• AMD’s EPYC 4005 Series boosts performance over older Intel Xeon chips.
• Delivers strong performance-per-dollar and offers lower power options.

AMD has rolled out its EPYC 4005 Series processors, a new line built to meet the needs of small businesses and hosted IT providers. The CPUs sit between high-end data centre chips and desktop-class processors – offering power, flexibility, and cost efficiency in a smaller footprint.

The 4005 Series uses AMD’s Zen 5 architecture and keeps the AM5 socket from the previous 4004 lineup. It’s designed for use in a variety of form factors, from single-socket servers to blades and towers. This makes it practical for organisations that don’t need large-scale deployment but still want modern CPU performance.

In early tests, AMD claims the top-end 16-core EPYC 4565P delivers up to 1.83x the performance of Intel’s 6th-gen Xeon 6300P, based on the Phoronix test suite. The Xeon 6300P, built on the Ice Lake platform, launched in 2021 and still powers many SMB systems today. So while the comparison skips over Intel’s latest server chips, it’s still relevant for buyers upgrading older hardware. The takeaway is clear: AMD sees an opportunity to win over users who’ve delayed a refresh.

Of course, raw numbers don’t tell the full story. It’s worth knowing which workloads were tested in Phoronix. Some benchmarks focus on CPU performance, others on memory or storage. Still, AMD is signalling that Zen 5 can deliver more throughput, especially in server environments where ageing Xeon systems are still common.

Compared to the 4004 Series, the upgrades in the 4005 lineup are meaningful. Zen 5 offers better instructions per cycle numbers – around 10 – 15% more, according to early architecture reports. This comes from improvements to the branch prediction engine and front-end design. The result is smoother execution in a range of server workloads.

The EPYC 4565P pushes up to 5.7 GHz boost clock with a 170W TDP. The 4545P has the same core count at a lower TDP of 65W. Both offer faster speeds than their Zen 4 counterparts and stay in the same thermal envelope. That matters for deployments where power budgets or cooling limits are tight.

The platform continues support for PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory, giving system builders headroom for future upgrades. But the main gain is the improved boost behaviour and energy efficiency baked into the Zen 5 design.

AMD is also leaning into the value side of the equation. A quick look at the price breakdown shows a strong performance-per-dollar story. The 4565P is priced at $589, which works out to about $36.81 per core. The 4545P – 16 cores at 65W – is $549. Even the 12-core 4465P offers solid numbers at $399. The prices put AMD in direct range of Intel’s Xeon Bronze and Silver offerings but with newer architecture and more aggressive clock speeds.

For buyers focused on energy use, the 65W chips stand out. The CPUs offer high core density with lower power draw, making them ideal for always-on hosting or virtualised workloads. They’re also a good fit for multi-node deployments where space and power consumption add up fast.

AMD is backing the 4005 Series with support from system vendors including Lenovo, ASRock Rack, Gigabyte, MiTAC, MSI, Supermicro, and Vultr. Partners are targeting IT teams looking for dependable performance without the overhead of full data centre infrastructure.

“Growing businesses and dedicated hosters often face significant constraints around budget, complexity, and deployment timelines,” said Derek Dicker, corporate vice president of AMD’s Enterprise and HPC group. “With the latest AMD EPYC 4005 Series CPUs, we are delivering the right balance of performance, simplicity, and affordability, giving our customers and system partners the ability to deploy enterprise-class solutions that solve everyday business challenges,” a company release states.

Lenovo says it’s offering tailored systems powered by the new chips for businesses looking to prepare for AI-ready infrastructure. “Together, we’re enabling cost-effective, reliable systems that provide enterprise-class features for growing businesses,” said Senthil Reddy, executive director at Lenovo’s Infrastructure Solutions Group.

Others, like OVHcloud and Supermicro, emphasise the energy savings and pricing advantages. “The solutions provide outstanding performance price ratio and scalability for innovative and demanding workloads,” said Yaniv Fdida, chief product and technology officer at OVHcloud.

Supermicro’s Vik Malyala said the company is expanding its offerings with 1U, 2U, and multi-node platforms based on the EPYC 4005 Series, and Vultr has announced immediate support for bare metal and cloud instances based on the chips.

As always, what matters most is how the CPUs perform in real-world workloads. But on paper, the EPYC 4005 Series makes a strong case. It targets a gap in the market – businesses that need enterprise-grade features without enterprise-scale costs. And it does that with the latest Zen 5 cores, competitive pricing, and a focus on performance per watt.