AMPERE Altra Q64-22 CPU on ASRock micro-ATX motherboard

In addition to the Altra Q64-22 CPU that comes with the motherboard, the ASRock ALTRAD8UD-1L2T supports the much more expensive Altra Max lineup, which has CPUs with 96–128 cores.

Ampere Altra Q64-22 CPU Compatibility with ASRock’s micro-ATX

ALTRAD8UD-1L2T, a 10-inch micro-ATX motherboard, is packed with features. Four PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, two NVMe slots, ten gigabit Ethernet, and eight 256GB DDR4-3200 RAM slots are highlights. Although it doesn’t support PCIe 5.0 or DDR5, this motherboard isn’t old.

The package includes Ampere’s first-generation Altra CPU’s 64-core Altra Q64-22 CPU. Since Ampere didn’t launch the Q64-22 in 2020, its launch date is unknown.

But with Ampere’s Altra Max CPUs, which have up to 128 cores, why even bother with the Q64-22? These 2021 second-generation chips are mostly meant for cloud workloads, but they also provide significantly better multi-threaded performance and excellent value per core. They are strikingly similar to AMD’s 128-core Zen 4c-based Bergamo chips, which are supposedly designed with cloud servers and data centers in mind.

Naturally, Altra Max chips are also getting a bit dated now. As they were only marginally faster than 64-core Epyc Milan CPUs in 2021, we can probably assume AMD’s more recent 96-core and 128-core Epyc Genoa and Bergamo server CPUs are significantly faster. Even 128-core Altra Max CPUs should not stand a chance against Intel’s 64-core Emerald Rapids chips, particularly when it comes to AI workloads. Ampere has also configured its own 192-core AmpereOne CPU to overclock Altra Max.

Getting this ASRock motherboard and Ampere CPU bundle is a question that needs to be answered. Since both the Altra Q64-22 CPU and the ALTRAD8UD-1L2T motherboard aren’t available for retail purchase, it’s difficult to estimate how much they would cost separately. But the bundle only cost half of the $3,090 MSRP of the slightly more expensive Q64-24 in 2020. Even end users can afford the bundle, which comes with $1,500, but it does not cover the price of RAM, storage, or GPU.

Ampere AC-106409502 64-Bit Multi-Core Q64-22 2.20GHz 64-Core Processor – Altra