2nd Gen AMD EPYC™ Processors Now Delivering More Computing Power to Amazon Web Services Customers

Rhea-AI Summary

AMD has launched its 2nd Gen EPYC processors for Amazon EC2 C5a instances, available in the AWS U.S. East, U.S. West, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions. These processors operate at frequencies up to 3.3GHz and support up to 96 virtual CPUs. The C5a instances promise leadership x86 price-performance for compute-intensive workloads, such as batch processing and web applications. This move enhances AMD's collaboration with AWS, providing customers with options that optimize performance and cost.

Positive

• Launch of 2nd Gen AMD EPYC processors for AWS EC2 C5a instances enhances AMD's market presence.
• C5a instances deliver leadership x86 price-performance, appealing to compute-intensive workloads.
• Availability in multiple global AWS regions increases accessibility for customers.

Negative

• None.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced that 2^nd Gen AMD EPYC™ processor powered Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) C5a instances are now generally available in the AWS U.S. East, AWS U.S. West, AWS Europe and AWS Asia Pacific regions.

Powered by a 2^nd Gen AMD EPYC processor running at frequencies up to 3.3Ghzⁱ, the Amazon EC2 C5a instances are the sixth instance family at AWS powered by AMD EPYC processors. By using the 2^nd Gen AMD EPYC processor, the C5a instance delivers leadership x86 price-performance for a broad set of compute-intensive workloads including batch processing, distributed analytics, data transformations, log analytics and web applications.

Available in eight configurations, with up to 96 virtual CPUs, the Amazon EC2 C5a instances take advantage of high core counts from the AMD EPYC processor to offer the lowest cost per x86 virtual CPU in the Amazon EC2 portfolio. This provides customers with an additional choice for optimal performance and cost across a variety of compute intensive workloads, including video game development and hosting which take advantage of the high CPU core counts and memory ratios provided by C5a.

“The 2^nd Gen AMD EPYC processors deliver the levels of performance required for our customers to confidently bring compute-focused workloads to the cloud,” said Forrest Norrod, senior vice president and general manager, Data Center and Embedded Solutions Group, AMD. “With the new Amazon EC2 C5a instances, we are strategically expanding our presence and capabilities with AWS. Even more importantly, together we are helping to continuously improve the end user cloud experience.”

“Together, AMD and AWS offer customers great flexibility and choice of compute options to help them optimize both performance and cost for a wide range of workloads,” said David Brown, Vice President, Amazon EC2, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “Since launching Amazon EC2 R5a, M5a, and T3a instances powered by 1st gen AMD EPYC processors, we’ve seen customers move many general purpose and memory optimized workloads to take advantage of the AMD EPYC processor capabilities and 10% lower prices over comparable instances. With the availability of Amazon EC2 C5a instances based on the 2^nd gen AMD EPYC processors, customers now have a new option that enables better performance and cost for a variety of compute intensive workloads, as well.”

AMD and AWS have provided customers with high performance, cost effective options since early 2018 with five Amazon EC2 instance families (M5a, M5ad, R5a, R5ad and T3a) spanning more than 15 global AWS Regions. The new Amazon EC2 C5a instances with 2^nd Gen AMD EPYC™ processors are available now in the AWS U.S. East, AWS U.S. West, AWS Europe, and AWS Asia Pacific regions. Disk variants, Amazon EC2 C5ad, that come with local NVMe instance storage and bare metal variants, Amazon EC2 C5an.metal and Amazon EC2 C5adn.metal, are coming soon.

The AWS compute optimized EC2 instances are a direct result of the ongoing collaboration between AWS and AMD. Read more about the 2^nd Gen AMD EPYC™ processor and AWS’s EC2 Instance general availability here.  

Supporting Resources

• Read more about C5a in the AWS blog here
  
• Learn more about the AMD 2^nd Gen EPYC^TM Processor
  
• Become a fan of AMD on Facebook
  
• Follow AMD on Twitter

About AMD
For more than 50 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies ― the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers, leading Fortune 500 businesses and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work and play. AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, Facebook and Twitter pages.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, EPYC and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

ⁱ Max boost for AMD EPYC processors is the maximum frequency achievable by any single core on the processor under normal operating conditions for server systems. EPYC-18

Contact:
Aaron Grabein
AMD Communications
(512) 602-8950


Laura Graves
AMD Investor Relations
(408) 749-5467

FAQ

What are the features of AMD's 2nd Gen EPYC processors now available with AWS EC2 C5a instances?

The processors feature up to 96 virtual CPUs and operate at frequencies up to 3.3GHz, providing leadership x86 price-performance.

When did AMD announce the availability of the 2nd Gen EPYC processors for AWS EC2 C5a instances?

AMD announced the availability on June 4, 2020.

How do the new C5a instances compare in cost to other AWS EC2 options?

The C5a instances offer the lowest cost per x86 virtual CPU in the Amazon EC2 portfolio.

In which regions are the AMD-powered EC2 C5a instances available?

The C5a instances are available in AWS U.S. East, U.S. West, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions.

What types of workloads can benefit from the AMD EPYC processors in the new EC2 C5a instances?

They are ideal for batch processing, distributed analytics, data transformations, log analytics, and web applications.