Intel Sierra Forest Leaks: 144-Core Xeon Beast Unveiled

During the Vision 2024 event, Intel announced a shift in the naming convention for its Xeon processors. The forthcoming sixth generation of Xeon Scalable processors will be dubbed the Xeon 6 series, divided into two product lines: Granite Rapids (P-Core) and Sierra Forest (E-Core). This new naming scheme is designed to simplify the names of server processors, aligning them with those of the latest consumer processors. Subsequently, the validation platform for the Xeon 6 series processors, known as “Beechnut City,” was revealed.

According to Wccftech, the Sierra Forest recently resurfaced in the Geekbench 6 database, showcasing the Xeon 6E processor with 144 cores and 144 threads, a base frequency of 2.2 GHz, and equipped with 72MB of L2 cache and 108MB of L3 cache. The “Beechnut City” validation platform, which operates as a dual-socket system, features two processors totaling 288 cores, paired with 256GB of DDR5 memory. Since this is an early ES version with lower frequencies, the results are not highly indicative of final performance.

Sierra Forest is manufactured using Intel’s 3 process and built around the Sierra Glen architecture core, slated for release in the first half of 2024, within this quarter. Leaked information suggests that Sierra Forest will be available as SP and AP chips, with the SP chips covering a core range from 64 to 144 and a TDP starting at 205W up to 350W. In contrast, it seems there will be only one AP chip model with 288 cores and a TDP of 500W.

The platform corresponding to the Xeon 6 series processors is codenamed Birch Stream, with SP chips utilizing the LGA 4710 socket and AP chips employing the larger LGA 7529 socket.