The sixth-generation Xeon Granite Rapids-SP processor leak: Using LGA 4710 interface

A while back, the world witnessed the disclosure of a Granite Rapids processor, employing the LGA 7529 socket. It is an integral part of the sixth-generation Xeon processors, albeit belonging to the Granite Rapids-AP series. However, the Granite Rapids-SP series will harness the LGA 4710 socket.

Within the photographs published by @momomo_us, we can perceive two distinct Intel server processors. From the external framing, it’s evident that they utilise the LGA 4710 socket. The processor on the left bears an uncanny resemblance to the existing Sapphire Rapids-SP in terms of its form factor. The processor on the right, however, boasts a lid design distinct from all previously revealed, suggesting that Intel may be assessing which of the two lid designs has the upper hand.

In response, @YuuKi_AnS noted that the processor on display is Intel’s Granite Rapids-SP, substantially smaller than the earlier leaked Granite Rapids-AP. The latter possesses more cores and presumably supports a platform conducive to a greater number of processors, also endorsing the Sierra Forest CPU.

One of the application platforms for this processor is Beechnut City MVV. It’s a dual-socket motherboard built around the Birch Stream platform, furnished with two LGA 4710 sockets, allowing the integration of two Granite Rapids-SP processors. Each processor is specified to have a 350W TDP. The motherboard is equipped with 32 DIMM memory slots, supporting eight-channel DDR5 with memory frequencies of DDR5-6400 1DPC / DDR5-5200 2DPC. The platform can potentially furnish up to 88 PCI-E 5.0 channels.

The Birch Stream platform will facilitate combinations from a single socket up to a maximum of eight. It is predicted that the Granite Rapids-SP will be equipped with 80 to 86 cores, an approximately 43% increase over the 60 cores present in the Sapphire Rapids-SP. The Granite Rapids-SP/AP will adopt different chip combinations, but both will incorporate Intel’s 3 process, featuring the entirely new Redwood Cove cores, which substantially outperform the existing Golden Cove and Raptor Cove cores. The all-new Sierra Forest platform is projected to launch in February 2024. However, we’re yet to even catch a glimpse of the fifth-generation Emerald Rapids.