Tuesday, January 28th 2025

Intel Cuts Xeon 6 Prices up to 30% to Battle AMD in the Data Center

Intel has implemented substantial price cuts across its Xeon 6 "Granite Rapids" server processor lineup, marking a significant shift in its data center strategy. The reductions, quietly introduced and reflected in Intel's ARK database, come just four months after the processors' September launch. The most dramatic cut affects Intel's flagship 128-core Xeon 6980P, which saw its price drop from $17,800 by 30% to $12,460. This aggressive pricing positions the processor below AMD's competing EPYC "Turin" 9755 128-core CPU both absolute and per-core pricing, intensifying the rivalry between the two semiconductor giants. AMD's SKU at 128 cores is now pricier at $12,984, with higher core count SKUs reaching up to $14,813 for 192-core EPYC 9965 CPU based on Zen 5c core. Intel is expected to release 288-core "Sierra Forest" Xeon SKUs this quarter, so we can get an updated pricing structure and compare it to AMD.

Additionally, Intel's price adjustments extend beyond the flagship model, with three of the five Granite Rapids processors receiving substantial reductions. The 96-core Xeon 6972P and 6952P models have been marked down by 13% and 20% respectively. These cuts make Intel's offerings particularly attractive to cloud providers who prioritize core density and cost efficiency. However, Intel's competitive pricing comes with trade-offs. The higher power consumption of Intel's processors—exemplified by the 96-core Xeon 6972P's 500 W requirement, which exceeds AMD's comparable model by 100 W—could offset the initial savings through increased operational costs. Ultimately, most of the data center buildout will be won by whoever can serve the most CPU volume shipped (read wafer production capacity) and the best TCO/ROI balance, including power consumption and performance.
Source: Tom's Hardware
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35 Comments on Intel Cuts Xeon 6 Prices up to 30% to Battle AMD in the Data Center

#26
mkppo
Oooooh they've responded with a price cut to match AMD. Problem is, Turin is a monster and brushes any of these Intel's aside.

Maybe if they halved the price..
Posted on Reply
#27
Smartcom5
Vya DomusIt's wild it took them so long to finally start competing on pricing.
You're aware that Intel has been secretly selling their Xeons (or any of their chips, for that matter) with HUGE rebates since basically years?
Intel has been asking business customers to report on AMD's pricing, only to undercut AMD on the quoted sum for the SKUs/contracts.

Never mind that it can't possibly end up doing anything else but backfiring royally for Intel itself, as Intel can't possibly go so low to undercut AMD, without Intel themselves going not inly into cannibalising their own margins but would have to cut into manufacturing-costs, hurting themselves!
As AMD always can undercut Intel's pricing by a mile, due to lowered manufacturing costs (AMD's chiplets vs Intel's big-die SKUs), but … Its Intel after all!

I mean, why do you think Intel has been having still rather large revenue since years, yet basically no profit at all in the datacenter?
That's since they're basically giving away their Xeons for free as a mere hand-out to hold the customer/contract, as Intel know darn well, that every customer departing, will be lost for the foreseeable future for +10 years, that's why. So Intel went on and played their age-old playbook again.

Turned out, Intel is offering "EYPC" as a de-facto rebate-code business shall go shopping with, hopefully at Intel itself.
So the lazy business who don't want to move their sh!t to new gear and doesn't care about data-integrity, never mind actual security of their own clients, started to shop at Intel for basically free… and constantly redeem their rebate-code EYPC at Intel's check-out, happily smiling in Intel's face – Meanwhile Intel thinks, that the customers would be actually sticking to Team Blue for the foreseeable future, when the customers are just laughing their sit-upon off for the stupidity that is Intel management and get their stuff for free.

And this has been going on for years now…
Look at the actual large revenue, and what it actually nets them at what percentage of margins!




Read:
ServeTheHome.com – Intel is Serving Major Xeon Discounts to Combat AMD EPYC
Posted on Reply
#28
Visible Noise
^ Links to an article from 2018. Hilarious. My ignore list grows.
Posted on Reply
#29
mkppo
Smartcom5You're aware that Intel has been secretly selling their Xeons (or any of their chips, for that matter) with HUGE rebates since basically years?
Intel has been asking business customers to report on AMD's pricing, only to undercut AMD on the quoted sum for the SKUs/contracts.

Never mind that it can't possibly end up doing anythign else but backfiring royally for Intel itself, as Intel can't possibly go so low to undercut AMD, without Intel themselves going not inly into cannibalising their own margins but would have to cut into manufacturign-costs, hurting themselves!
As AMD always can undercut Intel's pricing by a mile, due to lowered manufacturing costs (AMD's chiplets vs Intel's big-die SKUs), but … Its Intel after all!

I mean, why do you think Intel has been having still rather large revenue since years, yet basically no profit at all in the datacenter?
That's since they're basically giving away their Xeons for free as a mere hand-out to hold the customer/contract, as Intel know darn well, that every customer departing, will be lost for the foreseeable future for +10 years, that's why. So Intel went on and played their age-old playbook again.

Turned out, Intel is offering "EYPC" as a de-facto rebate-code business shall go shopping with, hopefully at Intel itself.
So the lazy business who don't want to move their sh!t to new gear and doesn't care about data-integrity, never mind actual security of their own clients, started to shop at Intel for basically free… and constantly redeem their rebate-code EYPC at Intel's check-out, happily smiling in Intel's face – Meanwhile Intel thinks, that the customers would be actually sticking to Team Blue for the foreseeable future, when the customers are just laughing their sit-upon off for the stupidity that is Intel management and get their stuff for free.

And this has been going on for years now…
Look at the actual large revenue, and what it actually nets them at what percentage of margins!




Read:
ServeTheHome.com – Intel is Serving Major Xeon Discounts to Combat AMD EPYC
Yeah I was just going to type what you mention but got lazy. The only reason AMD doesn't have a much larger market share in the datacenter is because of Intel paying customers to stay with them. Even then there's a steady decline of market share in the last few years.

Intel did a similar thing when they felt threatened during the Athlon XP and 64 era and straight up handed resellers cash to not stock or sell AMD CPU's. It's what they do but it won't ever get you far. Unless, you know, your opponent stumbles right after that and you enjoy a larger market share for the following decade.

At the end of the day, they have a decent lineup of products on all sectors at present but they're pretty expensive to make which make price cuts a bit complicated.
Posted on Reply
#30
Smartcom5
@Visible Noise …and you think, that Intel stopped handing out rebates like cookies to their former long-time customers, which are eyeing with AMD's Epycs?
How gullible and ignorant are you then, to disregard that very plain obvious notion?

Are we four-year olds again, and pretend to not know or understand the very circumstances of why Intel's profits collapsing since a while now, whilst their revenue in data-center comes down way slower since AMD's Ryzen and Eypc? Of course Intel is still handing out rebates en mass and tries to match AMD's offerings (and likely even tries to undercut them)!

Anyway, you really live up to your user-name then, I guess.
Posted on Reply
#31
mkppo
Visible Noise^ Links to an article from 2018. Hilarious. My ignore list grows.
His article might be from 2023, but it's still accurate.

It's even accurate when looking at his charts. They're from 2023 and correlates perfectly well with the article. Why don't you actually have a look?

It's pretty unfortunate if you're adding people to an ignore list when all they're doing is stating facts. You can ask for clarification. This is just bring childish and the only hilarious thing is your post.

edit: I meant article might be from 2018*
Posted on Reply
#32
Smartcom5
@mkppo I think he was talking about the ServeTheHome-article I was linking – It's in fact from 2018.
Though by 2018, Brian Krzanich immediately resorted to counter AMD's Epyc and publicly touted to try holding AMD's market-share below 20% …
Tom'sHardware.com – Intel CEO Bracing For EPYC Impact, Aims to Keep AMD Under 20% of Server Market Share

Also, by 2018 Intel already internally outright knew they had no chance at all against anything Epyc for at least the next 4 years straight.
SemiAccurate.com – Intel has no chance in servers and they know it

That's by the way the very time-frame when Intel in their typical manner immediately started with their knee-jerk reaction, to fend off AMD's Ryzen (or at least tried to…).
Like what they always used to, when competition suddenly arose – Undercut the competitor and for a time hand out rebates with well below regular price-tags, if needed even below manufacturing-costs, and the problem will sort itself out in no time!



The problem just is: That nice source of secret storytelling just does not work, a) if Intel itself is short on money (arguably so now!), and especially not, when b) your competitor has the deeper pockets (that's AMD now, arguably). Then you inevitably end up cannibalising your own margins first, then cut deeply into your own manufacturing-costs afterwards. The bleeding starts!
…and that's what happens to Intel since years –
If their outright maniac c-suite doesn't stops these futile tryings, they'll end up killing the company with it!

[/HR]

Of course, the worst possible to happen, woud be that your proponent not only has deeper pockets, but could even bring its products even well below the very already lowered price-tag of yours (while still making a actually workable profit doing that forever)! That would be likely the worst-case scenario to actually happen – Purely hypothetical speaking here, mind you!
Since it would make any price-war utterly futile from the get-go.

Luckily, AMD's chiplets are way pricier to manufacture than Intel's monolithic big-die chunks of Intel-tax enriched Ultramarine sand magical computing stardust!
Phew! So at least the advantage of way lower manufacturing-costs Intel has firmly on their side … I guess?
Posted on Reply
#33
mkppo
Smartcom5@mkppo I think he was talking about the ServeTheHome-article I was linking – It's in fact from 2018.
Yeah sorry I actually meant 2018 in my first line but wrote 2023 instead. Work day stuff I guess..
Posted on Reply
#34
Jism
kondaminIntel has those dies sit on a huge interposer EMIB

That switch is relatively small
Yep; but you forget the idle power of Epyc's is insanely high due to the same switching and cache logics.

Even the threadripper has a insane high idle power consumption. But you obviously don't run a high end Eypic chip in a DC with power savings in mind.
Posted on Reply
#35
mkppo
JismYep; but you forget the idle power of Epyc's is insanely high due to the same switching and cache logics.

Even the threadripper has a insane high idle power consumption. But you obviously don't run a high end Eypic chip in a DC with power savings in mind.
That was true until Turin launched. It goes as low as 19w idle to 500w on load because of that new 4nm IO die and Zen5c improvements as well in phoronix's review. It also officially supports 6400Mhz across 12 channels fully populated with registered DIMMS on a 192 core 384 thread system. The bandwidth numbers are outrageous and the BIOS even allows some memory tuning. It's wild

It also shows what client Zen 6 will bring in terms of a getting a new IO die
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