Tuesday, April 6th 2021

Intel Announces 10 nm Third Gen Xeon Scalable Processors "Ice Lake"

Intel today launched its most advanced, highest performance data center platform optimized to power the industry's broadest range of workloads—from the cloud to the network to the intelligent edge. New 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors (code-named "Ice Lake") are the foundation of Intel's data center platform, enabling customers to capitalize on some of the most significant business opportunities today by leveraging the power of AI.

New 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver a significant performance increase compared with the prior generation, with an average 46% improvement on popular data center workloads. The processors also add new and enhanced platform capabilities including Intel SGX for built-in security, and Intel Crypto Acceleration and Intel DL Boost for AI acceleration. These new capabilities, combined with Intel's broad portfolio of Intel Select Solutions and Intel Market Ready Solutions, enable customers to accelerate deployments across cloud, AI, enterprise, HPC, networking, security and edge applications.
"Our 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform is the most flexible and performant in our history, designed to handle the diversity of workloads from the cloud to the network to the edge," said Navin Shenoy, executive vice president and general manager of the Data Platforms Group at Intel. "Intel is uniquely positioned with the architecture, design and manufacturing to deliver the breadth of intelligent silicon and solutions our customers demand."

3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors
Leveraging Intel 10 nanometer (nm) process technology, the latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver up to 40 cores per processor and up to 2.65 times higher average performance gain compared with a 5-year-old system. The platform supports up to 6 terabytes of system memory per socket, up to 8 channels of DDR4-3200 memory per socket and up to 64 lanes of PCIe Gen4 per socket.

New 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors are optimized for modern workloads that run in both on-premise and distributed multicloud environments. The processors provide customers with a flexible architecture including built-in acceleration and advanced security capabilities, leveraging decades of innovation.
  • Built-in AI acceleration: The latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver the AI performance, productivity and simplicity that enable customers to unlock more valuable insights from their data. As the only data center CPU with built-in AI acceleration, extensive software optimizations and turnkey solutions, the new processors make it possible to infuse AI into every application from edge to network to cloud. The latest hardware and software optimizations deliver 74% faster AI performance compared with the prior generation and provide up to 1.5 times higher performance across a broad mix of 20 popular AI workloads versus AMD EPYC 7763 and up to 1.3 times higher performance on a broad mix of 20 popular AI workloads versus NVIDIA. A100 GPU.
  • Built-in security: With hundreds of research studies and production deployments, plus the ability to be continuously hardened over time, Intel SGX protects sensitive code and data with the smallest potential attack surface within the system. It is now available on 2-socket Xeon Scalable processors with enclaves that can isolate and process up to 1 terabyte of code and data to support the demands of mainstream workloads. Combined with new features, including Intel Total Memory Encryption and Intel Platform Firmware Resilience, the latest Xeon Scalable processors address today's most pressing data protection concerns.
  • Built-in crypto acceleration: Intel Crypto Acceleration delivers breakthrough performance across a host of important cryptographic algorithms. Businesses that run encryption-intensive workloads, such as online retailers who process millions of customer transactions per day, can leverage this capability to protect customer data without impacting user response times or overall system performance.
Additionally, to accelerate workloads on the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform, software developers can optimize their applications using oneAPI open, cross-architecture programming, which provides freedom from technical and economic burdens of proprietary models. The Intel oneAPI Toolkits help realize the processors' performance, AI and encryption capabilities through advanced compilers, libraries, and analysis and debug tools.

Intel Xeon Scalable processors are supported by more than 500 ready-to-deploy Intel IoT Market Ready Solutions and Intel Select Solutions that help to accelerate customer deployments—with up to 80% of our Intel Select Solutions being refreshed by end of year.

Industry-Leading Data Center Platform
Intel's data center platforms are the most pervasive on the market, with unmatched capabilities to move, store and process data. The latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform includes the Intel Optane persistent memory 200 series, Intel Optane Solid State Drive (SSD) P5800X and Intel SSD D5-P5316 NAND SSDs, as well as Intel Ethernet 800 Series Network Adapters and the latest Intel Agilex FPGAs. Additional information about all these is available in the 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable platform product fact sheet.

Delivering Flexible Performance Across Cloud, Networking and Intelligent Edge
Our latest 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable platform is optimized for a wide range of market segments—from the cloud to the intelligent edge.
  • For the cloud: 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors are engineered and optimized for the demanding requirements of cloud workloads and support a wide range of service environments. Over 800 of the world's cloud service providers run on Intel Xeon Scalable processors, and all of the largest cloud service providers are planning to offer cloud services in 2021 powered by 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors.
  • For the network: Intel's network-optimized "N-SKUs" are designed to support diverse network environments and optimized for multiple workloads and performance levels. The latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver on average 62% more performance on a range of broadly-deployed network and 5G workloads over the prior generation. Working with a broad ecosystem of over 400 Intel Network Builders members, Intel delivers solution blueprints based on 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor "N SKUs," resulting in accelerated qualification and shortened time-to-deployment for vRAN, NFVI, virtual CDN and more.
  • For the intelligent edge: 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors deliver the performance, security and operational controls required for powerful AI, complex image or video analytics, and consolidated workloads at the intelligent edge. The platform delivers up to 1.56 times more AI inference performance for image classification than the prior generations.
Select microarchitecture and performance-claim slides follow (courtesy: ComputerBase.de).
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65 Comments on Intel Announces 10 nm Third Gen Xeon Scalable Processors "Ice Lake"

#27
tabascosauz
dragontamer5788The server market is the obvious hit for Intel's 10nm technology.

It seems like Intel's main problem with 10nm is the low clock rates, which leads to worse performance compared to their 14nm+++++++++++ process clocked at well over 5GHz (boost). Servers don't want to boost so high. Low and slow benefits servers, as these computers are designed for maximum compute in a given datacenter (Datacenters are limited by two things: either power, or cooling... and cooling is itself limited by power).
There's still a freq deficit to be had in the server space going from Skylake > Superfin Sunny Cove. It just isn't as drastic as with Skylake > 10+ Sunny Cove mobile. And as to the "servers don't want to boost so high", EPYC 7Fx2 and 7xF3 have something to say about that.

Yeah it would have been a hit if Ice Lake-SP had showed up when it was supposed to, which was to make it to market between Rome and Milan. Instead, we got hot dumpster fire filler that is Cascade Lake and Cooper Lake and now Ice Lake's job is no longer to hang on to the performance crown, but now to turn a product that's "utterly laughable" into "at least competitive".

At least now performance is in a good enough place where existing Intel customers can actually justify staying on Intel for existing infrastructure and support. But if Gelsinger can deliver on the Sapphire Rapids promise on time, Ice Lake is all the more dead.

It's Rocket Lake all over again, except in the server space. Long-anticipated product bringing the new arch, actually not too shabby a product on its own, instead pushed further and further back until it's been made irrelevant by time, and it's only got less than a pitiful 6 months' worth of time on the market before the next generation is rushed in to stop the bleeding.

2021, the year where empty 10nm promises finally came home to roost.
Posted on Reply
#28
Space Lynx
Astronaut
Why_MeIntel along with IBM has cut a deal with the US govt while providing future jobs for Americans.

Meanwhile ..

www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/expanding-us-eu-foundry-unrealistic-says-tsmc-boss-2021-04/
never underestimate how much money the USA government is willing to waste... *coughs* *1 trillion dollar F-35 Lightning program* *coughs* boy not being able to afford the antibiotics I needed when I was 17 sure was fun times. ah, good ol America ~
Posted on Reply
#29
Unregistered
lynx29never underestimate how much money the USA government is willing to waste... *coughs* *1 trillion dollar F-35 Lightning program* *coughs* boy not being able to afford the antibiotics I needed when I was 17 sure was fun times. ah, good ol America ~
Spends ~800 billion dollars on the military yearly, can't afford proper healthcare like every other country

Yeah I'm sure glad I live in Austria right now
#30
TheGuruStud
Why_MeIntel along with IBM has cut a deal with the US govt while providing future jobs for Americans.

Meanwhile ..

www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/expanding-us-eu-foundry-unrealistic-says-tsmc-boss-2021-04/
You mean easy to exploit free money through never paying taxes. It's always a game. Govt has no real interest other than installing backdoors and getting their bribes. Intel and IBM have the money to build fabs, but they won't without free money. Why pay for a fab when you can get it for free?
Posted on Reply
#31
Why_Me
TheGuruStudYou mean easy to exploit free money through never paying taxes. It's always a game. Govt has no real interest other than installing backdoors and getting their bribes. Intel and IBM have the money to build fabs, but they won't without free money. Why pay for a fab when you can get it for free?
You live in the US yet you would rather get your chips from overseas ... ok
Posted on Reply
#32
DeathtoGnomes
AlexaSpends ~800 billion dollars on the military yearly, can't afford proper healthcare like every other country

Yeah I'm sure glad I live in Austria right now
Why have health care when you can just send in a drone ?
Posted on Reply
#33
TheGuruStud
Why_MeYou live in the US yet you would rather get your chips from overseas ... ok
I don't care where it comes from as long as it isn't Intel.

Also, never believe this kind of crap. They can pretend to build, get the subsidy and never complete it.
And don't forget there's nothing stopping them from hiring mostly foreign workers for nothing and abusing them (govt will not negotiate this). That's the intel way.
Posted on Reply
#34
mechtech
Still ice on the lakes here................
Posted on Reply
#35
Selaya
lynx29As someone with two jobs, I am a bit envious with the amount of free time you have lol
eh, that was some lazyass 15mins job ... that's hardly too much free time lmao
Posted on Reply
#36
dragontamer5788
Selayaeh, that was some lazyass 15mins job ... that's hardly too much free time lmao


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So I guess I need to go full galaxy brain?

Posted on Reply
#37
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
dragontamer5788

----------

So I guess I need to go full galaxy brain?

oh shiiiiiit
Posted on Reply
#38
ncrs
dragontamer5788On a 8x socket Platinum system, this would support 32TBs of RAM.
No it won't because Ice Lake SP is limited to 2S configurations.
Posted on Reply
#39
Caring1
Why_MeYou live in the US yet you would rather get your chips from overseas ... ok
That comment has racist undertones, unless your concern is the economy?
Posted on Reply
#40
Space Lynx
Astronaut
AlexaSpends ~800 billion dollars on the military yearly, can't afford proper healthcare like every other country

Yeah I'm sure glad I live in Austria right now
I do find it rather odd, that the government of the USA cares about me now and wants to give me a free vaccine... but when I was throwing up for three weeks straight at age 17 they didn't care I couldn't afford my antibiotics... interesting existence. meh
Posted on Reply
#41
mtcn77
dragontamer5788In 5 or 10 years, AMD probably will rely upon Xilinx's steady profits to keep the company stable.
They will be making AI FPGAs.
Posted on Reply
#42
TheGuruStud
lynx29I do find it rather odd, that the government of the USA cares about me now and wants to give me a free vaccine... but when I was throwing up for three weeks straight at age 17 they didn't care I couldn't afford my antibiotics... interesting existence. meh
Flu vaccine market is 7 bil and most never get it. Manufacture a crisis and force/trick half the planet into getting it, plus it won't work requiring annual shots = infinite money. Just look at the stocks of nearly every megacorp : record profits.

Everything is about money. To argue otherwise is beyond naive.
Posted on Reply
#43
mtcn77
TheGuruStudEverything is about money. To argue otherwise is beyond naive.
Bad products don't make the cut.
Posted on Reply
#44
TheGuruStud
mtcn77Bad products don't make the cut.
Ryan Shrout fixes that in marketing
Posted on Reply
#45
mtcn77
lynx29never underestimate how much money the USA government is willing to waste... *coughs* *1 trillion dollar F-35 Lightning program* *coughs* boy not being able to afford the antibiotics I needed when I was 17 sure was fun times. ah, good ol America ~
You should be grateful. America is having an obesity pandemic. Nothing cures that like a good old intestinal parasite.
3 weeks is almost ~45-50lb weight loss camp.
Posted on Reply
#46
Nephilim666
Caring1That comment has racist undertones, unless your concern is the economy
I would have given them the benefit of the doubt and assumed it is an economic concern.
If not then the next (considerable) leap is possibly xenophobia, but really everyone knows supporting jobs and businesses in your own country is better for your own economy and thus, ones self. All other things being equal of course.
Posted on Reply
#47
mtcn77
TheGuruStudRyan Shrout fixes that in marketing
So you say PcPer was a good PR department? I don't think he is even lectured in astroturfing which is how you digress from a topic eloquently...
Posted on Reply
#48
Why_Me
Caring1That comment has racist undertones, unless your concern is the economy?
How so?
Posted on Reply
#49
Caring1
Why_MeHow so?
If you can't see it, then perhaps you are.
Posted on Reply
#50
Why_Me
Caring1If you can't see it, then perhaps you are.
Explain how my comment was racist.
Posted on Reply
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