Intel’s Cancelled Arctic Sound ‘Xe-HP’ GPU Resurfaces With Dual Tiles & Quad-HBM2E, a Ghost From Its Abandoned 2021 Roadmap

Intel's Arctic Sound 2T GPU, based on the Xe-HP architecture, has been pictured despite its cancellation several years ago.

A User Placed An Order For Ponte Vecchio, But Instead Received An Arctic Sound 2T GPU Sample, Which Was Cancelled Back In 2021

It was 2018, and the Intel Graphics Team was developing cool new products based on its first-generation Xe GPU architecture, such as gaming, workstation, and data centre-class solutions. The company had already shared details of its gargantuan Ponte Vecchio GPU, a multi-tile and multi-package engineering marvel & we also started getting first details of Arctic Sound, a lineup for workstations and servers. Raja Koduri had shared the first pictures of this chip, and we got to learn about three variants in 1-Tile, 2-Tile, and 4-Tile configurations.

But as soon as the product started to gain momentum, the cracks started appearing, and Intel announced the cancellation of Arctic Sound, followed by massive delays in the Ponte Vecchio GPU, which ultimately launched for the Aurora supercomputer years after its original scheduled launch. Intel then ventured into the XPU territory with its Falcon Shores lineup, which was also cancelled & now we are waiting for their Jaguar Shores chips, which are planned for 2027.

Today, Intel is doing much better in the graphics segment, offering top-tier iGPUs, and a workstation / server line that offers competitive value.

However, it looks like did ship out various samples of its Arctic Sound GPUs, as one chip featuring a dual tile configuration has been obtained online. X user, ChipsByLayers, has shared the very pictures of an ATS GPU sample featuring two compute chiplets based on the Xe-HP architecture alongside four HBM2E sites. The chip has the "Intel Confidential" logo along with a "QVS8 1.00 GHz" ID.

The 2-Tile Arctic Sound GPU was going to feature 1024 EUs or 512 EUs per chiplet. The full lineup configs are listed below:

• Intel Xe HP (12.5) 1-Tile GPU: 512 EU [Est: 4096 Cores, 12.2 TFLOPs assuming 1.5GHz, 150W]
• Intel Xe HP (12.5) 2-Tile GPU: 1024 EUs [Est: 8192 Cores, 20.48 assuming 1.25 GHz, TFLOPs, 300W]
• Intel Xe HP (12.5) 4-Tile GPU: 2048 EUs [Est: 16,384 Cores, 36 TFLOPs assuming 1.1 GHz, 400W/500W]

The pictures don't give us much, but show us an era when Arctic Sound was a big deal for Intel. Currently, Intel has moved away from HBM and makes GPUs featuring GDDR or LPDDR solutions. Big Battlemage is getting the Pro treatment and offers immense value for AI, while Crescent Island is going to enter the market soon with up to 480 GB of LPDDR5X memory.

All eyes are set on Jaguar Shores, which will be a big deal for Intel, but only by 2027. To say that Intel missed the datacenter AI train will be a big understatement. NVIDIA and AMD have propelled miles ahead in this segment, and whether Jaguar Shores makes things better for Intel, only time will tell.

Meanwhile, Crescent Island with Xe3P and LPDDR5X configurations sounds promising, but these products are yet to be released. But this time, the plans have been cemented, and we don't expect any major delays or further cancellations under Lip-Bu Tan's leadership.

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