AMD EPYC 7262 socket: SP3

What the EPYC 7262 is

The EPYC 7262 is an 8-core, 16-thread high frequency server processor from Rome. It launched in August 2019 for per core licensed databases with a 3.2 GHz base and up to 3.4 GHz boost at 155 W. Four chiplets feed 128 MB of L3, far more cache per core than entry SKUs.

Few very fast cores with huge cache beat many slower cores for Oracle style licensing. Four megabytes of L2 back the eight cores at high clocks. The 155 W rating reflects sustained boost rather than core count.

Dual socket scaling reaches 16 fast cores per box for licensed clusters. The chip costs more per core than dense parts, which pays back wherever licenses dominate budgets. Latency sensitive trading and telco workloads fit here.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The EPYC 7262 fits SP3 on single and dual socket boards with 155 W delivery. Vendor lists must name the SKU. Rome firmware posts it natively.

High clock operation wants strong VRM cooling even at modest core counts. Dual socket boards double fast cores for licensed scale out. The How to find your CPU socket type guide covers server sockets.

Milan high frequency SKUs later offered similar roles on the same boards with BIOS updates.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Eight channels of DDR4-3200 ECC feed eight cores with abundant bandwidth per thread. Low latency DIMM configurations help licensed databases most. ECC stays on for data integrity.

PCIe Gen4 lanes total 128 per socket for NVMe redo logs and fast NICs. Latency sensitive NICs attach directly to CPU lanes. Up to 160 lanes serve dual socket builds.

The 155 W band needs quality heatsinks with front to back airflow. Boost holds best with cool inlets. No boxed cooler exists.

Where this Rome part fits

Eight fast cores with 128 MB of L3 fit databases licensed per core, where fewer cores slash software bills. Clock speed and cache per core beat thread count for these deals. Telco control planes value the same profile.

Single socket database appliances and dual socket licensed clusters both use this SKU. Pair with low latency NVMe and 25 Gb networking. The AMD EPYC 7252 covers the same core count at lower clocks for less money.

Buyers should model license costs against silicon price before choosing dense alternatives.

Upgrade paths

On SP3 the high frequency path continues to Milan F SKUs with vendor firmware. Core growth to 7272 and beyond trades clocks for threads.

SP5 high clock Genoa parts serve later refreshes. The CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide details heatsink bands.