China Zhaoxin’s new server processor cores reach 96, known as performance catching AMD EPYC processor

China's processor manufacturer Zhaoxin recently launched the KX-7000N consumer-level processor and the KH-50000 server processor at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). The KH-50000 specification is comparable to the Ultramicro (AMD) EPYC series, showing the ambition of narrowing the gap between Chinese CPU industry and world-class manufacturers.

Tom's Hardware reports that the KH-50000 server processor is a practical test chamber mass, reaching 96 cores, three times the number of cores of the Gigacore model. It is comparable to the EPYC 9004 series of AMD's Genoa, showing the competitiveness of the Gigacore high-level server market. Although Zhaoxin did not disclose whether the KH-50000 does not adopt synchronous multi-enforcement (SMT) or other new architectures like the KH-40000, the significantly upgraded specifications and functions imply that it is likely to adopt a brand new architecture.

The specification of KH-50000 includes 96 cores, with a base time ranging from 2.2~3.0GHz, and is equipped with 384MB of L3 cache, which is six times that of the previous generation KH-40000 (64MB). It is worth noting that this is exactly the same as the L3 cache capacity of the AMD Genoa processor. In addition, it supports 128 PCIe 5.0 channels, providing extremely high data transmission width, and also supports 12-channel DDR5 ECC memory. Interconnect technology adopts Compute Express Link (CXL) architecture, supporting ZPI (Zhaoxin Processor Interconnect) 5.0. That is, partners are allowed to install two or four chips on a single motherboard, further reaching a system of up to 384 cores, greatly improving computing power. These powerful specifications similar to AMD Genoa processors have made the KH-50000 a powerful tool to challenge the server market in the Gigatronics market.

In the consumer market, Zhaoxin grasped the trend of AI PC and released the KX-7000N processor, which is likely to be based on the KX-7000 first, but the name "N" represents the addition of a new neural network processing unit (NPU) for AI tasks. It is not only Zhaoxin's first NPU chip, but also represents an important step in artificial intelligence computing.

Although Zhaoxin has not announced the detailed specifications of the KX-7000N, it is confirmed that it has more cores and strengthens its support for PCIe 5.0. Currently, the KX-7000 only supports PCIe 4.0, which is a significant upgrade. At the WAIC 2025 conference, there are also a number of AI PC prototypes that have been launched to display.

Chinese chip manufacturers such as Zhaoxin have also made progress in the hardware sector. Although Chinese-made processors and display cards have not yet formed a comprehensive challenge to large industrial manufacturers such as Intel, AMD or NVIDIA, this is still a threat to the future. At present, the focus of Chinese manufacturers is to create reliable products and provide sufficient and excellent computing experience. Every step of progress, regardless of size, pushes China closer to the long-term goal of realizing technology independent of the West.