AMD EPYC 8534P / EPYC 8534PN Benchmarks - Siena Delivers Incredible Value & Energy Efficiency For Linux Servers

Across a range of 80+ benchmarks carried out, the AMD EPYC 8534PN NEBS-compliant processor effectively matched the Xeon Platinum 8468 running in six channels DDR5 memory, matching the RAM configuration of EPYC Siena. With the AMD EPYC 8534P flagship OPN, the performance out-of-the-box was just past the Xeon Platinum 8468. In operating the AMD EPYC 8564P/8564PN processors in the power determinism mode, there was more breathing room compared to the Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids competition. Or if putting the EPYC 8564P in its 225 Watt cTDP mode and keeping in power determinism, there was about 10% better performance than the EPYC 8534P at its defaults.

The strong raw performance though is just one aspect: the EPYC 8534PN is listed for $5450 USD and the EPYC 8534P for $4950 USD... The Xeon Platinum 8468 is listed for north of $7200 USD. The AMD EPYC 8534P(N) typically delivered similar or better performance to that Xeon Platinum Sapphire Rapids processor with around 30% lower cost for CPU pricing. In addition to the lower CPU pricing, the six channel memory will lead to lower upfront costs and the cooling requirements are lower with the EPYC 8004 series.

While the initial processor cost savings is one aspect, the TCO story is where the AMD EPYC Siena processors can really enjoy some big time cost savings. Even when the AMD EPYC 8534P was in power determinism mode and running at its upper cTDP limit of 225 Watts, the EPYC 8534P was still pulling much less power than the Xeon Platinum 8468. The Xeon Platinum 8468 reported TDP by Intel is 350 Watts to the EPYC 8534P default TDP rating of 200 Watts and the EPYC 8534PN at 175 Watts. These CPU power consumption numbers are for the duration of all the benchmarks carried out from mixed single and multi-threaded workloads and covering all the different areas under test. The AMD EPYC 8534P(N) processors were typically operating at around the lows of the Xeon Platinum 8468 power consumption that will lead to long-term power savings as well as reduced cooling needs and ultimately delivering better TCO than alternative solutions.

AMD EPYC Zen 4C processors really steal the show when talking power efficiency and TCO. The AMD EPYC 8534P(N) processors delivered excellent 1P performance on six channels of DDR5 memory. While for this article the focus was on monitoring the CPU power consumption, getting by with two less DIMMs as well as reduced system cooling needs compared to more power hungry Intel Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids servers will ultimately lead to significant long-term savings.

Public pricing on assembled AMD EPYC Siena servers is limited so far but given the six channel memory, 1P only design, and reduced complexity compared to the EPYC 9004 series should lead to some quite competitive pricing and in relation to similar Intel Xeon Scalable servers.

The past year of benchmarking the AMD EPYC 9004 series has continued proving remarkable for delivering fantastic performance for HPC and other areas with up to 12 channels of memory, up to two sockets, 96 cores with Genoa or 128 cores with Bergamo, the heavy cache with Genoa-X, and across the board delivering the cream of the crop performance for this generation of servers. Now with the AMD EPYC 8004 series -- headlined by the flagship EPYC 8534P(N) processors -- it really drives Zen 4(C) servers in a new direction for those most concerned about value and power efficiency such as for edge deployments and applications both inside and outside the data center. The AMD EPYC 8004 Siena processors deliver exceptional single-socket server TCO all the while still being able to compete with Intel's current Xeon Platinum "Sapphire Rapids" processors in raw performance too.