Intel Launches Xeon Sapphire Rapids-SP with up to 60 Cores: $11K for 56 Core 2S SKU, $17K for 60 Core 8S Flagship

Areej Syed

January 11, 2023

On Jan. 10, 2023, Intel introduced the Intel Xeon CPU Max Series for high performance computing and artificial intelligence. The Xeon CPU Max Series, is the first and only x86-based processor with high bandwidth memory, accelerating many HPC workloads without the need for any code changes. (Credit: Intel Corporation)

The other day Intel launched its 4th Gen Xeon Scalable processors, codenamed Sapphire Rapids. After a delay of over a year, these chips are now available to all cloud providers and hyperscalers with DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 interface. DDR5-4800 memory offers 50% more bandwidth than DDR4, while the I/O features 80 PCIe Gen 5 lanes along with CXL 1.1 support. On the compute side, the Xeon Sapphire Rapids family offers up to 60 cores distributed across four disaggregated chiplets or tiles. These can be paired in 2S configurations for 122 cores and 244 threads per system.

The 2S lineup is relatively cheaper, with a price tag varying from $5,945 for the 32-core Xeon Platinum 8462Y+ to $10,710 for the 56-core 8480+ flagship. The 8S lineup is less flexible, consisting of 16C, 28C, 32C, 40C, 48C, and 60C variants priced between $4,234 and $17,000. All Xeon Platinum SKUs feature the XCC (Extreme Core Count) dies, while Silver and Bronze consist of MCC (Medium Core Count) dies.

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4th Gen Xeon Scalable Processors:

Further boost networking, storage, and compute performance while improving CPU utilization by offloading heavy tasks to an Intel Infrastructure Processing Unit.
Increase multi-socket bandwidth with Intel UPI 2.0 (up to 16 GT/s)
Configure your CPU to meet specific workload needs with Intel Speed Select Technology (Intel SST)
Increase shared last-level cache (LLC) (up to 100 MB LLC shared across all cores)
Strengthen your security posture with hardware-enhanced security
Eliminate the need for a separate RAID card with Intel Virtual RAID on the CPU (Intel VROC)

Overview of 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors

Intel Xeon Platinum 8400 processors are designed for advanced data analytics, AI, high-density infrastructure, and multi-cloud workloads. They deliver high-performance levels, platform capabilities, and industry-leading workload acceleration. They offer enhanced hardware-based security and up to 8-socket processors. With trusted, hardware-enhanced data-service delivery and new I/O and connectivity technologies, these processors deliver improvements in I/O, memory, storage, and network technologies with:

Up to 60 cores per Intel Xeon Scalable processor
8 memory channels per processor at up to 4,800 MT/s (1 DPC)
AI acceleration with Intel AMX for a giant leap in DL inference and training performance

With up to four-socket scalability, Intel Xeon Gold processors are optimized for demanding mainstream data centers, multi-cloud computing, and network and storage workloads. Intel Xeon Silver 4400 processors offer the hardware-enhanced performance required for entry-level data center computing, network, and storage.