{
  "id": 16619219,
  "title": "Leaked 256-core Zen 6c EPYC CPU destroys Zen 5 in early single-threaded benchmarks hints at 24% IPC gain",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/26/leaked-256-core-zen-6c-epyc-cpu-destroys-zen-5-in-early-single",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-26T14:31:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/leaked-256-core-zen-6c-epyc-cpu-destroys-zen-5-in-early-single-threaded-benchmarks-hints-at-24-percent-ipc-gain-early-single-threaded-benchmarks-point-to-huge-amd-zen-6-improvements"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "AMD has unveiled the EPYC 9006 family of server CPUs, featuring the 256-core Zen 6c EPYC processors. These processors are set to debut on the market, albeit not for everyday consumers. A recent GeekBench 7 benchmark on one of these CPUs has sparked speculation about a 15% increase in single-threaded IPC. However, HXL (@9550pro) spotted the results, and Russian enthusiast three twenty six (@326powah) directly compared them to a Ryzen 7 9700X desktop CPU. The EPYC 9996 boasts 256 Zen 6c cores across eight Monarch CCDs, each with 128MB of L3 cache split into two 64MB domains for each 16-core CCX. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 9700X has eight Zen 5 cores and 32MB of L3 cache. The EPYC CPU also features a massive 1GB of L3 cache and a 1024-bit memory bus running at 12,800 MT/s, providing 1.64 TB/second of memory bandwidth. In single-threaded benchmarks, the EPYC 9996 outperforms the Ryzen 7 9700X by an estimated 24%, particularly excelling in media processing tests. This suggests that Zen 6 could deliver a significant IPC advantage and potentially a substantial clock speed increase over current-generation parts, making it an exciting development for desktop users.",
  "summary": "A benchmark leak and a direct clock-matched comparison from an enthusiast seed the idea that Zen 6 may come with a decent IPC bump as well as increased clocks.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}