Fresh benchmark results for Intel’s upcoming 18-core Xeon 654 workstation processor have surfaced, offering an early look at what the entry-level Granite Rapids-WS lineup could deliver. While these numbers come from early samples and may not reflect final retail performance, they still reveal how Intel’s next workstation chips are shaping up against both older Xeon workstation parts and AMD’s latest Threadripper family.
Intel is preparing to roll out its Granite Rapids-WS workstation CPUs soon, and the platform is expected to arrive in two tiers. One targets the mainstream workstation segment with 4-channel DDR5 memory support, while the higher-end “Expert” tier steps up to 8-channel DDR5 for heavier professional workloads. PCIe connectivity is also a key selling point: the mainstream chips are expected to offer 80 PCIe Gen5 lanes, while the Expert models could provide as many as 128 PCIe Gen5 lanes—an important advantage for buildouts loaded with GPUs, high-speed storage, and expansion cards.
The leaked chip at the center of the latest benchmark is the Intel Xeon 654, positioned as an entry-level model in the Granite Rapids-WS stack. On paper, it’s a fairly serious workstation CPU: 18 cores and 36 threads, backed by 72 MB of L3 cache and 36 MB of L2 cache. Based on earlier information, it’s also expected to reach boost clocks up to around 4.8 GHz with a base clock near 3.10 GHz. However, the benchmarked units appear to be early engineering samples running at lower clocks, which can noticeably hold back performance—so it’s wise to view these results as a “directional” preview rather than the final word.
Even so, the early performance snapshot is interesting. In multi-threaded testing, the 18-core Xeon 654 reportedly matches the multi-threaded performance of Intel’s 28-core Xeon W7-3465X, a notable result considering the core-count gap. It also appears to deliver around 18% stronger single-threaded performance than that 28-core Xeon. Against a closer comparison from the same family tiering, the Xeon 654 posts roughly a 17% multi-threaded uplift versus the 18-core Xeon W5-2565X. If clocks and firmware tuning improve closer to launch, those gains could grow further.
The tougher comparison is on the AMD side. Against AMD’s Zen 5-based workstation lineup, the numbers suggest Intel still has ground to make up. The 16-core Threadripper 9955WX reportedly outpaces the Xeon 654 in both single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, highlighting just how strong Zen 5 is right now in heavily threaded creator and engineering workloads. What’s more, even mainstream desktop CPUs like the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9950X3D are said to post better results in the same benchmark environment, which underscores how competitive high-end consumer chips have become.
That said, this is still an improvement over earlier leaked Xeon 654 benchmark entries, where the chip reportedly struggled more and even failed to clear performance landmarks set by lower-core workstation parts from the competition. In other words, the trend line looks better than before—even if the leaderboards still favor AMD at the moment.
Intel’s Granite Rapids-WS “Xeon 600” workstation family is expected to be officially announced around CES 2026, with retail availability potentially following some months later. If the launch timing holds, Granite Rapids-WS could become a meaningful alternative in the workstation space, particularly in configurations that benefit from large PCIe Gen5 lane counts, high memory bandwidth options, and broader platform choices across mainstream and expert tiers.
The bigger picture, though, is architectural momentum. AMD’s current Threadripper stack is built on Zen 5, while Granite Rapids-WS is expected to lean on Redwood Cove P-cores—an approach viewed as a step behind Intel’s newest desktop-class core designs. With newer CPU core architectures on Intel’s roadmap into 2026, many workstation buyers will be watching closely to see when Intel aligns its workstation platform improvements with the same pace of architectural gains seen in its more consumer-facing products.
For now, the Xeon 654 leak delivers a clear takeaway: Intel’s upcoming entry workstation chip looks capable of strong results versus older Xeon workstation CPUs, but AMD’s latest Threadripper generations—especially Zen 5—still appear to set the performance pace in both single-threaded responsiveness and heavy multi-threaded workloads.
