48-core Intel Sapphire Rapids get impressive results

Sapphire Rapids server architecture, in which Intel has invested heavily to curb AMD’s rising server-side performance, leaves the initial tests with promising results.

What will Intel Sapphire Rapids offer?

Sapphire Rapids, which will switch to the multi-chip architecture, which we call chiplets for the first time on Intel’s server side, will be produced in the 10nm process. The parts will be interconnected with EMIB interconnection technology.

Sapphire Rapids, which will use the same Golden Cove core architecture as Alder Lake, is a bit more optimized for servers. It includes innovations such as the addition of FP16 to AVX-512 technology, the first use of advanced Matrix extensions.

The full Sapphire Rapids package will offer features such as 4 pieces, 8 channels of DDR5 memory, optional HBM memory, total cache over 100MB, scaling up to 56 or 80 cores.

48 core engineering sample tested with Intel Xeon Platinum 8380 (Ice Lake-SP) and AMD EPYC 7773X Milan-X processor. While the scores are quite good compared to previous Xeon processors, EPYC processors also beat in certain scenarios. The Sapphire Rapids architecture is particularly notable for its low memory latency.

It is also optimized for Sapphire Rapids workstations that will be released later in the year. There are claims of scaling up to 28 or 36 cores, 5GHz speed level, TDP up to 400W.