Monday, December 17th 2018
Intel's 28-core Xeon W-3175X Can be Yours for Just $3,999
So... Do you want Intel's own HCC CPU in an overclocker-friendly package? But you want in a Xeon branding and envelope, surely, because that's the only place where you can get one of these right now. Well, Intel has you covered - for $4000. Retailers in Europe, hunted by Tom's Hardware, have begun to take stock of these CPUs, and in doing so, current pricing overs around that magic $4,000 mark - at the least. Prices still haven't stabilized due to the low number of outlets offering the CPU right now, and it's likely that when it does, it will stabilize to this lowest common denominator.
The Xeon W-3175X is built on Intel's 14 nm ++ manufacturing lines, features 28 physical cores with HyperThreading, features base/boost clocks of 3.1 / 4.3 GHz respectively, support hexa-channel DDR4 memory, and offers 44 PCIe lanes. It also has a 255 W TDP. Compare these specs to AMD's Threadripper 2990WX with its 32 physical, 64 logical cores, quad-channel DDR4 support, 64 PCIe lanes, 250 W TDP (non-comparable) and $1,799 (very comparable) pricing... Well. Add in the platform cost for one of these Intel babies, with a 3,647-pin LGA3647 motherboard (some feature the most ridiculous power delivery systems you could ever think of, btw, at 32 phases).. with the requirement for 4x eight-pin EPS power connectors and 2x 24-pin connectors. Have fun.
Source:
Tom's Hardware
The Xeon W-3175X is built on Intel's 14 nm ++ manufacturing lines, features 28 physical cores with HyperThreading, features base/boost clocks of 3.1 / 4.3 GHz respectively, support hexa-channel DDR4 memory, and offers 44 PCIe lanes. It also has a 255 W TDP. Compare these specs to AMD's Threadripper 2990WX with its 32 physical, 64 logical cores, quad-channel DDR4 support, 64 PCIe lanes, 250 W TDP (non-comparable) and $1,799 (very comparable) pricing... Well. Add in the platform cost for one of these Intel babies, with a 3,647-pin LGA3647 motherboard (some feature the most ridiculous power delivery systems you could ever think of, btw, at 32 phases).. with the requirement for 4x eight-pin EPS power connectors and 2x 24-pin connectors. Have fun.
32 Comments on Intel's 28-core Xeon W-3175X Can be Yours for Just $3,999
Don't believe me? Look at 6700k.
Well done Intel. Do we get a free water chiller?They did make some changes, because if you look at power and clockability, there is a noticeable improvement between Kaby Lake's 7700K versus the 8700K (two extra cores and four threads for barely any loss in clocks, if any) versus the 9900K (same move forward). They run hot, yes. Efficiency went out the window for the most part, yes. But they do clock very reliably to a very tight range of speeds, with increasing core counts. And we've also seen proof now that it was never the TIM being a problem at all, they run hot under solder just as well and it doesn't provide higher clocks.
Quite simply they found ways to push Core to the edge on the same node, compare that to AMD's FX 9590 with its alarming TDP difference from the originals. I'll say I prefer the Intel approach, they can stick as many +'es on that node as they like. It results in a product that still leads the pack. Is it optimal? Maybe not, but I'm still waiting for AMD to break 4.5 Ghz.
It is nerfed. The memory controllers are not all active cores have to peg other cores to use the memory controller across the infinity fabric that is already being used to do everything.
As someone who owns one I can tell you it has some major issues. Even at 4.2 it still is not perfect. I am for sure upgrading to a 64c with the correctly done mcm when it releases.
Still, W-3175X will perform on a level Threadripper can't come close to.My concern is whether this CPU is worth a new chipset and motherboard lineup so late in the cycle. I assume W-3175X will not be the only CPU on this family, but I do expect it to be short-lived, since Cooper Lake-SP will be released mid to late next year, and it will be based on the same chipset as the upcoming Ice Lake-SP (2020).
Comparable performance for less then half the price is not fair in generic performance. 2990WX is really a mixed bag. While it looks appealing on paper, the crippled cores really hampers certain workloads, and such latency problems are only going to grow when using 2-3 simultaneous loads as workstations typically do. When building workstations, the buyer should consider benchmarks relevant for their particular workload. Workstation performance is not as simple as e.g. gaming performance, just take a look at this benchmark of i9 7980XE vs Threadripper 2990WX with various workstation and server benchmarks. In some benchmarks the 18-core i9 crushes the 32-core Threadripper, and in others it's the opposite. The ideal choice for your workstation might not be the ideal for mine.