Intel plans to counter AMD across every segment with its next-gen Alder Lake and Sapphire Rapids processors. Both platforms will leverage the Intel 7 node (10nm ESF) and the Golden Cove/Gracemont core architectures, bringing a sizeable performance improvement to the table. Among these, we also have the Fishhawk Falls platform, set to succeed Glacier Falls which featured the chipmaker’s last HEDT lineup, Cascade Lake-X.
Fishhawk Falls will mark Intel’s return to the HEDT market with Sapphire Rapids-X, challenging AMD’s Threadrippers in earnest. Thanks to the chiplet design of the Threadrippers, the latter has been able to offer more cores at every price point. This pretty much guaranteed AMD’s dominance in the HEDT space.
However, with Sapphire Rapids, Intel will be fighting fire with fire. Featuring a total of four tiles (chiplets), each with up to fifteen cores (14 enabled), Sapphire Rapids-X will be the first HEDT lineup from Team Blue to feature close to 60 cores.
Cascade Lake-X topped out at a mere 18 cores (36 threads), giving it no chance against AMD’s 64 core Threadripping monsters. With Sapphire Rapids-X however, that will change. The two rivals will fight each other at each price point. According to @momomo_us, Sapphire Rapids-X will launch in the second quarter of 2022, shortly after Alder Lake, and Sapphire Rapids-SP. AMD’s Zen 3-based Threadrippers should launch around the same time. Although they will retain the core count of 64, they should offer substantial single and multi-threaded gains over the Zen 2 Threadrippers, making it even harder for Intel to take back the HEDT crown. (provigil online prescription)
