systems to process more data efficiently.
“AI-driven network traffic, exploding data storage requirements and the expansion of industrial edge computing are driving the demand for higher compute performance in embedded platforms,” said Salil Raje, senior vice president and general manager, adaptive and embedded computing, AMD. “5th Gen AMD EPYC Embedded processors bring leadership performance and efficiency to embedded customers, together with the long product lifecycles and enhanced system resiliency they rely on to design confidently and ensure continuous operations in demanding “always-on” environments.”
Leadership Core Density, Performance, and Energy Efficiency
AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processors are designed to power compute-intensive embedded systems with support for core counts from 8 to 192 in a single socket. Industry-leading core density delivers up to a 1.3X and 1.6X increase in data processing throughput for networking and storage workloads, respectively,1,2 making the devices ideal for network and security firewall platforms, storage systems and industrial control applications.
Using the “Zen 5c” core architecture offers higher throughput with greater energy efficiency, delivering up to an estimated 1.3X increase in socket throughput3 and an estimated 1.3X better performance/Watt4 compared to the competition. Capacity of up to 6TB of DDR5 memory per socket and expanded I/O connectivity, supporting up to 160 PCIe Gen5 lanes with CXL 2.0, enables storage capacity expansion and high-speed data transfers for networking and storage applications.
Purpose-Built, Application-Specific Features
AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processors include a suite of advanced embedded features designed to provide a robust and a secure platform.
Extended Longevity: To meet the longer product lifecycle and operational requirements of embedded markets, AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series CPUs provide 7-year product manufacturing support, helping system designers ensure product availability and reducing redesign and qualification efforts. Additionally, AMD plans to extend design lifetime operation targets from 5 years on currently sampling AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series CPUs to 7 years for production SKUs. Longer design lifespans are essential for embedded systems used in demanding environments. They help reduce unexpected downtime, repairs, and expensive system replacements.
- System Resiliency and Security: Features include NTB (Non-Transparent Bridging) for increased availability in fault-tolerant multi-host configurations. NTB enhances system redundancy and failover capabilities for networking and storage systems by enabling data exchange between two CPUs in active-active configurations via PCI Express (PCIe) to allow continued operation in case of a failure. DRAM Flush enhances reliability in mission-critical storage deployments by helping to prevent data loss in the event of a power failure by flushing it from DRAM to non-volatile memory.
Dual SPI (serial peripheral interface) enables customers to load a secure and proprietary bootloader to authenticate the platform, ensuring a trusted execution environment.
- Ease of application development: Built-in Yocto framework support simplifies embedded system deployments by creating custom Linux distributions that are tailored for the customer’s system. SPDK (Storage Performance Development Kit) and DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit) enhance system performance by handling data processing for network and storage workloads in user space drivers.
Industry Support and Availability
AMD is working with ecosystem partners and leading ODMs and OEMs, including Cisco and IBM, to bring the benefits of the next-gen embedded processors to market.
“We chose AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processor for one of our high-end firewall products because it delivers the high compute performance that we need, from its scalability – up to 192 cores – to its high memory and I/O bandwidth,” said Lukasz Bromirski, director of product management at Cisco. “We know we can count on AMD, not only for great performance but also cutting-edge quality and support and consistent roadmap execution.”
“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.”
AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processors are sampling with early access customers as of the current date, with production shipments expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025. The AMD EPYC Embedded 9005 Series processors come in the SP5 socket form factor, compatible with the prior generations, to provide a simple upgrade path for customers.
“Zen 5” is a code name for AMD architecture and is not a product name.
1 Based on testing by AMD in February 2025, using the DPDK-L3FWD benchmark to measure the throughput uplift of the 5th Gen AMD EPYC Embedded 9655 (96c/192T/@400W TDP) CPU, versus the 4th Gen EPYC Embedded 9654 CPU (96c/192T/@400W TDP). Stated throughput uplift is based on a geomean of the scores recorded for each processor over 4/8/16 cores. Results will vary based on settings, configuration, usage, and other factors. (EEB-002)
2 Based on testing by AMD in February 2025, using the ISA-L and ISA-L Crypto libraries on warm (8KB data size) and cold (64MB data size) settings, to test the performance of the 5th Gen AMD EPYC Embedded 9455 processor (48c/96T/@300W) configured on an AMD reference platform, with single-rank 576GB DDR5 (24x 24GB DIMMs @6000 MT/s) memory, Ubuntu 22.04 O/S (default settings) and custom BIOS settings (Boost frequency enable, NPS1) versus a similarly configured 4th Gen AMD EPYC Embedded 9454 processor (48c/96T/@290W). Results are based on a geomean of the scores recorded on warm and cold settings. Results will vary based on configuration, settings, usage, and other factors. (EEB-001)
3 Estimated integer throughput uplift is based on 5th Gen AMD EPYC 9965 processor test results compared to 6th Gen Intel Xeon 6980P processor test results, on the SPECrate 2017_int_base benchmark. Scores published on Spec.org in December 2024. Results may vary based on settings, configuration, usage, and other factors. AMD EPYC 9965 CPU Scores: https://www.spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q4/cpu2017-20241004-44979.html. INTEL XEON 6980P CPU Scores: https://spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2025q1/cpu2017-20241230-45863.html (EEB-005)
4 Estimated results based on 5th Gen EPYC Embedded 9965 processor test results compared to 6th Gen Intel Xeon 6980 processor test results, on the SPECrate 2017_int_base benchmark. Scores published on Spec.org in December 2024. Results may vary based on settings, configuration, usage, and other factors. AMD EPYC Embedded 9965 CPU Scores (performance score 3100 @ 1000W- Perf/W-3.1): https://www.spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2024q4/cpu2017-20241004-44979.html INTEL XEON 6980P CPU Scores (performance score 2420 @ 1000W- Perf/W- 2.4): https://spec.org/cpu2017/results/res2025q1/cpu2017-20241230-45863.html (EEB-010)
Source: AMD
About AMD
AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization technologies. AMD designs and manufactures central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), chipsets, and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, serving industries such as computing, gaming, data centers, and embedded systems. The company’s product portfolio includes desktop and laptop processors, professional graphics cards, and server processors, marketed under brands like Ryzen, Radeon, and EPYC. AMD operates globally in Santa Clara, CA, with significant operations in Austin, TX. As of December 31, 2024, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) employed approximately 28,000 individuals worldwide. In 2024, AMD reported revenue of $25.8 billion.