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On Thu, 29 Aug, 12:08 AM UTC
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Intel Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 Workstation Processors: Sapphire Rapids Refreshed
Intel has launched a new generation of Xeon workstation processors, called the Sapphire Rapids refresh, aiming to regain a competitive edge against AMD in the workstation market. The latest models, the Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 series, build on their predecessors, the W-3400 and W-2400. These processors maintain strong support for multiple GPUs, multi-threaded tasks, and stable memory performance. However, their single-threaded performance does not match Intel's Core i9 series, which is a vital consideration for potential buyers. A notable feature of the Xeon line is its integration with vPro technology, which simplifies operating system redeployment through Active Management, offering significant benefits in enterprise settings. Key Updates in the Sapphire Rapids Refresh: Despite the architectural similarities with previous models, the new Xeon processors include enhancements such as faster DDR5 memory support and an increase in core count -- up to 60 cores in the top-tier W9-3595X model. These updates are estimated to boost performance by about 10% for multi-threaded tasks over the previous generation. This makes the new processors an attractive option for users who haven't upgraded their workstations since 2019. Performance in specific applications, like architectural simulations and media rendering, has seen significant improvements. Power Consumption and Pricing: The power requirements have increased, with the Xeon W-3500 series needing up to 385W and the W-2500 series up to 250W. These figures are on par with AMD's Threadripper series. The core and cache size increases in the new models also lead to higher thermal design power (TDP) ratings. I/O and Memory Specifications: The number of PCIe 5.0 lanes remains the same as previous generations, with 112 lanes for the W-3500 series and 64 for the W-2500 series. Both series support up to eight and four DDR5 memory channels, respectively, and can handle up to 4TB and 2TB of DDR5 memory. Roger Chandler from Intel highlights that the new CPUs are especially beneficial for generative AI and other data-heavy tasks without GPU acceleration. Features like Advanced Matrix Extensions and the AVX-512 instruction set greatly enhance performance in certain applications.
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Intel Xeon W-3500 & W-2500 "Sapphire Rapids Refresh" CPUs Launched: More Cores, Cache, Performance, Faster Than Threadripper In AI
Intel has officially launched its Xeon W-3500 & W-2500 "Sapphire Rapids Refresh" CPU lineup for workstations & AI systems. The Intel Xeon W-3500 & Xeon W-2500 "Sapphire Rapids Refresh" family is designed to expand the current workstation and AI offerings with more cores, cache, performance, and new capabilities to boost the workloads of expert and mainstream workstation customers. Just like the Xeon W-3400 & Xeon W-2400 series, the new lineup comes in two diverse flavors. The Intel Xeon W-3500 CPUs feature W9, W7, and W5 SKUs with TDPs of 385W while the Xeon W-2500 CPUs feature W7, W5, and W3 SKUs with TDPs of 250W. The chips target various workloads such as Media & Entertainment, Engineering, Life Sciences, Energy & Geosciences, Data Science & AI Development, and Financial Services. All chips are backed by an expanded compute architecture while being designed for AI development and build for businesses with Intel's vPro technologies. Coming to some of the main highlights, the Intel Xeon W-3500 CPUs now scale up to 60 cores, up from 56 cores on the Xeon W-3400 series while the Xeon W-2500 CPUs now scale up to 26 cores, up from 24 cores on the Xeon W-2400 series. These processors feature Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 with up to 4.8 GHz boost clocks, up to 112.5 MB of Smart Cache, 3rd Gen Deep Learning Boost with AVX-512 support, and AMX (Advanced Matrix Extensions) which offer INT8 and BFloat16 data types. On the memory side, Intel's Sapphire Rapids Refresh platform features support for DDR5-4800 MT/s DIMMs (ECC RDIMM) with 4-channel (Xeon W-2500) and 8-channel (Xeon W-3500) memory configurations. The chips still feature support on the same W790 motherboards with the LGA 4677 socket which offers up to 112 PCIe Gen5 lanes from the CPU, WiFi 6E support, and up to 8 DMI 4.0 lanes for the chipset for expanded connectivity. The Intel Xeon W-3500 "Sapphire Rapids Refresh - Expert" CPUs feature the Xeon W9-3595X as the flagship offering which offers 60 cores, 120 threads, and a boost clock of up to 4.8 GHz across all 60 P-Cores, 112.5 MB of L3 cache, 112 PCIe Gen5 lanes, up to 4 TB memory capacity support, TDP of up to 385W and a price of $5889 US. The rest of the lineup scales from 16 cores, up to 44 cores & TDPs ranging from 290 to 340W. Full specs are provided below: The Intel Xeon W-2500 "Sapphire Rapids Refresh - Mainstream" CPUs feature the Xeon W7-2595X as the flagship offering with 26 cores, 52 threads, 4.8 GHz boost clocks, 64 PCIe Gen5 lanes, 48.75 MB of L3 cache up to 2 TB memory support and 250W TDP. This chip is priced at $2039. The rest of the lineup scales from 8 cores, up to 22 cores, and comes in 175-250W TDP designs. Full specs are once again provided in the table below: Intel will also offer certain SKUs in boxed flavors and the mentioned SKUs will feature an unlocked design for overclocking support on the W790 motherboards. These SKUs include: Intel is also sharing a few performance metrics with the Xeon W-3500 CPUs offering up to 2.8x/1.8x uplifts in rendering performance while the Xeon W-2500 CPUs offer a 1.93x/1.40x uplift over the last-generation Cascade Lake SKUs. In SPEC Workstation, the Xeon W-2500 yields up to a 104% uplift over Cascade Lake and a good improvement over the previous Xeon W-2400 lineup too but the differences mainly come from core count increments. Intel also makes comparisons with AMD Threadripper PRO 7000 CPUs but only in AI workloads to showcase the performance advantage of its AMX accelerators. The Xeon W9-3595X offers up to a 2x uplift over the 7985WX which is a 64-core part. The test here is Topaz Labs Video AI PRO which leverages AMX through OpenVINO. In Data Science and AI development, the Xeon W-3500 CPU also offers a 26% improvement over the Threadripper chip. Intel also showcases performance with and without its Optimized Python Distribution which once enabled, delivers a 2x improvement. Lastly, Intel offers a comparison with its very own mainstream desktop flagship, the Core i9-14900K which is a 24-core and 32-thread part. The Xeon W7-2595X being a 26 core and 52 thread part offers a 50% improvement in multi-threaded and 40% improvement in single-threaded workloads. The AMX performance is also represented which delivers a 9.4x improvement over the 14900K. These are some big claims that we would like to test out for ourselves. As for systems, Dell, HP, and Lenovo will be offering new Workstation PCs with these chips while motherboard makers will be releasing new designs based on the W790 chipset. Partners such as ASRock, Gigabyte, Maxsun, and Colorful will be among the manufacturers with new W790 products on the market. The chips will be available for pre-orders beginning today and will be available in early September. The Sapphire Rapids Refresh platform is an intermediate solution till the next-gen arrives. Intel is already working on its next-gen platform based around the W890 chipset which will feature support for Granite Rapids-X HEDT/Workstation CPUs with increased core counts and much better capabilities but these are expected to be unveiled next year.
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Intel has launched its latest Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 series workstation processors, based on the Sapphire Rapids refresh. These new CPUs offer increased core counts, larger cache, and improved performance for professional workloads.
Intel has officially announced its latest lineup of workstation processors, the Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 series, based on the Sapphire Rapids refresh architecture. These new CPUs are designed to cater to the demanding needs of professional users and content creators, offering significant improvements over their predecessors 1.
The Xeon W-3500 series, the flagship of this release, boasts up to 36 cores and 72 threads, a substantial increase from the previous generation's 24 cores. This boost in core count is accompanied by an enlarged L3 cache, now reaching up to 112.5 MB. The W-2500 series, while more modest, still offers impressive specifications with up to 24 cores and 48 threads, along with up to 45 MB of L3 cache 2.
Intel claims these new processors deliver notable performance enhancements across various workloads. The company reports up to 50% faster 3D rendering performance and up to 28% higher multi-threaded performance compared to the previous generation. Additionally, users can expect up to 50% faster AI inferencing, highlighting the processors' versatility in handling diverse professional tasks 1.
The Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 series come equipped with several advanced features. They support up to 4 TB of DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5.0 with up to 112 lanes, and Wi-Fi 6E. Intel has also incorporated its proprietary technologies such as Deep Learning Boost and Advanced Matrix Extensions, which are designed to accelerate AI and machine learning workloads 2.
Intel has announced competitive pricing for these new processors. The Xeon w9-3495X, the top-end model in the W-3500 series, is priced at $5,889. The W-2500 series starts at a more accessible $359 for the w3-2423 model. This pricing strategy aims to cater to a wide range of professional users with varying budget constraints 1.
The launch of these new Xeon processors comes at a crucial time for Intel, as it faces stiff competition from AMD's Threadripper Pro series. With these enhanced specifications and performance improvements, Intel aims to strengthen its position in the high-end workstation market. The increased core counts and larger cache sizes are particularly noteworthy, as they directly address areas where AMD had previously held an advantage 2.
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