Intel has officially unveiled its Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 “Sapphire Rapids Refresh” CPU lineup designed for workstations and AI systems, promising significant boosts in multi-threaded and single-threaded performance relative to previous models.
### Key Highlights and Specifications
#### Xeon W-3500 CPUs:
– **Target Audience**: Expert workstation users.
– **Core Count**: Up to 60 cores, an increase from the previous 56-core limit.
– **Clock Speed**: Boosts up to 4.8 GHz.
– **Cache**: Up to 112.5 MB of Smart Cache.
– **Memory Support**: DDR5-4800 MT/s DIMMs, eight memory channels, up to 4 TB capacity.
– **PCIe Lanes**: 112 CPU PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes.
– **TDP**: Up to 385W.
– **Notable Model**: Xeon W9-3595X, with 60 cores, 120 threads, boost clock of 4.8 GHz, 112.5 MB L3 cache, and priced at $5889 USD.
#### Xeon W-2500 CPUs:
– **Target Audience**: Mainstream workstation users.
– **Core Count**: Up to 26 cores, up from 24.
– **Clock Speed**: Boosts up to 4.8 GHz.
– **Cache**: Up to 48.7 MB of Smart Cache.
– **Memory Support**: DDR5-4800 MT/s DIMMs, four memory channels, up to 2 TB capacity.
– **PCIe Lanes**: 64 CPU PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes.
– **TDP**: Up to 250W.
– **Notable Model**: Xeon W7-2595X, with 26 cores, 52 threads, boost clock of 4.8 GHz, 48.7 MB L3 cache, and priced at $2039 USD.
### Performance and Capabilities
– **Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0**: Improves processing speeds up to 4.8 GHz.
– **Memory Support**: DDR5-4800 MT/s DIMMs (ECC RDIMM), with configurations ranging from four channels (Xeon W-2500) to eight channels (Xeon W-3500).
– **Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX)**: Supports INT8 and BFloat16 data types for enhanced AI tasks.
– **Deep Learning Boost**: 3rd Gen support with AVX-512, promising up to a 26% boost in AI performance.
– **Connectivity**: Integrated Wi-Fi 6E and support for up to 112 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes.
– **Overclocking Support**: Both series support overclocking features, including DDR5 XMP 3.0 RDIMM memory overclocking.
### Motherboard Compatibility
The new CPUs are supported on W790 motherboards with the LGA 4677 socket, retaining compatibility while offering features like Wi-Fi 6E and extensive PCIe lanes for enhanced connectivity.
### Performance Benchmarks
– **Rendering**: Xeon W-3500 CPUs deliver up to 2.8x improvements in rendering tasks.
– **AI Workloads**: Xeon W9-3595X offers up to a 2x performance boost over AMD’s Threadripper PRO 7985WX in AI applications.
– **Single-threaded and Multi-threaded**: Xeon W7-2595X shows a 50% improvement in multi-threaded and 40% in single-threaded workloads compared to Intel’s own Core i9-14900K.
### Industry Impact and Future Plans
OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo will integrate these new CPUs into their workstations. Additionally, motherboard manufacturers such as ASRock, Gigabyte, Maxsun, and Colorful will release new W790 products. The processors are available for pre-order with general availability expected in early September.
### Next-Gen Developments
Intel is already planning its next-generation platform centered around the W890 chipset, featuring Granite Rapids-X HEDT/Workstation CPUs, anticipated to offer even higher core counts and enhanced capabilities, expected to launch next year.
