Intel Clearwater Forest Xeon processor will have up to 288 cores
Although the pure E-Core Sierra Forest Xeon processor has yet to be released, news of its successor is already emerging. Intel’s second-generation E-Core Xeon, codenamed Clearwater Forest, is expected to feature 288 cores and boast an updated core architecture.
This information originates from @Bionic_Squash. However, since the first-generation E-Core Xeon, Sierra Forest, has not yet been released and is expected to launch in mid-2024, the scheduled 2025 release of Clearwater Forest could be subject to change.
Intel Clearwater Forest will utilize the fourth-generation E-Core architecture. The current Alder Lake and Raptor Lake use the first-generation E-Core, Gracemonth, while the upcoming Meteor Lake will deploy the second-generation Crestmonth. The third-generation Sierra Glen is set to release alongside Sierra Forest.
The architecture of Sierra Glen appears to be very similar to that of Crestmont, which in turn closely resembles Gracemont, with only minor variations. It is said that the E-Core used in Clearwater Forest is an enhanced version of Crestmont, rather than the Skymont architecture. Clearwater Forest’s E-Core is slated for use in 2025 with the Lunar Lake and Panther Lake series.
The Intel Clearwater Forest Xeon processor will have up to 288 cores, matching the first-generation E-Core Xeon, Sierra Forest. The difference lies in the fact that the Clearwater Forest-SP chips will offer more cores than the 144 of the Sierra Forest-SP, while the Clearwater Forest-AP chips will maintain the same 288 cores as the Sierra Forest-AP. It is reported that the IPC (Instructions Per Cycle) has seen significant improvements. A major advancement in Clearwater Forest will be a larger L3 cache, a change that will also be seen in the upcoming fifth-generation Xeon, Emerald Rapids.
