Overclocking expert Der8auer has published a new video showing his interest in computing performance beyond the realms of PCs and x86 processors. In the video embedded below, Der8auer looked closely at the Ampere Altra Max Q80-30 core processor. He covers an overview of the architecture, the platform, does some benchmarking and, finally, delids this sizable chip.
The Ampere Altra featured is an 80-core, 80-thread part. The cores used are built using the Arm v8 architecture on TSMC's N7 fabrication process. This results in a sizable package, with a plethora of pads, using the LGA4926 socket. Other essential stats you should know are that the Ampere Altra Max Q80-30 runs at up to 3.0GHz, and in testing the system power consumption at idle was 35W. The TDP of the processor is 210W, says Der8auer. There is also a 128 core Altra Max, with a TDP of 250W.
Benchmarks
Der8auer decided to run Geekbench 5 on a server powered by one of the 80-core Ampere chips, to get a measure of its capabilities. After the test completed, the following scores were recorded. We have put in some comparisons, for you to get a handle of the performance on offer, as well as the HWBot world record multithreaded score from a 64C/128T Threadripper 3990X OC with liquid cooling. The 1T Threadripper score below was also completed with liquid cooling and a ~50% overclock.
| Altra Max Q80-30 | Threadripper 3990X |
Core i9-12900K | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cores / Threads |
80 / 80 |
64 / 128 |
16 / 24 |
|
Geekbench 1T |
882 |
1.328 |
1,987 |
|
Geekbench nT |
44,425 |
34,735 |
17,278 |
As well as being impressed by the multithreaded score, Derb8auer noted that the power efficiency of the Arm-based chip was “double” its x86 competitors. During the 1T tests, the Ampere 80-core system consumed about 90W max, and when nT tests began it never went beyond about 300W. Moreover, temperatures never went beyond about 65 degrees Celcius with a basic-looking heatsink and blower cooler equipped.
Delidding
After initial attempts to delid using a razor blade didn’t seem to work, Der8auer moved over to a vice, where he managed to pop the integrated heat spreader (IHS) off quite quickly. The first surprise was that Ampere used just glue and thermal paste. It was expected that the firm would use a solder TIM. But no, a standard-looking gray gloop was present, squished between the silicon and IHS.
Measurements were made and the 80-core chip’s die size was 22.5 x 25.5mm (574mm2). Der8auer reckons the die size is comparable to the old Intel Core i9-7980XE (18C/36T, 480mm2), however the package of the Ampere chip is so much bigger due to the connectivity (128 PCIe lanes) it offers.
Apple seems to have had some success moving from x86 to the Arm architecture in recent years. Meanwhile, in PC land, we are still waiting for Qualcomm to really impress us with its upcoming Nuvia-designed Arm for PC chips. The first Qualcomm Nuvia CPU products are on track to sample this year.
