AMD’s EPYC Verano AI Host CPU will use a special SB1 socket – Zen 6 chipset 72 cores with a 24-channel LPDDR5X memory subsystem
AMD’s upcoming EPYC 9006-series ‘Verano’ CPUs, designed specifically for AI servers, will use an all-new SB1 socket and require different cooling systems than other processors in the lineup, according to a listing at Dynatron, a leading manufacturer of server coolers, discovered by InstLatX64. The new SB1 socket will be smaller than SP7 and SP8 sockets for other Zen 6-based EPYC CPUs and will therefore have different power and cooling needs.
AMD’s Verano is very different from conventional EPYC processors. The CPU will have up to 72 Zen 6 cores operating at up to 5 GHz and a massive 24-channel LPDDR5X memory subsystem that uses replaceable SOCAM2 modules. AMD is positioning Verano as a host processor for AI servers, where CPUs primarily orchestrate workloads running on AI accelerators rather than providing maximum general-purpose performance themselves. Such specialization could explain why AMD developed SB1 instead of using SP7, which accommodates up to 256-core EPYC ‘Venice’ processors, or SP8, designed for models with up to 128 cores. Meanwhile, AMD has yet to reveal the specifications, dimensions or capabilities of the SB1.
In fact, given the Verano’s highly specialized role as a host processor for AI accelerators, AMD may not need to offer a wide range of Verano SKUs typical of its general-purpose EPYC families. If Verano is deployed in systems with a predetermined number of Instinct accelerators, AMD could offer only one or a small number of CPU configurations to ensure a consistent ratio of CPU cores, memory bandwidth, and host-to-accelerator connectivity per GPU and simplify power, cooling, and system qualification, something Nvidia does with its Grace and Vera processors.
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If AMD decides to take a page from Nvidia’s book, this explains why it intends to use a special SB1 socket instead of using existing ones. Instead of supporting a wide range of CPU configurations compatible with SP7 and SP8 sockets and systems, SB1 could be optimized for one or several CPU SKUs, its 24-channel LPDDR5X memory subsystem, and a special system topology. Note that AMD hasn’t announced how many Verano SKUs it plans to offer, so consider our thoughts speculation for now.
(Image credit: Dynatron)
Dynatron’s preliminary SB1-4U-Active Cooler provides the first indication of what kind of cooling Verano requires. The 4U unit measures 128.05 × 106.6 × 130.7 mm and uses an aluminum fin stack combined with a vapor chamber and heat pipes. The unit is equipped with a double ball bearing that operates up to 6,000 RPM and delivers up to 91.7 CFM of airflow, making it a very powerful device.
It is noteworthy that these specifications are virtually identical to those of Dynatron’s J26 4U cooler for AMD’s much larger SP7 CPUs, to the degree that even the dimensions are similar. This may either indicate that Dynatron reused the J26 design for SB1, or simply copied and pasted the J26 specs onto the product page of the SB1-4U-Active Cooler to use as a placeholder until the actual cooler is finalized.
For now, Dynatron does not specify the maximum supported processor power of the cooler, so its listing cannot currently be used to determine the Verano’s TDP with confidence. Nevertheless, a large vapor chamber-based 4U active cooler suggests that Verano will be a server processor with a fairly high power consumption despite significantly fewer cores than the higher-end EPYC ‘Venice’ CPUs for general purpose workloads.
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AMD plans to launch Verano in the second half of 2027.
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