AMD EPYC 74F3 24c/48t 3.2GHz-4.0GHz 240W (100-000000317)

AMD EPYC 74F3 Server CPU

Positioning and role in the EPYC 7003 lineup

AMD EPYC 74F3 is a 3rd Gen EPYC “Milan” processor from AMD’s F-series, designed for workloads where high sustained frequency and low latency are the primary performance drivers. This SKU targets enterprise and cloud environments that require fast per-core execution, predictable response times, and strong performance for workloads that do not scale efficiently with very high core counts. Within the EPYC 7003 family, the 74F3 is positioned as a frequency-optimized solution for performance-critical application tiers.

Core configuration, frequency behavior, and execution profile

The processor provides 24 cores and 48 threads, operating at a 3.2 GHz base clock with boost frequencies up to 4.0 GHz. This clock profile allows EPYC 74F3 to sustain higher all-core frequencies compared to many throughput-focused EPYC models. In practice, this makes it particularly effective for workloads where execution time is influenced by serialized code paths, lock contention, or latency-sensitive operations.

Zen 3 cores deliver strong instructions-per-clock improvements and consistent execution characteristics, enabling EPYC 74F3 to maintain stable performance under continuous load. The frequency-focused design prioritizes predictable performance over short burst boosts, which is important for enterprise environments with strict service-level requirements.

Cache architecture and memory access characteristics

EPYC 74F3 includes 256 MB of L3 cache, providing a substantial cache-to-core ratio for a frequency-optimized processor. This large cache helps reduce dependency on DRAM and improves latency consistency for workloads with hot data sets, such as databases, in-memory services, and high-performance middleware layers.

The processor supports DDR4-3200 memory across 8 memory channels, a core advantage of the EPYC platform. When memory is populated symmetrically, EPYC 74F3 delivers high aggregate memory bandwidth per socket. Combined with the large L3 cache, this allows efficient handling of mixed workloads that alternate between compute-intensive and memory-access–intensive phases.

I/O capabilities and platform integration

EPYC 74F3 supports PCI Express 4.0 with up to 128 lanes per socket, enabling dense NVMe storage configurations and high-speed networking without external PCIe switches. This I/O capacity makes it suitable for performance-oriented server designs where fast storage and network throughput are essential.

The processor uses the SP3 socket and supports both single-socket and dual-socket server configurations, depending on platform validation. This flexibility allows EPYC 74F3 to be deployed in a wide range of enterprise server architectures, from performance-focused 1P systems to scalable 2P platforms.

Power characteristics and deployment considerations

EPYC 74F3 is rated at 240 W TDP, reflecting its high-frequency design and large cache configuration. Adequate server-grade cooling and airflow are required to maintain sustained performance under continuous load. When deployed in properly designed platforms, the processor delivers consistent and predictable performance suitable for latency-sensitive enterprise workloads.

Ideal use cases and selection guidance

EPYC 74F3 is best suited for environments that prioritize fast cores and predictable latency. Typical use cases include performance-critical database servers, low-latency enterprise applications and middleware, financial services and transaction-heavy systems, and virtualization hosts running latency-sensitive virtual machines. It is an effective choice when profiling shows that frequency and latency, rather than raw parallelism or extreme cache size, are the dominant performance factors.