Intel is preparing their Skylake-EP Xeon E5 processor lineup for launch in mid-2017. And judging by the leaks regarding their next top-of-the-line processors in the server market, the Xeon E5-2699 V5 looks like Intel's response to AMD's expected Naples server platform. The leak should, naturally, be taken with a grain of salt, since the leaked chip appears to not yet be a finalized version of Intel's silicon. If you trust the source, you can secure one of these engineering samples for the tidy sum of ¥ 26500 (around $3845).The chip that has just leaked is a trend-breaker when it comes to Intel's server parts: it carries on the V5 platforms' core count increase (with 24 and 28-core processors being already expected), stepping away from the 22-core high-end E5-2699V4A that Intel recently announced, by injecting ten extra full cores (and thus, 20 extra threads) to Intel's server chip line-up. If you find that number familiar, it's probably because AMD's Naples platform is also expected to house up to 32 processor cores per processor, alongside AMD's implementation of SMT (Simultaneous Multi Threading) for a total of 64 logical threads. Part of the Skylake-EP lineup which launches next year, the Xeon E5-2699 V5 (ES) is designed for Intel's LGA 3647 socket, and the leaked sample features a base clock of 2.10 GHz.

The Intel Xeon V5 line-up will be going up against AMD's Zen based Naples platform next year. While Intel enjoys a staggering, overwhelming presence in the server market, AMD is counting on Zen's performance and core counts as being a renaissance of sorts for the company, allowing it to claw back market share in this highly-lucrative market. Intel seems to be making an effort to at least equalizing its offers in regards to Naples' expected core counts, in a bid to ensure it is able to maintain its tight grip on the lion's share of the server market.

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