According to a rumor, AMD is looking at a very high maximum configurable thermal design power (cTDP) for its 5th Generation EPYC processors. If the information is accurate, AMD's EPYC 7005-series CPUs, set to be introduced several years from now may feature a cTDP of 600W.
On Thursday, hardware blogger ExecutableFix, who has been very accurate with information they publish, said that AMD's EPYC 'Turin' processor in SP5 form-factor will have a maximum cTDP of 600W, which is more than double compared to cTDP of the latest EPYC 7003-series 'Milan' processors. The information comes from an unofficial source, it is not detailed, and it cannot be verified, so take it with a grain of salt. Yet, there is a rationale behind this information.
AMD's 5th Generation EPYC processors in SP5 form-factor are rumored to feature up to 256 Zen 5 cores. AMD is also rumored to be preparing hybrid processors with integrated CDNA-based compute GPU for high-performance computing (HPC) and datacenter applications. CPUs with up to 256 'fat' cores are poised to consume quite a lot of power, though a 600W cTDP seems a bit high.
AMD's SP5 platform for 4th Generation and 5th Generation EPYC processors is designed to be capable of supplying up to 700W of power for very short periods, according to the Gigabyte leak, so a 600W cTDP may well be true. Meanwhile, cooler makers already list 400W-capable cooling systems for AMD's 4th Generation EPYC 'Genoa' processors (that use the SP5 infrastructure), so it is evident that AMD's next-generation server platforms are designed to support power-hungry CPUs.
Nowadays operators of hyperscale cloud datacenters as well as enterprises with demanding workloads want to have the maximum performance they can get, so AMD and Intel have to offer them CPUs with unbeatable performance that often feature a high TDP. In fact, TDP of server processors have been growing rapidly for about a decade, so it will not be a surprise if next-generation server CPUs consume more power than existing ones. Meanwhile, at times AMD and Intel have to offer select clients custom CPUs that consume significantly more than regular models.
Server-grade platforms are not only meant to support standard processors, but also various custom versions optimized for certain workloads that may have a higher TDPs. Thus, while special versions of AMD's next-generation EPYC processors may indeed boost themselves to 600W, regular SKUs may have considerably lower TDPs. That said, while some of AMD's future EPYC processors may have a cTDP of 600W, it is too early to make assumptions about TDP levels of standard CPUs.