Intel Corporation announced the release of the 4th generation Xeon Scalable server processors, codenamed Sapphire Rapids. In the new “stones”, the chipmaker increased the maximum number of cores to 60, and also prepared a line with a built-in HBM2e buffer. For them, the company launched a separate brand Xeon Max.
The new generation of Intel Xeon processors uses a multi-chip design combining four individual dies and an optional 64 GB HBM2e buffer. Of the features of the new products, it is worth highlighting an 8-channel DDR5 RAM controller, support for the PCI Express 5.0 interface and the CXL 1.1 protocol, as well as hardware blocks for speeding up tasks, such as encryption and data compression. The Sapphire Rapids CPU uses 10nm Intel 7 technology.
As for the model range, Intel has prepared solutions for a wide variety of tasks. There are models for the “cloud”, resource-intensive computing, virtualization and other areas, including processors with support for 8-socket configurations. In total, Intel has prepared more than fifty processors. The main characteristics and recommended prices of new products are shown in the table below.
In addition, Intel has confirmed plans to release a new workstation platform based on the Sapphire Rapids CPU and the W790 chipset. The official presentation of the Xeon W2400 and W3400 processors is scheduled for February 15th. The closest competitor from AMD will be the Ryzen Threadripper Pro chips.
