Intel launches 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable “Ice Lake” processors

The new generation of Intel Xeon Scalable processor has officially launched. Based on the Ice Lake architecture, the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors bring up to a 46% performance uplift compared to the previous generation.

With features such as SGX for built-in security, Intel Crypto Acceleration and Intel DL Boost for AI acceleration, the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors are aimed at cloud, AI, enterprise, HPC, networking, security, and edge applications.

According to Navin Shenoy, executive vice president and general manager of the data platforms group at Intel, the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform “is the most flexible and performant in Intel's history”. Designed for a vast variety of workloads, Intel's 3rd generation of Xeon Scalable processors delivers a “breadth of intelligent silicon and solutions” to fulfil customer needs.

Intel's new Xeon Scalable processors are based on the company's 10nm process node. Each socket supports up to 6TB of RAM, up to 8x channels of DDR4-3200 memory, and up to 64 PCIe 4.0 lanes. Featuring a maximum TDP of 270W, these new processors come with up to 40x cores, up to 80x threads, and up to 60MB of cache. In terms of clock speeds, these new processors can reach a 4.4GHz single-core turbo boost. Compared to a Xeon-based system from five years ago, users can expect a 2.65x performance improvement moving to 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable CPUs.

Intel compared the new Ice Lake processors with the flagship AMD EPYC 7763, claiming it offers 1.5x more performance in a “broad mix of 20 popular AI workloads”. Moreover, it also put the flagship Ice Lake CPU against the Nvidia A100 GPU, with Intel's processor performing 30% better in “selected AI workloads”.

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KitGuru says: Intel's 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable processors are looking good on paper. It will be interesting to see third-party benchmarks in the months ahead. What do you think of the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors? 

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