Epic Infrastructure: Rethinking the Processor Landscape with AMD and Intel

Cloud & MSP Solutions

An Expert Perspective from the Field

As healthcare organizations prepare for their 2025 Epic capacity assessments, many are taking a fresh look at the core of their infrastructure: the processor. Historically, Intel has dominated this space, offering a familiar, trusted path for running Epic’s demanding workloads. But with recent innovation from AMD—particularly its EPYC processor line—the market has shifted, and so has the conversation.

Today, both AMD and Intel offer competitive platforms for Epic environments. For IT leaders in healthcare, this means more choice, but also more complexity.

Epic Infrastructure Demands Are Increasing

Epic’s ecosystem continues to evolve. Whether it’s supporting the operational database (ODB), powering Cogito analytics environments, or scaling virtualized Hyperspace sessions, the infrastructure underneath must deliver consistent, high-density performance with strict uptime requirements.

Processor choice plays a critical role across these layers. Oringanizations are looking for platforms that offer not only raw performance but also operational efficiency, scalability, and long-term value.

AMD EPYC: High-Density Performance and Efficiency

AMD’s EPYC Zen 4 and Zen 5 processors have emerged as strong contenders in the healthcare space, offering:

Higher core counts – Up to 192 cores per socket, enabling superior session density in VDI environments.

Enhanced memory bandwidth – DDR5-6400 support provides faster data movement, benefiting database-heavy workloads like Cogito.

Increased PCIe Gen 5 lanes – Allowing greater connectivity for NVMe storage and accelerators.

Improved power efficiency – Lower thermal output and better performance-per-watt ratios.

Smaller physical footprint – Fewer hosts needed in the data center, reducing space, power, and cooling requirements.

In Epic presentation layers especially, AMD has shown the ability to support more concurrent user sessions per host, helping organizations meet growing demand without overextending capacity.

Intel Xeon: Familiarity, Stability, and a Competitive Roadmap

Intel remains a strong choice, with its Xeon processor line offering:

Proven performance in production Epic environments.

Built-in accelerators for AI and analytics, which may become increasingly relevant as healthcare applications evolve.

Stable firmware ecosystems and broad vendor support.

Upcoming innovations, such as the Diamond Rapids series, expected to launch in 2025, which could close performance gaps with AMD in key areas.

Intel’s longstanding alignment with Epic and its wide compatibility make it a dependable option, particularly for organizations seeking minimal disruption.

Considerations for Mixed Processor Environments

While both AMD and Intel support the x86 architecture, mixing platforms within a virtualized Epic environment can introduce limitations. Live migrations between AMD and Intel hosts are not supported, requiring cold migrations instead. This impacts workload mobility, disaster recovery planning, and operational flexibility.

To mitigate risk, many organizations opt for platform consistency within clusters. However, modular infrastructure strategies—where specific workloads are segmented by processor type—can enable innovation while maintaining operational clarity.

Presentation Layer vs. Core Database Workloads

Processor performance impacts Epic infrastructure differently depending on the workload:

Presentation layers (e.g., VDI-hosted Hyperspace) benefit from AMD’s high core counts and efficient session handling.

Database workloads (e.g., ODB, Cogito) are more sensitive to memory bandwidth, core frequency, and latency—areas where both AMD and Intel have strong offerings, depending on specific architecture and configuration.

In either case, licensing and software costs should also be factored in. Ultra-high core processors can introduce complexity around hypervisor and OS licensing, which must be carefully managed to ensure optimal ROI.

A Strategic Decision—Not Just a Technical One

The choice between AMD and Intel is not purely a matter of performance benchmarks. It involves a strategic evaluation of existing infrastructure, future scalability, software compatibility, licensing considerations, and risk tolerance.

Organizations refreshing existing environments may favor the continuity and support ecosystem offered by Intel. Those launching greenfield deployments or seeking performance-per-dollar advantages may find compelling opportunities with AMD.

The key is a well-informed approach—grounded in a clear understanding of Epic’s workload requirements and the strengths of each platform.

Conclusion

With processor parity now restored, healthcare IT teams have more freedom to design infrastructure around their unique goals. AMD and Intel both bring powerful, differentiated options to the table. Navigating that choice effectively requires deep expertise in Epic’s architecture, workload behavior, and future roadmap.

For organizations evaluating their next infrastructure move, this moment presents a rare opportunity: to realign performance, cost, and operational flexibility in ways that drive better outcomes across clinical, financial, and administrative domains.