Intel recently updated its 10nm Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPU lineup news, and this new update has sparked various new rumours online. The newly released data talks about the next-gen server portfolio’s launch schedule, performance, and efficiency.
According to sources, Intel’s CVP & GM of Xeon & Memory Group, Lisa Spelman, made a huge announcement that the next-generation Sapphire Rapids lineup will start its production in Q1 2022 & Q2 2022. It was already made clear that Intel’s Sapphire Rapids will be officially launched for the public in the first half of 2022; however, it is planned that Intel will deliver early engineering samples to its partners to validate and optimize their workloads in advance.
Demand for Sapphire Rapids continues to grow as customers learn more about the benefits of the platform.
Given the breadth of enhancements in Sapphire Rapids, we are incorporating additional validation time before the production release, which will streamline the deployment process for our customers and partners. Based on this, we now expect Sapphire Rapids to be in production in the first quarter of 2022, with a ramp beginning in the second quarter of 2022. via Intel
In our previous post, we have already discussed how HBM will help intel carve a new generation of chips targeted at data centres. But the biggest talk of the town is that team blue announced the integration of the HBM within its Sapphire Rapids Xeon CPUs. This technology will tackle the huge memory bandwidth requirements of future HPC & data centre workloads.
However, we are also getting confirmation that the HBM supported Sapphire Rapids will be coming out in 2023. The reason behind the delay is probably unknown; however, intel has been severely affected by the shortage of chip manufacturing components and a limited supply chain.
Coming to intel’s current timeline and roadmap, it had internally projected a 2021 launch for its Sapphire Rapids Xeon lineup. But it was soon changed to the first half of 2022, stating that the actual availability of the lineup will still be further ahead. The company was also supposed to launch a few quarters after Ice Lake-SP, by the end of 2021, but that didn’t happen.
Next up is the first-ever comparison, of course unofficial, between the Intel Sapphire Rapids-SP 56 core SKU versus a 64 core AMD EPYC Milan SKU. If we are to believe the performance numbers of the test conducted, then Intel easily claims its performance leadership albeit for a short period. The lead will be in the field of AI, networking, and HPC workloads.
Intel Xeon SP Families:
| Family Branding | Skylake-SP | Cascade Lake-SP/AP | Cooper Lake-SP | Ice Lake-SP | Sapphire Rapids | Emerald Rapids | Granite Rapids | Diamond Rapids |
| Process Node | 14nm+ | 14nm++ | 14nm++ | 10nm+ | 10nm Enhanced SuperFin? | 10nm Enhanced SuperFin? | 7nm? | sub-7nm? |
| Platform Name | Intel Purley | Intel Purley | Intel Cedar Island | Intel Whitley | Intel Eagle Stream | Intel Eagle Stream | Intel Mountain Stream Intel Birch Stream | Intel Mountain Stream Intel Birch Stream |
| MCP (Multi-Chip Package) SKUs | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | TBD | TBD (Possibly Yes) | TBD (Possibly Yes) |
| Socket | LGA 3647 | LGA 3647 | LGA 4189 | LGA 4189 | LGA 4677 | LGA 4677 | LGA 4677 | TBD |
| Max Core Count | Up To 28 | Up To 28 | Up To 28 | Up To 40 | Up To 56? | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Max Thread Count | Up To 56 | Up To 56 | Up To 56 | Up To 80 | Up To 112? | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Max L3 Cache | 38.5 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 60 MB L3 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Memory Support | DDR4-2666 6-Channel | DDR4-2933 6-Channel | Up To 6-Channel DDR4-3200 | Up To 8-Channel DDR4-3200 | Up To 8-Channel DDR5-4800 | Up To 8-Channel DDR5-5200? | TBD | TBD |
| PCIe Gen Support | PCIe 3.0 (48 Lanes) | PCIe 3.0 (48 Lanes) | PCIe 3.0 (48 Lanes) | PCIe 4.0 (64 Lanes) | PCIe 5.0 (80 lanes) | PCIe 5.0 | PCIe 6.0? | PCIe 6.0? |
| TDP Range | 140W-205W | 165W-205W | 150W-250W | 105-270W | Up To 350W? | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 3D Xpoint Optane DIMM | N/A | Apache Pass | Barlow Pass | Barlow Pass | Crow Pass | Crow Pass? | Donahue Pass? | Donahue Pass? |
| Competition | AMD EPYC Naples 14nm | AMD EPYC Rome 7nm | AMD EPYC Rome 7nm | AMD EPYC Milan 7nm+ | AMD EPYC Genoa ~5nm | AMD Next-Gen EPYC (Post Genoa) | AMD Next-Gen EPYC (Post Genoa) | AMD Next-Gen EPYC (Post Genoa) |
| Launch | 2017 | 2018 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023? | 2023? |
