Intel Unleashes Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 Processors – Up to 18 Cores, 45 MB L3 Cache, 12 TB DDR4 Memory Support and 5.7 Billion Transistors

Intel has officially launched their Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 processor lineup aimed at the enterprise and server market. The launch lineup includes 12 new processors, all of which are derived from a single 18 core flagship Xeon part which is a beast in terms of specifications that include 18 cores, 45 MB of L3 cache, a die size of 662 mm² and a total of 5.6 billion transistors.

Intel's Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 Processors Launched - Xeon E7-8890 V3 With 18 Cores Leads The Pack

The latest Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 lineup is based on the same Haswell architecture which was released in 2013, however, Intel has spent some time updating the performance and enhancing task specific loads which leads to better gains in server based scenarios on their existing architecture. Being 22nm, the Haswell-EX processors are massive in die size but they incorporate beefy performance due to higher number of cores, threads and overall cache available on the chips. Other similarities between the platform is that the Haswell-EX and Haswell-EP are same when looked upon from specifications but one is aimed at 2S solutions (Haswell-EP Xeon E5 V3) while the Haswell-EX is based on 4S and 8S solutions which leads to bigger server and enterprise setups. On the chipset and platform support side, Intel keeps the Haswell-EX processors compatible to their Patsburg C600 series chip sets which means they will be supported by existing platforms on LGA 2011 socket (Socket R1). This brickland platform has been running Intel's past two generation of Xeon processors including Sandy Bridge-EX, Ivy Bridge-EX and will run up to Broadwell-EX generation of Xeon processors.

Some features of the processors include up to 18 cores and 36 threads. The same flagship design ends up being scaled down to more cost effective models. These chips feature up to 45 MB of L3 cache (2.5 MB / Slice) since it is a multi-chip module and carries the integrated voltage regulator (IVR) to allow voltage and power regulation to save power consumption. There are a total of 12 processors which include the Xeon E7-8890 V3,  Xeon E7-8800 V3,  Xeon E7-8870 V3,  Xeon E7-8860 V3 which are positioned as advanced offerings that can allow up to 8S designs, have 9.6 GT/s interconnects, feature hyper threading/ turbo boost support and come with DDR4 and DDR3 memory support (1867 MHz / 1600 MHz). The standard offerings include the  Xeon E7-4850 V3 and  Xeon E7-48300 V3 which allow 4S designs while basic level  Xeon E7-4820 V3 and  Xeon E7-4809 V3 processors allow 4S scalable designs with skimmed down specs and a cut down interconnect path. Last but not least, there are four segment optimized offerings which include  Xeon E7-8891 V3 and  Xeon E7-8893 V3 for enterprise and database markets,  Xeon E7-8880L V3 for low power market and  Xeon E7-8867 V3 for HPC market.

Summing up the specifications for the flagship Xeon E7-8890 V3 processor, we are looking at 18 cores, 36 threads and 45 MB of L3 cache (LLC). Clock speeds range from 2.5 GHz base and 3.3 GHz boost while in AVX workloads, the clock speeds are throttled down to 2.1 GHz base and 3.3 GHz boost. The processor features a massive 165W TDP on a 22nm process which is due to the large die size that is 662mm² in size and holds up to 5.6 Billion transistors. The chip is priced at $7175 US.

A complete platform can allow up to 24 DIMMs per socket (3DPC/ 96 DIMMs) with DDR3/DDR4 memory support. A full 8S server rack will be able to allow up to 12 TB of DDR4 memory support which is just insane and something completely magical for mainstream consumers. RSA capabilities include Enhanced MCA Gen2, rank sparing, address based memory mirroring, DDR4 recovery for command/address parity errors. There are also power states to allow efficient control over power resources. Following are some basic features as mentioned by Intel themselves:

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News Facts

• With 20 new performance world records across a broad range of mission-critical applications, the new processor family achieves a 40 percent average performance improvement compared to the prior generation².

• The processor family delivers up to 6x improvement in business processing application performance for in-memory transactional workloads³ optimized with the new Intel® Transactional Synchronization Extensions (Intel® TSX).

• With up to 18 cores, a 20 percent increase in cores compared to the prior generation, and up to 45 megabytes of last-level cache, the processor family can deliver up to 70 percent more decision support analytic sessions per hour⁴.

• Product family delivers up to 10x greater performance per dollar while driving up to an 85 percent lower total cost of ownership compared to alternative RISC architectures⁵ by reducing the cost of hardware acquisition and power and cooling.

• The processors support configurations up to 32 sockets⁶ with support for the industry's largest memory capacity per socket⁷ (8-socket systems are capable of supporting up to 12 terabytes of DDR3 or DDR4 memory technology).

• New security and reliability capabilities, including increased cryptographic performance via the latest Intel® Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI), as well as additional micro-architectural improvements. Intel® Run Sure Technology, a unique set of reliability, availability and serviceability (RAS) features for the Intel Xeon processor E7 family⁸, is enhanced with new features designed to further ensure "five nines" availability for mission-critical applications.

• Product family comprises 12 processor models, including multiple segment optimized processors such as two high-frequency models that are designed for a subset of database applications requiring the fastest cores available.

• Starting today, 17 system manufacturers from around the world will begin announcing Intel Xeon processor E7 v3 family-based platforms.  These manufacturers include Bull*, Cisco*, Dell*, Fujitsu*, Hitachi*, HP*, Huawei*, Inspur*, Lenovo*, NEC*, Oracle*, PowerLeader*, Quanta*, SGI*, Sugon*, Supermicro* and ZTE*.

• (Editor's note: Intel and Cloudera today announced details on how the partnership is successfully driving enterprise adoption of analytics at scale, including new product enhancement such as the implementation of Intel AES-NI that delivers a 2.5x improvement⁹ in encryption off-load performance, enabling an entire Hadoop data set to be encrypted with a system overhead ranging from 1 to 4 percent depending on the workload. via Intel

The pricing of the Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 processors range from $1224 US to $7175 US for the flagship model. The full specifications for each processor included in the lineup can be seen in the chart provided below:

Intel Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 Processors Benchmarks:

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Intel Haswell-EX Xeon E7 V3 Processors Lineup:

Intel Haswell-EX Die Shot and Wafer Shots: