Intel Desktop Roadmap Leaks: Next week, Intel intends to make a significant announcement regarding the future of its client PC platform, but HXL (@9550pro(opens in new tab)) has already leaked some information from the presentation.
Intel’s Desktop and Workstation Platforms Roadmap, which includes information about Raptor Lake-S Refresh processors for 2023 PCs and Sapphire Rapids-64L/112L CPUs slated to address high-end desktops and workstations next quarter, poses even more intrigue to performance PC aficionados.
Raptor Lake-S Refresh: Coming In 2023
The fact that Intel intends to continue making Raptor Lake processors for desktops for another year is one of the biggest revelations made by the leaked paper. Raptor Lake-S Refresh CPUs are scheduled to arrive in Q3 2023 and will continue to power entry-level workstations and desktops for enthusiasts, common users, and business desktop PCs.
The leaked roadmap is silent on the specifications or advancements made to the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs over those of the competition. However, refreshes often involve higher clock speeds and sporadic small upgrades like improved power delivery or new turbo boost algorithms.
Whether Intel’s 34-core Raptor Lake-S (RPLS-34C) is a member of the RPL Refresh family is likewise unknown from the document snippets, although something tells us that this silicon is only used in workstations.
What is notable about Intel’s plans for desktops in the second half of 2023 is the absence of its multi-tile (multi-chipset) CPU codenamed Meteor Lake. This feature might only be available on mobile devices or it might come to PCs in 2024.
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The Z790, W680, Q670, and numerous 700-series chipsets will continue to be the foundation of Intel’s Raptor Lake-S Refresh. However, we do not currently know if these new components will be directly compatible with motherboards that are currently in use (including those powered by 600-series chipsets).
Sapphire Rapids-64L And Sapphire Rapids-112L: Xeon W-2400 And Xeon W-3400
Since Intel hasn’t updated its workstation and high-end desktop platforms in about three years, their CPUs from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020 (based on the Skylake microarchitecture from 2015) appear, to put it mildly, very drab.
Both good and bad news is contained in Intel’s new desktop platform roadmap for individuals who desire a high-end CPU. The good news is that the business intends to release its desktop workstation Xeon W-2400 (Sapphire Rapids-64L) and Xeon W-3400 (Sapphire Rapids-112L) solutions in Q1 2023.
The bad news is that Intel will instead target this market with Xeon-branded products and platforms, thereby abandoning its HEDT product family. Both the Xeon W-2400 and W-3400-series processors will use motherboards with the Intel W790 chipset and come in LGA4677 packaging, as was previously announced.
The Xeon W-2400 from Intel has a processor base power (PBP) of up to 225W and up to 24 high-performance cores. It also has 64 PCIe 5.0 lanes and a quad-channel DDR5 memory subsystem that can support up to 2TB of DDR5 memory with ECC.
While the Xeon W-3400 processors from Intel have up to 56 high-performance cores, 112 PCIe 5.0 lanes, an octa-channel DDR5 memory subsystem that can support up to 4TB of ECC memory, and a PBP of up to 350W, they also have up to 56 high-performance cores.
All Sapphire Rapids-WS CPUs have somewhat low base clock speeds (ranging from 1.90 GHz to 3.20 GHz depending on the SKU), however, their turbo speeds typically approach 4 GHz. We will find out how fast these CPUs are in practice by looking at actual clocks, which will depend on cooling systems and power constraints.
Many Xeon W-2400/W-3400 variants will have unlocked multipliers and the ability to be overclocked, giving those who wish to push these processors to their limits the chance to do so. As of now, it doesn’t appear that RAM will be able to be overclocked (not that one needs it with a quad or eight-channel DDR5 memory subsystem).
These W-2400/W-3400 processors will support all workstation-grade reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) features as well as functions like Virtual RAID on CPU (VROC) 8.0 and Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) 3.04. Since we’re talking about Xeons, we can assume that these features will be supported.
The new workstation platform from Intel will have more cores, an entirely new CPU microarchitecture, PCIe Gen5, and support for DDR5. Additionally, the W790 chipset will have reasonably extensive and modern I/O capabilities.
Up to 16 PCle 4.0 lanes, 12 PCle 3.0 lanes, eight SATA ports, five USB 3.2 Gen2x2 connections, and ten USB 3.2 Gen2 ports are among the features of the new W790 core logic. Additionally, the chip will support two 2.5GbE PHY controllers and integrate Wi-Fi 6E capabilities.
The W790 will also include HD Audio, MIPI SoundWare, and other client PC features because it is intended for desktop PCs. Unfortunately, the W790 chipset does not support PCIe 5.0, Thunderbolt 3/4, or USB 4/4.1.
The chipset already has a lot of bandwidth-hungry interfaces, so this might be a natural step to assure maximum I/O performance, but keep in mind that it connects to its host CPU using eight DMI Gen4 lanes.
Sapphire Rapids-SP: Xeon Scalable On C741
Intel will make available its Eagle Stream platform, which supports up to two server-grade 4th Generation Xeon Scalable Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze (Sapphire Rapids-SP) processors, for customers that require unmatched performance.
The platform offers up to 112 high-performance cores with Hyper-Threading, 160 PCIe Gen5 lanes, and up to 8TB of 16-channel DDR5 memory per box when outfitted with two CPUs. Furthermore, this platform will include all of the RAS and remote management functions found in the Sapphire Rapids-WS, but it will, of course, not provide any overclocking functionality.
Even while Eagle Stream workstations will have unrivaled number-crunching power, they will rely on an antiquated I/O chipset, the server-grade C741(opens in a new tab). For people who purchase entire boxes, this might not be a problem because workstation manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo will add a ton of extra controllers to Sapphire Rapids-SP-based computers to make up for their tiny chipsets.
More Details About Client PC Platforms To Come
Intel will address several topics at its forthcoming investor event, even though the desktop portion of its plans for 2023 is more or less obvious. Intel will probably discuss its plans for discrete graphics, next-generation Thunderbolt based on USB 4.1, Wi-Fi 7, and a whole host of other things that are expected to make its platforms more desirable than those of its competitors in addition to the Meteor Lake, Arrow Lake, and Lunar Lake CPUs that will be released in the upcoming years. So pay attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Intel catch up to M1?
Alder Lake is quick enough for Intel to target the M1's absolute performance. The M1 is not Intel's engineers' benchmark for where Arrow Lake has to be in 2023–2024. In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, insurmountable advantages are hard to find and much harder to maintain.
Is Intel catching up to Apple silicon?
In a number of important scores, including Geekbench and Cinebench, Intel's newest Core CPU has surpassed Apple's top-tier M1 Max chip. Even if there is only a slight performance difference, Intel can claim to have caught up to Apple Silicon chipsets.
Does Intel make chips like M1?
However, despite the fact that consumers may already choose from three different versions of the M1, Intel's new CPU won't likely hit the market until the end of 2023.
What comes after Meteor Lake?
Intel will shift to using a "chipset" design for its consumer CPUs, with several tiny tiles that handle different functions fused onto a single chip, starting with Meteor Lake (and followed by "Arrow Lake," the rumored 15th Generation Core family).24-Aug-2022
Final Lines
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