The Supermicro firm has taken advantage of the Computex 2023 scenario to present the X13 8U server, a device that has attracted a lot of attention because it is configured with a total of 8 Intel Ponte Vecchio GPUs, and because it uses a rather bulky cooling systemas you can see in the cover image.
Supermicro’s X13 8U server can be configured with two 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors up to 350 wattsit has 32 DIMM slots for DDR5 memory, supports up to 12 NVMe SSD drives and 8 SATA drives and has, as we have said, with 8 Intel Max Series 1550 GPUs, also known as Intel Ponte Vecchio.
This equipment is aimed at the HPC (high performance computing) sector and also at demanding tasks related to AI. Intel Ponte Vecchio GPUs present enormous complexity, since they have more than 100,000 million transistors (not including memory) and the total size of the packages amounts to 2,330 mm2.
With regard to the PCB, we find a rather spectacular arrangement, since it brings together a total of 47 blocks or tiles including compute units, caches, Xe Links and HBM2E memory, all interconnected using Intel’s EMIB technology and Foveros 3D stacking.
The Intel Ponte Vecchio GPU has a TDP of 600 watts, so the voltage regulation system that it includes is also quite complex, and it has two high-performance converters that share 50% of the total number of MOSFETs. It goes without saying that this high TDP requires the use of a very powerful cooling system, and that is something that we can also see in the Supermicro server.
As we can see in the picture, each Intel Data Center Max 1550 GPU has a large radiator and high-pressure fans to prevent heat build-up, and allow each GPU to safely perform to its full potential. We still do not have details about the exact launch date or the availability of this server, and the sale price has not been revealed either, but looking at its configuration it is clear that it will be very high.
