AMD 100-100000048WOF

The AMD EPYC 7402P is a 24-core server chip with a huge 128MB L3 cache and top-10% multi-thread performance. At $450 USD, it's a bargain for homelab virtualization and parallel workloads. Single-thread performance is just average, so it's not a desktop chip. If you need cores per dollar, this is one of the best deals on the used market right now.

The multi-thread score of 43,288 in PassMark puts this chip in the top 10% of everything we track. That's genuinely impressive for a five-year-old server part. For context, that's roughly double what you'd get from a modern 12-core desktop chip. The 128MB of L3 cache does real work here. Database queries, VM density, compile jobs, anything that thrashes memory benefits from that huge cache pool. The 204.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth per socket keeps those 24 cores fed without choking.

Single-thread is where the age shows. A score of 1,992 lands right around the middle of the pack. The 3.4GHz boost clock just can't keep up with modern desktop parts pushing 5.5GHz or higher. For workloads that depend on one fast core, like certain game servers or single-threaded scientific code, this chip will feel sluggish. But for the stuff servers actually do, running dozens of containers or VMs, the core count wins. The 180W TDP is also reasonable. You're getting 24 cores at 7.5W per core, which is solid efficiency for this class of chip.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is a completely different animal. It's a desktop chip with far better single-thread performance and modern platform features like DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. But it has fewer cores and costs more. If your workload is mixed, with some single-threaded tasks, the Intel part wins. If you're running a homelab with 20 VMs, the EPYC crushes it on core count per dollar.

The D&H Core i9 BX80673I99980X is an older Intel HEDT part. It's also aging, but it has better single-thread performance than the EPYC. The trade-off is core count and memory bandwidth. The EPYC's 128MB of L3 and 204.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth blow the i9 out of the water for memory-hungry workloads. The G.Skill Trident Z Neo isn't even a CPU, so that's a weird comparison in our database. The CG CHIPS GATE part is a communications processor, not a general-purpose CPU. Different use case entirely.

Pricing on this chip is all over the map. In the US, you can find it for $450. In Europe, listings range from EUR 867 to EUR 1,055 depending on the store. That's a EUR 188 spread, which is wild. If you're in the EU, shop around. The cheapest listing we found is significantly below the top end, and it's the same chip. The CAD listing at 772 and GBP at 592 also look reasonable when you factor in local market conditions.

For $450 USD, this is a steal. You're getting 24 cores with top-tier multi-thread performance for less than the price of a mid-range desktop CPU. The catch is the platform cost. You need an SP3 motherboard, ECC DDR4, and a decent cooler. Those add up. But used SP3 boards are flooding the market as datacenters retire first-gen EPYC systems. If you can snag a board for $200-300, the total platform cost stays under $800. That's hard to beat for a 24-core virtualization host.

The AMD EPYC 7402P is a server chip that refuses to act its age. We're looking at a 2nd Gen Rome part from 2019, but the specs still raise eyebrows in 2024. 24 cores, 48 threads, a fat 128MB of L3 cache, and a 180W TDP that's almost polite by modern server standards. This is the P-suffix model, which means single-socket only. AMD locked that down to keep pricing sane for smaller shops and homelabbers who don't need a two-socket beast.

Who's this for? Someone building a virtualization box, a NAS that does actual work, or a budget render farm. The 7402P slots into existing SP3 boards, which are dirt cheap on the used market right now. You can grab a retired Supermicro or Gigabyte board for a fraction of what a new SP5 platform costs. That changes the value math completely. This isn't a chip you buy for a brand new enterprise deployment. It's a chip you buy because the platform around it got cheap.

What makes it interesting is the core count per dollar. 24 Zen 2 cores with 128MB of L3 for under $500 USD in some listings. That's a lot of parallel grunt for not much money. The single-thread story is less exciting, but we'll get into that. If your workload scales across cores, this thing still punches way above its price class.

Skip this if you're building a desktop workstation or gaming PC. The single-thread performance will drive you nuts in everyday use. Applications that lean on one fast core, like Photoshop, most games, and some CAD tools, will feel sluggish compared to even a mid-range modern desktop chip. You'd be better served by a Ryzen 7 or Core i7 with higher clock speeds.

Also skip it if you need modern platform features. This is a DDR4 platform with PCIe 4.0. No DDR5, no PCIe 5.0, no USB4. If you're building a new system from scratch and want upgrade headroom, a modern platform makes more sense. The EPYC 7402P is for people who want cheap cores now, not future-proofing.

For a homelab virtualization server, this chip is a no-brainer at $450. 24 cores, 48 threads, and 128MB of L3 cache will run a dozen VMs without breaking a sweat. Pair it with a cheap used SP3 board and 64GB of ECC DDR4, and you've got a serious server for under a grand. The single-thread weakness doesn't matter when you're running Proxmox or ESXi with a pile of containers.

For a workstation or gaming rig, look elsewhere. The 2.8GHz base clock and mediocre single-thread score will frustrate you in day-to-day desktop use. This is a server chip, and it acts like one. If you need a mix of single-thread speed and core count, a modern desktop chip like the Core Ultra 9 or a Ryzen 9 makes more sense. But if you know you need cores and cache above all else, the 7402P delivers.