Intel Launches Xeon E7-8800 and E7-4800 V3 Processor Families

MojoKid writes: Intel is taking the wraps off of its latest processors for enterprise server and pro workstation applications today, dubbed the Xeon E7-8800 / 4800 v3. Like its high-end desktop processors, the Xeon E7-8800 / 4800 v3 product families are based on the Haswell-EX CPU core. These new Xeons, however, offer a plethora of other enhancements and are packing significantly more cores than any current desktop processor. The highest-end Xeon E7-8800 series processors, for example, are 18 core chips. Previous generation Xeon E7 v2 processors were based on the Ivy Bridge-EX core, while the new E7 v3 parts are based on Haswell-EX, though both are manufactured on Intel's 22nm process node. Next generation Broadwell-EX based Xeons will make the move to 14nm. Xeon E7-8800 / 4800 v3 series processors have 32-lanes of PCIe 3.0 connectivity per socket, TSX is enabled in all SKUs, they offer support for both DDR3 and DDR4 memory (though, not simultaneously), and can address up to 6TB of memory in a 4-socket configuration or 12TB in an 8-socket setup. Intel has also goosed the chip's QPI interface speeds to 9.6GT/s.

Comments

Re:Ah, 18 cores

[Areyoukiddingme]

Why would anyone use a Xeon with that many cores in a desktop? o_O

For my compiler, you insensitive clod. Now that we have SSDs that can feed the beast fast enough to keep it busy, I would be delighted to have one of these on my desk.

Re:Mainframe era?

[afidel]

Uh, it's nearly as much CPU power (141 cores at 5.2GHz, but even more CISC that x86) as the current mainframe, zSeries hasn't been about brute CPU in decades, it's about balanced CPU and I/O combined with high QoS and absolute stability. As an example the Z13 has nearly 1GB of L4 cache in the I/O coprocessors.

Seems to still be architecturaly-gimped

[Khyber]

It appears that they didn't do much to the QPI besides boost the speed a bit. That's not going to fare well in HPC stuff. The reason I didn't use the V2 E7-8*** line was because due to how gimped the memory architecture was, you could run 2 socket 4 GPU, 4 socket 2 GPU, but not 4/4.

It was cheaper, and just as effective, to go with the E5 instead, and make multiple node systems into a single box, instead. 8 socket, 12 GPU. Fuck yea.

Re:Seems to still be architecturaly-gimped

[Khyber]

Quick clarification: Not the memory controller was gimped, but how processors communicated and shared stuff out of their memory to other processors was gimped. And the E7 v3 looks to have the same limitation. Pumping up QPI speed might help alleviate that SOME but nowhere near what's needed for multiple socket multiple GPU configs in a single non-nodal system.