AMD has announced today that all EPYC Genoa processors would soon have support for 2DPC memory configuration. The company has already sent motherboard upgrades.
AMD's new server processors deliver superior performance and offer many advanced interfaces, including 12 channels of DDR5 memory. However, EPYC Genoa was only introduced with support for DDR5 memory in a single DIMM per channel configuration, which means that only one DDR5 module may be connected to each of the twelve memory channels inside the processor.
AMD promised to release a software update for 2DPC support in the first quarter of 2023. In certain situations and configurations, this mode allows you to double the memory subsystem's capacity and speed.
AMD has announced that 2DPC support does not require a factory reset or chip modification, rather a BIOS upgrade. The company has already provided all the necessary documentation to OEM partners and board manufacturers for the use of these features.
EPYC Genoa processors have been awarded a new record for x86 processors, while in the 1DPC configuration both processors support DDR5 with a nominal frequency of 4800 MHz.
AMD's decision to provide EPYC Genoa without 2DPC support in the first phase is reasonable, since demand for 2DPC configurations is expected to be much lower. However, with 12 memory channels in a 1DPC configuration, AMD can already support up to 6TB of memory per processor socket.
Even if you have 24 DIMM slots for a 1DPC configuration, you will have a lot of problems due to a lack of space. A two-socket server would require 48 slots, according to experts.
AMD partners must already use special "narrow" memory slots for Genoa motherboards to fit 12 slots next to the socket. There have been several instances of physical damage to DIMM slots on the motherboard, although this does not imply that the platform is experiencing "no" memory slots.
The difficulties in 2DPC mode go beyond just the physical placement of memory slots. Increasing the number of channels leads to a slower memory speed, and increasing the number of channels leads to additional system complexity. Even simple additions of empty slots can reduce the maximum memory speed.
DDR5 requires more complex motherboard designs with more layers and better materials than DDR4, which drives up the cost. The task becomes more complicated as the nominal frequency of memory modules increases, and market insiders speculate that support for the 2DPC mode may come to an end with the introduction of DDR6 memory.
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