It's not just the 14th Gen Meteor Lake CPU architecture that has been confirmed by the blue camp but a bootlog of its upcoming Xeon HEDT lineup which includes the W9-3495 CPU with 56 cores & 112 threads has been spotted too.
Intel Xeon W9-3495 Sapphire Rapids HEDT CPU Spotted - Workstation Chip With 56 Cores & 112 Threads
From previous reports, we know that Intel's Sapphire Rapids HEDT workstation lineup will come in two flavors, the "Expert" lineup featuring up to 56 cores and 112 threads and the "Mainstream" line with up to 24 cores and 48 threads. We have already seen the Xeon W5-3433, a mainstream chip in the family leak out with a total of 16 Golden Cove cores, 32 threads, and 45 MB of L3 cache and we now have a new part that is definitely part of the Expert lineup and comes with the top 56 core and 112 thread configuration.
#Intel 56c/112t w9-3495 #SapphireRapids bootlog CPUID 806F4, #AVX512, #AMX enabled:https://t.co/niYfdumAAw pic.twitter.com/TLUC8whQ1E
— InstLatX64 (@InstLatX64) July 21, 2022
Starting with Intel's Sapphire Rapids HEDT family, the company will be more focused on the workstation platform. This is evident by the naming convention which has dropped the use of "Core" branding and switched to "Xeon". Just like the Core lineup, the Xeon chips will come in various segments starting with the Xeon W9, Xeon W7, Xeon W5, and Xeon W3. Each segment comes with its own SKUs with various configurations that will be compatible with the next-gen "Fishhawk Falls" platform. We can also confirm that this much is true because we have seen an internal roadmap that lists the following:
Starting with Sapphire Rapids, the Intel® Xeon brand will be used for all platforms going forward.
The X-series CPUs and Chipsets are no longer going to exist and will be replaced by the W-series chipsets which include the Sapphire Rapids Xeon W CPU and W790/W680 chipsets for workstation users. This is the same approach that AMD has taken with its Threadripper lineup of CPUs, moving them to PRO status and workstation-only.
As for the newly leaked chip, this is definitely a top-end Intel Sapphire Rapids HEDT SKU. The Intel Xeon W9-3495 CPU looks to be an ES sample with its 1.80 GHz base clock speed. it carries 56 cores and 112 threads. The CPU should carry the same 112.5 MB of L3 cache as the Xeon Platinum 8490H which is the top chip on offer within the Sapphire Rapids-SP lineup. The CPU carries both AVX-512 & AMX instructions so it's definitely going to offer a major performance uplift in apps that benefit from those but at the cost of higher power draw. Furthermore, Intel seems to have AVX-512 up and running only on its Workstation parts whereas the mainstream consumer platform has gotten rid of it entirely. AMD is taking a different approach and will have AVX-512 on consumer-level chips like the upcoming Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs.
Intel Sapphire Rapids-X - Xeon-W Expert Workstation Platform
The Sapphire Rapids "Fishhawk Falls" expert workstation platform will be succeeding Ice Lake-W Xeon CPUs that launched back in 2020. These will feature up to 56 Golden Cove cores and as low as 12 cores that will boost beyond 4 GHz. It will be a diverse portfolio with lots of SKUs with TDPs scaling up to 350W for the flagship models. As for price, these chips are expected between $3000-$5000 which puts them in the ultra-premium performance category.
The Fishhawk Falls platform is going to be a robust and next-gen ecosystem comprising 8-Channel DDR5-4400 (1DPC) / DDR5-4800 (2DPC) and up to 112 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes. These will come with ECC support and up to 4 TB DDR5 memory is possible (theoretically). There's also a good chance that we might see dual-socket SPR Expert Workstation motherboards that would boost the core count per platform to 112 cores, almost double the amount featured on AMD's flagship Threadripper, the 5995WX (64 Zen 3 cores). So summing things up:
- Intel 'Expert' Sapphire Rapids HEDT CPUs
- Up To 56 Cores / 112 Threads
- LGA 4677 Socket Support (Possible Dual-Socket Motherboards)
- 112 PCIe Gen 5.0 Lanes
- 8-Channel DDR5 Memory (Up To 4 TB)
Currently, there's no information available on when these CPUs are going to launch. Previous rumors have pointed out that the Intel Sapphire Rapids Xeon Workstation lineup will launch with Raptor Lake CPUs in October but that's not an official confirmation plus while we have seen a handful of leaks for Raptor Lake CPUs already, there have been little to none for the HEDT CPU lineup.
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 |
News Sources: Videocardz , @InstLatX64
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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