Intel has officially launched its Xeon W-3300 Ice Lake Workstation CPU lineup which is based on its 10nm Sunny Cove architecture.
Intel Unveils Next-Gen Xeon W-3300 Ice Lake Workstation CPU Lineup With Up To 38 Cores & 4.0 GHz Clock Speeds
The Intel Xeon W processors are aimed specifically at the workstation segment. The lineup includes more cores/threads, more cache, a brand new architecture based upon the 10nm process node & more I/O / memory support. Just for comparison's sake, the Ice Lake Xeon Workstation family will offer support on the LGA 4189 socket platform with up to 270W TDP CPU support, 64 Gen 4 PCIe Lanes, and 8-channel DDR4-3200 memory with up to 4 TB capacities. With that out of the way, let us take a look at the specifications of the chips.
Following are the five new Xeon W-3300 models that Intel is launching today.
- Xeon W-3375
- Xeon W-3365
- Xeon W-3345
- Xeon W-3335
- Xeon W-3323
Intel LGA 4189 Platform Block Diagram:
Intel Xeon W-3375 Ice Lake CPU (38 Cores With 57 MB Cache)
The Xeon W-3375 is so far the fastest chip listed here with 38 cores and 76 threads. It is stated that the chip features 57 MB of cache which is 1.5 MB per core and maximum clock speeds are reported at 4.0 GHz for 1 core and 3.3 GHz for all cores. The CPU is listed for $4499 US which is 65% higher than AMD's Threadripper Pro 3975WX which offers 32 cores, 64 threads, 4.3 GHz clocks, & 128 MB L3 Cache.
Intel Xeon W-3365 Ice Lake CPU (32 Cores With 48 MB Cache)
Next up, we have the 32 core Xeon W-3365 which features 48 MB of L3 cache, a maximum clock speed of 4 GHz (1-core) & 3.5 GHz (all-core), and a listed price of $3499 US. Once again, the chip competing with it is the Threadripper 3975WX which costs lower and offers a higher clock, more PCIe Gen 4 lanes, and more cache.
Intel Xeon W-3345 Ice Lake CPU (24 Cores With 36 MB Cache)
The step down to that is the Xeon W-3345 which features 24 cores, 36 MB L3 cache, and clock speeds rated at 4 GHz (1-core) and 3.7 GHz (all-core) for a price of $2499 US. AMD doesn't really have a PRO variant that features 24 cores but for $250 US more, you can get the 3975WX which once again eats up the W-3345 in core/thread/cache/PCIe count.
Intel Xeon W-3300 vs AMD Threadripper Pro
| CPU Name | Xeon W-3375 | Xeon W-3365 | Xeon W-3345 | Threadripper Pro 3995WX | Threadripper Pro 3975WX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | 10nm | 10nm | 10nm | 7nm | 7nm |
| Cores / Threads | 38/76 | 32/64 | 24/48 | 64/128 | 32/64 |
| Max Clocks | 4.0 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 4.0 GHz | 4.2 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| Max Cache | 57 MB | 48 MB | 36 MB | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Max Gen 4 Lanes | 64 Gen 4 | 64 Gen 4 | 64 Gen 4 | 128 Gen 4 | 128 Gen 4 |
| Max TDP | 270W | 270W | 250W | 280W | 280W |
| Pricing | $4499 US | $3499 US | $2499 US | $5489 US | $2749 US |
Intel Xeon W-3335 & Xeon W-3323 (16 & 12 Core CPUs)
Below those are two sub-20 core models which include the Xeon W-3335 with 16 cores, 24 MB of L3 cache, and Xeon W-3232 with 12 cores, 21 MB of L3 cache. The chips are listed for $1299 and $949 US, respectively. The 16 core model competes with the Threadripper 3955WX which retails at a low price of $1149 US and offers higher PCIe lanes, cache, and clock speeds. The 12 core variant will be competing with the Threadripper Pro 3945WX which is also a 12 core variant.
While Intel says that it has a competitive advantage with its 10nm Ice Lake CPUs in single-threaded workloads, the same chips lose out by a huge margin in multi-threaded & energy efficiency departments. In pure core count, Intel comes nowhere close to the mighty 64 cores that AMD offers on its Threadripper Pro lineup (also aimed at workstation users). Intel also seems to be lacking severely in terms of overall PCIe Gen 4 lanes compared to the top two Threadripper parts.
Intel Xeon W-3300 'Ice Lake' CPU Specifications (Preliminary):
| CPU Name | Architecture | Cores / Threads | Base Clock | Boost (1-Core) Boost (All-Core) | L3 Cache | TDP | Price (MSRP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xeon W-3375 | 10nm Ice Lake | 38 / 76 | 2.5 GHz | 4.0 GHz 3.3 GHz | 57 MB | 270W | $4499 US |
| Xeon W-3365 | 10nm Ice Lake | 32 / 64 | 2.7 GHz | 4.0 GHz 3.5 GHz | 48 MB | 270W | $3499 US |
| Xeon W-3345 | 10nm Ice Lake | 24 / 48 | 3.0 GHz | 4.0 GHz 3.7 GHz | 36 MB | 250W | $2499 US |
| Xeon W-3335 | 10nm Ice Lake | 16 / 32 | 3.4 GHz | 4.0 GHz 3.7 GHz | 24 MB | 250W | $1299 US |
| Xeon W-3323 | 10nm Ice Lake | 12 / 24 | 3.5 GHz | 3.9 GHz 3.7 GHz | 21 MB | 250W | $949 US |
Intel Xeon W-3300 processors feature a new processor core architecture representing a new era in performance and efficiency, and as compared to the previous generation deliver:
- Up to 2.5 times maximum memory capacity support and up to 31% memory bandwidth increase.
- Up to 45% faster multi-threaded performance in Cinema 4D workloads.
- Up to 26% faster on preview rendering workloads in AutoDesk Maya.
- Up to 20% faster editing and encoding performance in Adobe Premiere Pro workloads.
- Up to 27% faster on final 3D rendering workloads in AutoDesk Maya.
Intel does come with parity in terms of workstation platform features with AMD such as PCIe Gen 4, 8-channel memory support but those are some things that AMD has been offering for quite some time now (start of 2021). As for whether we could see an enthusiast outing of these chips, well it is not entirely out of the question as Skylake-SP did launch as a prosumer offering in the form of the Xeon W-3175X with its own set of enthusiast motherboards. A similar release could be expected but for those waiting for a proper enthusiast lineup, that shouldn't be expected until mid of 2022 as reported here.
New LGA 4189 Socket Motherboards From ASRock & Gigabyte
Gigabyte & ASRock have also unveiled brand new motherboards based on the LGA 4189 platform. These include Gigabyte's MU92-TU1, Gigabyte MU92-TU0, and ASRock's C621A. Aimed at servers & workstations, these new motherboards are outfitted with brand new I/O and features that will take full advantage of Intel's Xeon W-3300 Ice Lake CPU lineup. The ASRock C621A features up to 4 PCIe Gen 4.0 x16, 3 PCIe Gen 4.0 x8 ports, and can support up to 4 dual-slot GPU/FPGA cards. The board also features 8 DIMM slots (1 DPC) for up to 2 TB capacities. The board also rocks dual 10 GbE LAN ports powered by Intel's X710-AT2 controller, and two 1 GbE LAN ports (Intel i210).
ASRock C621A Motherboard:
The Gigabyte MU92-TU1/TU0 motherboards on the other hand are also designed to support both Intel Xeon W-3300 Workstation & Ice Lake-SP Xeon CPUs. The motherboard features an 8-Channel DDR4 DIMM configuration with support for Optane Persistent Memory 200 series, 2 10 GbE LAN ports, 1 DMP, 2 SATA III ports, 1 M.2 (Gen 3 x4) Port, 7 PCIe Gen 4 x16 slots, and 4 USB 4.0 ports (2 at rear I/O, 2 through internal USB header).
Gigabyte MU92-TU1/TU0 Motherboard:
New Coolers From Noctua Dedicated For Intel's Xeon W-3300 Ice Lake CPUs
Besides that, Noctua has launched its brand new lineup of coolers for the Intel Ice Lake Xeon 'LGA 4189' platform. They are launching the new NH-U14S DX-4189, NH-U12S DX-4189, NH-U9 DX-4189, and NH-D9 DX-4189 4U coolers.
Suggested retail prices
- NH-U14S DX-4189: 109.90 EUR/USD
- NH-U12S DX-4189: 119.90 EUR/USD
- NH-U9 DX-4189: 109.90 EUR/USD
- NH-D9 DX-4189 4U: 109.90 EUR/USD
- NM-i4189: 29.90 EUR/USD
Availability
All the new products are available as of today via Noctua’s official Amazon stores:
