Intel will bolster high-end processor lineup with Xeon Gold and Platinum series

Intel’s Xeon processor line is dominant at the very high-end of the CPU market, and is aimed at powering the most system-critical server-class machines. Now, the company has sent out a Product Change Notification (PCN) to its partners that introduces its latest and greatest offerings in the Xeon line.

Specifically, Intel is launching the Xeon Gold and Platinum lineup, which will represent the company’s high-end flagship processors. There are quite a few new processors being announced, but what they have in common is high clock speeds and high core counts, as Wccftech.com reports.

According to Computerbase.de, the new processors range from the Xeon Gold 5122, which starts out at 3.6GHz with between 14 and 22 cores, up to the Xeon Platinum 8180, which clocks in at 2.5GHz and offers between 22 and 28 cores and a maximum of 56 threads. The 8180 boasts 38.5MB of L3 cache and a thermal design power (TDP) rating of 205 watts.

The new chips will sport new six-channel memory interface with up to three memory modules per channel, for a total of 18 memory modules. In addition to the new Xeons themselves, Intel is also introducing a new LGA 3647 socket that will support hexa-channel RAM and Intel Optane modules.

The new Xeon line will have four CPU families, with Bronze and Silver levels joining the just-announced Gold and Platinum series. Numerical designations will be 3000 for Bronze, 4000 for Silver, 6000 and 5000 for Gold, and 8000 for Platinum. The platform designation is Skylake-SP, which will support up to eight CPU sockets, and the Xeon naming conventions will be changing accordingly.

Intel hasn’t yet provided pricing or availability for the entire Xeon processor lines. However, given that pricing for the current high-end option, the Xeon E7-8890 v3, is set at $8,898, it’s likely that the newest Xeon options will be incrementally more expensive. For anyone who needs it, however, this level of power will likely be well worth the investment.