Intel has announced the expansion of its Xeon workstation processor lineup with the introduction of the new Xeon W-3500 and Xeon W-2500 desktop workstation processors. The new lineup, based on Sapphire Rapids Refresh architecture, is led by the Intel Xeon w9-3595X with 60 cores and a 385-watt TDP (PBP).
Xeon W-3500 & W-2500: Sapphire Rapids Refresh
The Xeon W-3500 series features up to 60 P-cores (up from 56), which nets up to 10% higher multi-core performance compared to previous generations. Meanwhile, the lower-end Xeon W-2500 series offers up to 26 P-cores (up from 24), with Intel claiming up to 11% higher performance in multi-core workloads over its predecessor. Still, the refreshed lineup’s core count is a far cry to AMD’s Threadripper series, which packs up to 96 cores, and more than capable of decimating Team Blue where core count matters.
With its huge core count deficit, traditional multi-core workload is hardly something that Intel can brag about these days – hence, the chipmaker has moved its focus to AI and data science workloads where it claims performance superiority over Threadripper through some of its AI-related optimizations, including DL Boost, AMX, and AVX-512 support.
In terms of memory and I/O, it’s virtually unchanged: the Xeon W-3500 comes 8-channel DDR5 RDIMM ECC memory supporting up to 4TB per system, coupled with 112 PCIe 5.0 lanes; whereas the Xeon W-2500 series will instead max out at 2TB through quad-channel DDR5 RDIMMs, with 64 PCIe 5.0 lanes available. The processors also feature integrated Wi-Fi 6E, plus overclocking support for unlocked processors (the ones with the ‘X’ suffix) and vPro Enterprise management features.
The Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 workstation processors are available for order starting August 28, 2024, from partners including HP, Dell, and Lenovo, with systems expected to be available in September. Pricing for the Intel Xeon W processor family starts at $609 for the 8-core Xeon w3-2525 and goes up to $5,889 for the 60-core flagship Xeon w9-3595X. Select models will be available in boxed versions, meaning you can get them without purchasing a full workstation system.
Pokdepinion: There’s not much ground left on the workstation market for Intel to stand on these days, isn’t it?
