According to a few images shared on Bilibili, Intel’s upcoming Sapphire Rapids server processors may leverage a chiplet design with up to 60 cores and a chiplet design. Below, you can see the supposed die-shots of the 4-chiplet data-center processor, slated to arrive later this year or early 2022. If this indeed is a 60-core processor, then we’re looking at 18 core chiplets, twice as much as an AMD CCD which packs eight cores each.
Intel’s Skylake-SP lineup topped out at 28 cores with the AP lineup using dual-dies to extend that count to 56. Ice Lake-SP brought the single-die core count to 40, paving the way for a possible 80-core dual-die design in the future. Going by this, it’s clear that Intel is looking to increase the compute density of its server offerings, and a 60 core CPU with four chiplets connected by EMIB isn’t out of the question.
However, when talking about Sapphire Rapids, Intel hasn’t said anything about a tiled or chiplet design. The company was very straightforward when it came to Meteor Lake, clearly stating that the 14th Gen lineup slated to launch in 2023 would feature a tile-based design. Furthermore, while it has been indicated that Sapphire rapids will leverage on-die HBM memory, nothing has been said regarding tiles or chiplets. As such, it’s recommended to take these images with a healthy bit of skepticism.
