The chip giant is pending the launch of the Intel Sapphire Rapids, a new generation of high-performance Xeon processors that will be based on the Golden Cove architecture and that, according to the latest information, They will hit the market on January 10, 2023.
With this new generation, the Santa Clara company has opted for unite raw power and specializationas it has combined high core and thread counts with specialized throttle units for different tasks, something that could ultimately make a significant difference and significantly improve its performance on a number of fronts.
We will be attentive to see what the first performance tests of the Intel Sapphire Rapids tell us, but the truth is that things promise. While we wait for its official launch to take place, it is a good time to review some new information that indicates that Intel is also preparing an HEDT version of such CPUs.
In case anyone is lost, I remind you that the Sapphire Rapids Xeon are mainly aimed at servers, data centers and research equipment science, while HEDT models focus on work stations.
With this in mind, we can say that the Intel Sapphire Rapids will compete with the EPYC Genoaand the Sapphire Rapids HEDT will face the AMD Threadripper next generation. At the specification level, the information we have is quite complete, we know that Intel could launch a total of nine models configured with 12 cores and 24 threads at the entry level, and with 56 cores and 112 threads on top of the range models.
Halfway between both extremes we would have solutions with 16 cores and 32 threads, 20 cores and 40 threads, 24 cores and 48 threads, 28 cores and 56 threads, and 36 cores and 72 threads. The base frequency of these CPUs will go from 1.9 GHz in the 56-core and 112-thread model to 3.2 GHz in the 12-core and 24-thread model.
This new generation of Intel processors will use, as we have indicated, the Golden Cove architecture, they will be manufactured in the Intel 7 node (2nd generation 10nm SuperFin)They will offer up to 112 PCIe Gen5 lanes and will support eight-channel DDR5 memory (up to a maximum of 4TB per socket). Your TDP values will go from 220 watts to 350 watts, depending on the chosen model.
