Granite Rapids-AP processor specs leaked
At the recent Vision 2024 event, Intel announced a change in the naming convention for its next-generation Xeon processors. The forthcoming sixth generation will be designated as Xeon 6, featuring products such as Sierra Forest, which employs a complete E-Core design, and Granite Rapids, which utilizes an all P-Core architecture. Details for four models of the Granite Rapids-AP processors have been revealed.
According to Wccftech, these models include the Xeon 6980P, 6979P, 6972P, and 6960P, boasting 128, 120, 96, and 72 cores respectively. These cores are all Redwood Cove, identical to the P-Cores used in the current Meteor Lake processors. Each of these Xeon processors has a thermal design power (TDP) of 500W and belongs to the Xeon Platinum series. The specifications are as follows:
- Xeon 6980P: 128 cores, 500W, 2.0~3.2GHz
- Xeon 6979P: 120 cores, 500W, 2.1~3.2GHz
- Xeon 6972P: 96 cores, 500W, 2.4~3.5GHz
- Xeon 6960P: 72 cores, 500W, 2.7~3.8GHz
Given that Intel’s fifth-generation Emerald Rapids Xeon processor features a maximum of 64 cores, Granite Rapids is set to offer double this number, aligning with AMD’s EPYC Turin, which uses the Zen 5 architecture and is expected to have up to 128 cores. A version utilizing the Zen 5c architecture is anticipated to have up to 192 cores. It will face competition from Sierra Forest, which boasts up to 288 cores with its all E-Core design.
The corresponding platform for the Xeon 6 processors is codenamed Birch Stream. It uses the LGA 4710 socket for SP chips and the larger LGA 7529 socket for AP chips. Granite Rapids will offer configurations from single to octa-socket platforms, supporting up to 12 memory channels, providing 136 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and supporting CXL 2.0. There will be various chipset combinations, including single, dual, and up to triple compute chips. A plethora of SKUs are expected to be released by Intel following the launch of Sierra Forest.
