Intel’s Cascade Lake-X HEDT CPUs Will Feature No Big Changes Over Skylake-X Chips – Will Feature Glacier Falls ‘X399’ Platform Support

With Intel done releasing their high-end desktop 'Skylake-X Refresh' lineup, we wait for their next-generation Cascade Lake-X lineup which is expected next year. Aiming for a late 2019 launch, the new family will yet again introduce us to a range of Core-X CPUs but are there going to be any major changes that we should look forward to? I think we have an answer.

Intel's Cascade Lake-X HEDT Lineup - More of the Same, No Big Changes, Support on Glacier Falls 'X399' Platform

Ashraf Essa from The Motley Fool has reported that we shouldn't expect big changes from the new HEDT Cascade Lake-X processors. Intel just recently launched their 9th Gen Core-X processors that are based on a refreshed design from Skylake-X. The main changes that we got to see on the new chips are the use of STIM (Soldered Thermal Interface Material) and slightly higher clock speeds. All of the rest is exactly the same as the 7th Gen Core-X parts. The process (14nm+) is the same and so is the architecture.

Now coming to Cascade Lake-X, we know from the details of Cascade Lake-SP that it is based on the same architecture as Skylake-SP, but comes with a few changes. These include support for DL (Deep Learning Boost) and support for Optane DC Persistent Memory. The other major change is the hardware level mitigations for Spectre & Meltdown. There's also the 14nm++ process node which will help deliver high-frequencies and an optimized cache hierarchy.

Now if you look closely at these differences between the two server platforms, you will note that aside from some datacenter-centric changes that will only be available to servers, the HEDT line wouldn't be a big difference compared to the currently existing Skylake-X or Skylake-X Refreshed parts. We know that the cost of the Optane DC memory won't be a practical use case for HEDT use and DL Boost won't be a helpful feature to get better performance in gaming or regular desktop applications.

The boosted clocks would help but we may be looking at just +200 or +300 MHz gain which, to be honest, isn't that great as we are stuck with the same architecture and we know that 14nm++ gets really hot and uses lots of power with higher clocks. In addition to that, there's no mention of more cores on the SP parts so we may be stuck with 18 cores on the platform for a while.

Intel HEDT/Workstation Processor Families:

Intel HEDT Family	Granite Rapids	Sapphire Rapids Refresh	Sapphire Rapids	Cascade Lake	Skylake	Skylake	Skylake	Broadwell	Haswell	Ivy Bridge	Sandy Bridge	Gulftown
Process Node	Intel 3	10nm ESF	10nm ESF	14nm++	14nm+	14nm+	14nm+	14nm	22nm	22nm	32nm	32nm
Flagship SKU	TBD	Xeon W9-3595X Xeon W7-2595X	Xeon W9-3495X Xeon W7-2495X	Core i9-10980XE	Xeon W-3175X	Core i9-9980XE	Core i9-7980XE	Core i7-6950X	Core i7-5960X	Core i7-4960X	Core i7-3960X	Core i7-980X
Max Cores/Threads	86/172?	60/120 26/52	56/112 24/48	18/36	28/56	18/36	18/36	10/20	8/16	6/12	6/12	6/12
Clock Speeds	TBD	4.8 GHz	4.8 GHz	3.00 / 4.80 GHz	3.10/4.30 GHz	3.00/4.50 GHz	2.60/4.20 GHz	3.00/3.50 GHz	3.00/3.50 GHz	3.60/4.00 GHz	3.30/3.90 GHz	3.33/3,60 GHz
Max Cache	TBD	105 MB L3	105 MB L3	24.75 MB L3	38.5 MB L3	24.75 MB L3	24.75 MB L3	25 MB L3	20 MB L3	15 MB L3	15 MB L3	12 MB L3
Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU)	128 Gen 5	112 Gen 5	112 Gen 5	44 Gen3	44 Gen3	44 Gen3	44 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen3	40 Gen2	32 Gen2
Chipset Compatiblity	W890	W790	W790	X299	C612E	X299	X299	X99 Chipset	X99 Chipset	X79 Chipset	X79 Chipset	X58 Chipset
Socket Compatiblity	LGA 4710?	LGA 4677	LGA 4677	LGA 2066	LGA 3647	LGA 2066	LGA 2066	LGA 2011-3	LGA 2011-3	LGA 2011	LGA 2011	LGA 1366
Memory Compatiblity	DDR5-6000?	DDR5-4800	DDR5-4800	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2800	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2133	DDR3-1866	DDR3-1600	DDR3-1066
Max TDP	350W?	350W	350W	165W	255W	165W	165W	140W	140W	130W	130W	130W
Launch	2025?	2024	2023	Q4 2019	Q4 2018	Q4 2018	Q3 2017	Q2 2016	Q3 2014	Q3 2013	Q4 2011	Q1 2010
Launch Price (Top SKU)	TBD	TBD	$5889	$979 US	~$4000 US	$1979 US	$1999 US	$1700 US	$1059 US	$999 US	$999 US	$999 US

For those who need more cores can go for the 28 core LGA 3647 parts with hexa-channel memory support but that would cost them 3-5x over what they pay for an LGA 2066 platform, so AMD might still keep the lead, especially if they can release a 64 core Threadripper part with Zen 2 cores next year.

Finally, there is talk that the Glacier Falls platform will feature the 'X399' chipset. We have heard about X399 a while ago which was later called Z399 by the same rumors. One interesting detail to be seen is that Intel kept their socket unchanged with the Basin Falls/refresh parts. Now that it is finally coming to an end, will Intel keep socket longevity on Glacier Falls or opt for a new one that only supports Cascade Lake-X chips and beyond.

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