Zen 6 vs. Zen 5: Benchmark numbers indicate a big jump in performance
Benchmark results for AMD’s upcoming Zen 6 architecture have surfaced. In a direct comparison, a current server processor shows a significant increase in performance compared to Zen 5 and gives hope for strong Ryzen desktop models.
First performance values for Zen 6
AMD introduced its first Zen 6 chips at the end of July. It was already said in advance that the architecture was much more than just an update for Zen 5. Performance values have now become public that seem to confirm this hope. A Zen 6 server processor from the Epyc series achieves remarkable scores in a benchmark. The Epyc 9996 from the Venice series was tested. The model has 256 computing cores, can process 512 threads in parallel and has an L3 cache of one gigabyte and 256 megabytes of L2 cache. The maximum boost clock is around 4.1 gigahertz. The TDP is 600 watts.
Comparison with Zen 5
Like the now removed entry in the Geekbench database (via HXL on X) shows, the Epyc 9996 achieved a single core score of 2847 points on a Dell PowerEdge R9815 server under Linux. The multi-core rating was 68,427 points. To put the numbers into perspective, a user clocked the current Zen 5 desktop processor Ryzen 7 9700X at exactly 4.1 gigahertz. The comparison system ran under CachyOS Linux and used fast DDR5-6000 RAM with CL34 timings. Under identical clock conditions, the older chip achieved 2444 points.
This certifies that the new architecture has a performance advantage of around 16.5 percent at the same clock frequency. The Zen 6 processor was faster in all 15 individual tests. The increase in HTML5 processing climbed to almost 26 percent. Compared to the Zen 5 server chip Epyc 4545P (5.5 GHz), which achieves 3064 points, there is a computational architecture advantage of around 23 percent per gigahertz.
Outlook for desktop CPUs
The Epyc 9996 tested uses the more compact Zen 6c computing cores. The desktop processors from the Olympic Ridge series expected for 2027 will probably rely on regular cores. Therefore, the above comparison should in no way be interpreted as a confirmed performance gain for future Zen 6 desktop CPUs. Nevertheless, the numbers give an initial glimpse of the direction in which things could go.
At the same time, preparations for Zen 6 are underway on the software side. Windows 11 26H2 supports a new CPPC function for performance prioritization on the processors, which will be added via updates to the chipset driver. The current Linux kernel 7.3 also makes a number of preparations for the chips. However, it is still unknown exactly when the first models will appear for end customers.
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