Intel could be bringing its 56-core CPUs to workstations

In context: Intel first introduced the Sapphire Rapids line of Xeon processors in late 2019 and has launched details about them at a trickle ever since. With as much as 56 cores and in-package reminiscence, they will be Intel’s strongest and large processors up to now.

Intel has been steadily updating the related enterprise software program in preparation for Sapphire Rapids for over a 12 months. A few of that software program is open supply and the supply of small leaks. Final week, a trawler found a reference to an unknown processor within the boot log of a Linux kernel, the Intel W9-3495.

First, the identify: Intel makes use of “W” for its workstation CPUs, for instance, the W-3375. It hasn’t put numbers after the “W” but, so that would imply a number of issues, however it seems to be loads just like the nomenclature utilized by the Core sequence — i5, i7, i9. It’d indicate the existence of comparable W7 or W5 CPUs with decrease core counts.

Second, the specs. The boot log says that the W9-3495 has 56 cores / 112 threads and a base clock of 1.8 GHz (that doubtless is not last). It lists AMX and AVX-512 directions as options of the CPU.

A Sapphire Rapids CPU with out in-package reminiscence.

Nonetheless, it does not say whether or not or not the W9-3495 has the 64 GB of in-package HBM2e reminiscence that Sapphire Rapids has garnered infamy for, and I might wager that it will not. It is prohibitively costly, and in addition one thing that Intel would reserve for its flagship knowledge middle processors as a promoting level.

Intel’s workstation CPUs do normally have many of the options of their server-side counterparts, although. If the W9-3495 is not any exception, then it would have eight lanes of DDR5 and a mixture of PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 4.0 lanes summing to 80. It’s going to positively use the Willow Cove structure and Intel 7 node (a rebrand of the 10nm Enhanced SuperFin Mouthful node) and the brand new LGA4677-X socket.

It’s going to even be a mile above Intel’s present choices. At the moment’s workstation flagship is the W-3375, which has solely 38 cores / 76 threads and makes use of the Ice Lake structure from late 2019 and the first-gen 10nm node. It is also caught with DDR4 and PCIe 4.0. It prices a whopping $4,499 – ouch – and is barely actually accessible by way of OEMs, a destiny that hopefully the W9-3495 can keep away from.