Among all Arm architecture server processor manufacturers, Ampere Computing stands out as the most radical. The company has now announced an ambitious roadmap to achieve an unprecedented 512 cores!
Ampere's current AmpereOne series boasts up to 192 cores, released just last year. This processor features a 5nm manufacturing process, ARMv8.6+ instruction set, a stable frequency of up to 3.0GHz, eight channels of DDR5 memory, 128 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and a power consumption range of 200-350W.
Next in line, AmpereOne M will be upgraded to a 5nm process with 192 cores and 12 channels of DDR5 memory, available in the fourth quarter of this year.
AmpereOne MX will push the boundary further with 256 cores, ranking first in the world. It will utilize a 3nm process and also support 12 channels of DDR5 memory, claiming more than a 40% performance advantage over competing products in the market.
The 512-core processor, codenamed AmpereOne Aurora, may use Intel's 18A process, equivalent to 1.8nm, as the two companies have reached an OEM agreement.
With this massive core count, the performance is claimed to be over three times higher than current models. For the first time, Ampere will integrate AI IP and high-bandwidth memory at the hardware level for AI inference and training.
Further, it will support extensible grid technology to seamlessly connect various types of computing expansion devices.
Despite these powerful specifications, the energy efficiency remains high. Air cooling alone will be sufficient to meet cooling requirements, without needing liquid cooling.
Additionally, the Ampere Altra series will not receive further updates. The existing 80/128 core models with a 7nm process and eight channels of DDR4 memory will continue to be supplied until at least 2030.