- Hyons C86-5G breaks free from AMD Zen that releases 128 kernels of homework muscles
- SMT4 forces each core to run four strands stacking up to 512 threads in total
- AVX-512 instructions make it a strong fit for AI, analysis and scientific computing
Hycon, a key player in China’s semiconductor industry, promotes its server processing lineup with the upcoming C86-5G, a flagship, high-performance CPU with 128 cores and 512 threads, and places it to compete directly with AMDS EPYC and Intel’s Xeon platforms.
According to TechPowerup, this hydon’s complete break from the AMD ZEN architecture and the introduction of the first fully homework design, the result of five years of domestic R&D in CPU development.
The new lineup is made possible through four-way simultaneous multithreading (SMT4), which allows each core to handle four threads.
Built for parallel workload and high flow
While SMT4 is not a new concept – it is shown in processors such as Intel’s Xeon Phi and IBM’s Power8 – its use in a modern, domestic -developed Chinese processor is a remarkable milestone.
The 128-core configuration in C86-5G represents a big leap from its predecessor, C86-4G, which had 64 cores and 128 threads using traditional SMT2.
The C86-5G is designed for company and server work loads and has 16 channels with DDR5-5600 memory, which potentially supports up to 1 TB using 64 GB DDR5 modules. This is one step up from the previous model 12 channels with DDR5-4800.
On the connecting front, while hyon has not yet revealed the exact PCIE 5.0 -course count, it has confirmed support for Compute Express Link 2.0 (CXL 2.0), adjusting the chip with industrial standards used by AMDS EPYC 9005 (Torin) and Intels 5. Gen Xeon (Emerald Raps). The former C86-4G already offered 128 courses PCIE 5.0, so similar or better support is expected.
Although the specific micro-architecture has not been detailed, Hyon says it is based on an “improved self-developed microarchitecture” that follows the zen-based dhyana design of the first generation.
According to the company, architecture delivers an improvement of 17% in instructions per year. Cycle (IPC), although this does not remain -verified in the absence of benchmark testing.
The chip also supports AVX-512 instructions for high performance computer tasks and is built to deal with physical stress in demanding environments. It is expected to support standard server memory modules such as RDIMMS and is intended for large data center installations.
While hydrogen is still tracking AMD and Intel in overall performance, the C86-5GS places technical specifications, including I/O capacities, memory bandwidth, thread and core numbers it in a competitive position.
Although there is no official launch date yet, the development is probably well underway, considering that C86-4G has been on the market since 2024.
