Intel has begun transport the primary of its next-generation server processors: a 144-core Intel Xeon 6 processor with Environment friendly cores (E-cores) that’s designed for private and non-private clouds in conditions the place energy effectivity and efficiency are crucial, the corporate introduced in the present day (June 3).
The Intel Xeon 6700E chip, beforehand code-named Sierra Forest, delivers 4.2 instances improved efficiency and a couple of.6 instances performance-per-watt enhancements in comparison with information facilities working on 2nd era Intel Xeon processors. The effectivity good points will allow cloud suppliers and different information middle operators to consolidate racks by a 3-to-1 ratio, Intel executives mentioned.
For the previous yr, Intel has talked about its two-product technique inside its Xeon 6 processor household: Efficiency core (P-core) chips designed for all-out efficiency for synthetic intelligence and high-performance computing workloads; and E-core chips that steadiness power effectivity with efficiency and are perfect for cloud-native functions, content material supply networks, microservices and client digital providers.
Intel Xeon 6 Particulars
On the Computex convention in Taiwan in the present day, Intel shared extra data on the Intel Xeon 6 household and Gaudi 3 AI accelerators, together with structure particulars, efficiency metrics, and product launch dates between now and the primary quarter of 2025. This contains the launch of the 288-core Intel Xeon 6 E-core chip, which is predicted early subsequent yr.
Analysts say sharing detailed Xeon 6 processor launch dates is important as a result of it exhibits the corporate is assured that they’re on monitor to ship the merchandise on time. That’s a far cry from latest years when Intel suffered notable delays of third and 4th-generation Intel Xeon chipsets.
Immediately ’s launch of the Intel Xeon 6 processor household is vital as a result of it demonstrates that Intel is listening to the market and diversifying to swimsuit the increasing necessities of its prospects, mentioned Ian Cutress, chief analyst at Greater than Moore.
“Xeon 6 might merely be perceived as a next-generation replace, however Intel is diversifying its portfolio and aligning round two totally different core households,” which addresses totally different prospects’ wants, Cutress mentioned. “P-cores have advantages within the conventional enterprise that wants excessive efficiency. And the E-cores have advantages for cloud suppliers who need to promote situations per vCPU.”
Intel Xeon 6 will permit Intel to raised compete towards AMD’s CPU choices, mentioned Matt Kimball, vp and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Technique. Intel has lengthy dominated the x86 server chip market, however AMD has grabbed market share lately.
Intel Xeon 6’s elevated core counts, 3nm course of node and structure – together with Intel’s built-in acceleration engines – places the corporate in a powerful place to compete, Kimball mentioned. Intel’s AMX acceleration engine, for instance, speeds AI inferencing as a result of the workload is moved off the CPU.
“While you have a look at the efficiency perspective, AMD has been to this point forward of Intel for thus lengthy. However with Intel Xeon 6, Intel is again within the aggressive sport,” he mentioned.
Nevertheless, AMD will not be standing nonetheless. AMD’s forthcoming fifth Technology AMD EPYC household of processors, code-named Turin, is predicted to be accessible throughout the second half of 2024 and have as much as 192 cores and 384 threads, an AMD spokesperson mentioned.
Intel Xeon 6 Roadmap and Launch Dates
Intel plans to launch its first P-core chip, previously codenamed Granite Rapids, and the Gaudi 3 AI accelerator, within the third quarter of 2024.
The P-core chips will vary between 86 to 128 efficiency cores. The 128-core 6900P P-core chip, accessible within the third quarter, doubles the efficiency of AI inferencing and common computing features and improves HPC efficiency by 2.3 instances when put next with earlier fifth era Intel Xeon processors.
The 6900P will “be probably the most highly effective Xeon that we ship,” mentioned Justin Hotard, govt vp and common supervisor of Intel’s Datacenter and AI Group, in a media briefing.
Intel Xeon 6 P-core processors will carry out AI inferencing 3.7 instances higher than AMD EPYC processors, whereas Xeon 6 E-core processors will present 1.3 instances higher efficiency per watt over AMD EPYC chips on media transcoding workloads, mentioned Matt Langman, common supervisor and vp of Intel Xeon 6 processors, throughout the media briefing.
Intel plans to spherical out its Xeon 6 choices within the 2025 first quarter, together with the launch of its 288-core 6900E E-core processor and processors designed for community and edge functions, he mentioned.
As for the newly accessible Intel Xeon 6 6700E, common compute, database, and internet workloads are 3 times quicker, whereas efficiency per watt is greater than two instances higher than 2nd era Intel Xeon processors.
Cutress mentioned Intel is evaluating the brand new 6700E chip to 2nd era Intel Xeon chips so information middle operators who’re deploying servers from about 5 years in the past can see the efficiency good points in the event that they improve.
Intel Xeon 6 processor (Supply: Intel)
Moreover performance-per-watt enhancements, upgrading to 6700E from 2nd era Xeon chips will allow an information middle with 200 racks to consolidate to 66 racks, mentioned Intel’s Langman. That information middle can save as much as 84,000 megawatt hours of power and 34,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.
In consequence, the rack area and power financial savings from E-core chips will permit information middle operators to achieve their sustainability targets, but it surely additionally frees updata middle sources for people who need to deploy new {hardware} for AI workloads, he mentioned.
Intel 6 Chip Structure
Throughout a media briefing, Intel executives touted the Intel 6 structure, which is available in three components. Xeon 6 is constructed on a brand new modular-die material that serves like the inspiration and plumbing of a home. It supplies higher and quicker site visitors circulation, mentioned Kimball the analyst.
Sitting on high of the modular-die material is the Xeon multi-die structure. There are two dies, also referred to as chiplets, which are paired collectively: The compute die with cores, cache and reminiscence controllers, and the I/O die with UPI, PCIe, CXL, which makes reminiscence quicker and extra accessible, and Intel Accelerator Engines, Kimball mentioned. The third piece of the structure is an embedded multi-die interconnect bridge.
The structure is supposed to supply the flexibleness to combine and match the dies/chiplets to spice up the efficiency or efficiency per watt of the Xeon 6 processors.
For instance, the 6900 sequence processors might have three compute chiplets on the P-core model and two compute chiplets on the E-core model, whereas each have two I/O chiplets, mentioned Intel senior fellow Sailesh Kottapalli within the media briefing.
“Xeon 6 was designed from the bottom up for flexibility by including the right combination of cores, accelerators, I/O and reminiscence to help all of those workloads,” Kimball mentioned. “Consider Lego blocks that may be put collectively in several configurations relying on the wants of the workload.”
AMD has lengthy designed its processors utilizing a chiplet design, so Intel has performed catch up right here, Cutress mentioned. “It’s much more cost-effective, and it’s loads simpler to design.”
Gaudi AI Accelerator Costs are Cheaper than GPUs
Intel additionally introduced pricing for its Gaudi AI accelerators. A regular AI package together with eight Intel Gaudi 2 AI accelerators with a common baseboard prices $65,000, which is one-third the price of aggressive AI accelerators, the corporate mentioned.
A package that includes eight Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerators with a common baseboard prices $125,000, two-thirds the value of the competitors, Intel mentioned.
