Monday, April 18th 2022
Intel Sapphire Rapids 56-Core ES Processor Boosts to 3.3 GHz at 420 Watts
Intel is slowly transitioning its data center customers to a new processor generation called Sapphire Rapids. Today, thanks to the hardware leaker Yuuki_ans we have more profound insights into the top-end 56-core Sapphire Rapids processor and its power settings. According to the leak, we have information on either Xeon Platinum 8476 or Platinum 8480 designs that are equipped with 56 cores and 112 threads. This model was running at the base frequency of 1.9 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.3 GHz. Single-core can boost to 3.7 GHz if the report is giving a correct reading. Remember that this is only an engineering sample, so the final target speeds could differ. It carries 112 MB of L2 and 105 MB of L3 cache, and this sample was running with 1 TB of DDR5 memory with CL40-39-38-76 timings.
Perhaps the most exciting finding is the power configuration of this SKU. Intel has enabled this CPU to consume 350 Watts in PL1 rating, with up to 420 Watts in PL2 performance mode. The enforced BIOS power limit rating is set at an astonishing 764 Watts, which could happen with AVX-512 enabled. Final TDP ratings are yet to be disclosed; however, these Sapphire Rapids processors are shaping to be relatively power-hungry chips.
Source:
@Yuuki_ans (Twitter)
Perhaps the most exciting finding is the power configuration of this SKU. Intel has enabled this CPU to consume 350 Watts in PL1 rating, with up to 420 Watts in PL2 performance mode. The enforced BIOS power limit rating is set at an astonishing 764 Watts, which could happen with AVX-512 enabled. Final TDP ratings are yet to be disclosed; however, these Sapphire Rapids processors are shaping to be relatively power-hungry chips.
41 Comments on Intel Sapphire Rapids 56-Core ES Processor Boosts to 3.3 GHz at 420 Watts
Still, I can't really imagine anyone wanting this over even Epyc Milan, let alone Genoa.
The real question is whether Sapphire Rapids will be out before the current 7773X is superseeded by Zen4 Genoa. With 768MB of cache, and even without Linux kernel optimisations for the extra cache, the 7773X is an absolute beast at the sort of database/simulation work that these chips often get purchased for. Just like the 5800X3D, the 3D V-Cache has no benefit in situations like encoding or tile-based rendering, but if you're buying a server CPU to do what a GPU should be doing at 20x the efficiency, then you're an idiot, or a clueless PHB.
Same as the 12 series.
Even the 8 core EPYCs have 8 chiplets, because the L3 cache is too good to waste and memory bandwidth would be imbalanced with just 1 chiplet for the whole CPU. For the latter I mean the InfinityFabric bandwidth, not the IMC since those are on the IO die. One chiplet wouldn't be able to consume the whole bandwidth of the IMCs.
I guess I don’t understand the hate. Must be the audience.
I just found it strange that AMD went for an odd number of enabled CPU cores in a single CCD, since that only did that for 7, but not 5 or 3. The timing of the single EPYC 7663 was coincidentally close to the first news of Sapphire Rapids topping out at 56 cores, and the 7663 is a single, isolated example of a 7-core CCD across all of the several hundred Zen-architecture CPUs models ever made.
- One singular model only, no low-TDP, or high-clock variants of it.
- The first odd-numbered core count in any Zen-based CCD, ever.
- Released in the same week that Intel confirmed the leak of Sapphire Rapids having 56 cores was accurate.
- The InfinityFabric root down the center of each CCD has a pair of cores off either side. It's apparently difficult to isolate one of these cores from the other as much of that IF interconnect is shared between both. This is kind of backed up but AMD never making any 7, 3, or 5-core Ryzens. If I had to guess, 56-core models are built with fully-functional CCDs where one core is simply told not to process any calculations in microcode to meet power-budget-per-core (or spite/brag) requirements.
I mean, there's no hard evidence, but I can take an educated guess that the 7763 is a 'spite' or 'brag' edition to prove to shareholders/customers/Intel that AMD already has the 56-core product on the market and we won't see other 7-core CCDs either in desktop, mobile, or servers without good reason.is intel and nvidia fighting for highest power draw as a higher is better thing or what cuz nvidia 40 series 600watts and intel sapphire rapids 350watts Nvidia wins lol 180w is too much for me on cpu and 350 is too high on a gpu ) 6800xt or less (maybe 6900xt as same pwr as 6800xt ?) ;)
Intel on the other side, are negotiable and available right away.
AMD seems to be selling them like hot cake to cloud vendor and don't have that much left for the business market.
Also the fact that Intel have their own fabs dedicated to production makes it far easier to get stock out the door. When the server chips are also fighting against GPU's, APU's, Console Parts, Steam Deck Parts, Consumer Parts etc on top of the 1-2 year lead times. You bet if AMD could go back 12 months and double their order books they would.
IN power consumption, yes you are correct Pat, if you ever do release SR that is....
The Intel sales/marketing/OEM-bribery machine is still running in force. HP, Dell, and Lenovo will need to be coerced into selling you an EPYC. If you ask for a spec, they'll ALWAYS recommend Intel and to get AMD quotes you literally have to tell them that you're going elsewhere unless they stop trying to jam Intel down your throat. The system is still dirty, and it's clear that Intel still don't play fair. It's not solely that though, Consultants/contractors building a solution that requires an x86 server will just recommend a Xeon, because that's what's listed in an old document somewhere. That document is likely version 16 of a an original that predates even Opteron servers; It'll take decades before AMD servers are seen as even equal to Intels, despite the fact that AMD have been outperforming Intel in the server space for at least half a decade already.
Don't get me wrong, the servers I manage on-prem and in DCs are 95% Intel and they work great. I just dislike how strongly Intel's old bedfellows still stick to the old, illegal, broken system.