The latest details on Intel's Broadwell-EP platform have just been spilled out by HardwareLuxxx. From the looks of it, Intel will be introducing their Broadwell-EP workstation platform on 31st March. The Broadwell-EP family, codenamed Xeon E5-2600 V4 will feature several products based on Intel's 14nm Broadwell architecture which was introduced back in 2014. The highly scalable architecture which was featured on 4.5W chips is now making its way to the workstation-level 160W chips.
A slide from the Broadwell-EP press deck leaked by HardwareLuxx.
Intel's Broadwell-EP Xeon E5-2600 V4 Family To Be Introduced on 31st March
Intel's Broadwell-EP platform will be aiming the workstation market and will soon be followed by the Broadwell-EN lineup which will be aimed at the enterprise market. We know almost all the bits and pieces of the new line up, we even got to see tray full of next-generation Broadwell-EP chips being sold on Chinese sites and even on eBay. Looks like these leaks will finally come to an end as the launch of the new platform is scheduled for next week and Intel be shipping their 14nm workstation chips to consumers.
Intel's Broadwell-EP will host several new features such as support for faster DDR4 memory!
The platform details mentioned in the new slide indicate that Broadwell-EP will utilize the latest 14nm process node and feature 20% more cores, 20% more LLC (Last Level Cache) and up to 18% performance increase (avg). We had previously mentioned that Intel's Broadwell-EP platform will leverage from faster 2400 MHz DDR4 ram which is now available in the market, offering greater I/O throughput. New features also include new, increased resource monitoring and allocation capabilities. Some of these new technologies will allow better compatibility with data center Orchestration and Virtualization.
Intel Xeon E5-2699 V4, The Flagship Broadwell-EP SKU
The top brass in the Broadwell-EP family consists of the Xeon E5-2699 V4 and the Xeon E5-2698 V4 processors which feature improved specifications over their predecessors in terms of core count. First up, we are looking at the flagship offering in the family known as the Xeon E5-2699 V4 which features the highest core count Intel has offered to date. With 22 cores and a multi-threaded design offering 44 threads, the chip packs insane CPU performance. With 2.5 MB cache scattered across each core, the die packs 55 MB L3 cache and is clocked at a range of 2.2 GHz base clock and up to 3.6 GHz boost clock. The entire chip has a TDP of 145W with workstation offerings of the chip going up to 160W.
Intel Broadwell-EP Lineup:
| SKU Name | Cores/Threads | Base Clock | L3 Cache (LLC) | TDP | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Xeon E5-2699A V4 | 22/44 | 2.4 GHz | 55 MB | 145W | $4938 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2699 V4 | 22/44 | 2.2 GHz | 55 MB | 145W | $4115 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2698 V4 | 20/40 | 2.2 GHz | 50 MB | 135W | $3228 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2697A V4 | 16/32 | 2.6 GHz | 40 MB | 145W | $2891 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2697 V4 | 18/36 | 2.3 GHz | 45 MB | 145W | $2702 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2695 V4 | 18/36 | 2.1 GHz | 45 MB | 120W | $2424 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2696 V4 | 22/44 | 2.1 GHz | 55 MB | 150W | $2321 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2690 V4 | 14/28 | 2.6 GHz | 35 MB | 135W | $2090 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2687W V4 | 12/24 | 3.0 GHz | 30 MB | 160W | $2141 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2683 V4 | 16/32 | 2.1 GHz | 40 MB | 120W | $1846 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2680 V4 | 14/28 | 2.4 GHz | 35 MB | 120W | $1745 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2667 V4 | 8/16 | 3.2 GHz | 35 MB | 135W | $2057 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2660 V4 | 14/28 | 2.0 GHz | 35 MB | 105W | $1445 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2650L V4 | 14/28 | 1.7 GHz | 35 MB | 65W | $1329 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2650 V4 | 12/24 | 2.2 GHz | 30 MB | 105W | $1166 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2643 V4 | 6/12 | 3.4 GHz | 10 MB | 135W | $1552 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2640 v4 | 10/20 | 2.4 GHz | 25 MB | 90W | $939 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2637 v4 | 4/8 | 3.5 GHz | 5 MB | 135W | $996 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2630 v4 | 10/20 | 2.2 GHz | 25 MB | 85W | $667 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2630L v4 | 10/20 | 1.8 GHz | 25 MB | 55W | $612 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2623 V4 | 4/8 | 2.6 GHz | 5 MB | 85W | $444 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2620 v4 | 8/16 | 2.1 GHz | 20 MB | 85W | $417 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2609 V4 | 8/8 | 1.7 GHz | 20 MB | 85W | $306 US |
| Intel Xeon E5-2603 v4 | 6/6 | 1.7 GHz | 10 MB | 85W | $213 US |
Another leaked Intel Roadmap showing off upcoming Xeon platforms.
The Grantley and Brickland platform which will support the new Broadwell-EP and EX chip models (respectively) has already spanned the market for three generations. These include Ivy Bridge EP/EX V2, Haswell-EP/EX V3 and the latest Broadwell-EP/EX V4 processors. Broadwell-EP/EX V4 processors will be the last processors to arrive as Intel phases out their current platform and move to the new Purely Platform for Skylake and Cannonlake processors. The new Broadwell-EP/EX series will have a launch schedule as detailed below:
- Broadwell-EP E5 V4 family of processors will be landing in the first half of 2016. This will consist of the Broadwell EP series of processors for one. Which include the Xeon E5 1600 v4 and E5 2600 v4 family of processors for both single and dual socket motherboards. The E5 1600 v4 series will have upto 8 cores whieas the 2600v4 series will rock upto 22 cores and have full support of DDR4 2400 memory. The platform will be compatible with the C610 series chipset. The Broadwell-EP 4S platform (upto 4 sockets on one motherboard) consisting of the Xeon E5 4600 v4 will be launched sometime in Q2 2016.
- Broadwell-EP E7 V4 family of processors, constituting the Broadwell-EX platform, and the nomenclature range of E7 4800v4 and E7 8800 v4 will be launched in Q2 2016. It will also be compatible with the existing Brickland platform.
- The Xeon Phi X200 series of products (Knights Landing) will be available in Q3 2016. Knight’s Landing was built on the 14nm Process and uses modified silvermont cores (x86 ofcourse). It is also one of the first mass produced components developed for this market segment that features stacked DRAM.
Intel's HEDT Broadwell-E Is Arriving in Q2 2016, Computex
Another exciting news is that Intel will also be releasing their High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform, codenamed Broadwell-E in Q2 2016. To be precise, Intel will have the lineup ready for unveiling at Computex 2016 and is perfect for users who are eyeing a platform update with upcoming generation of enthusiast-class GPUs (Pascal and Polaris). The lineup will feature several SKUs including the flagship Core i7-6950X which will feature a total of 10 cores.
Once again, we would like to confirm that the Broadwell-E lineup will work with current generation of boards that are based on the X99 chipset and LGA 2011-3 socket. ASRock has released their latest BIOS which adds support for Broadwell-E processors. Intel's board partners will also launch new X99 products but existing users can also upgrade to Broadwell-E without any issues. You can find out more details on the Broadwell-E lineup at this link.
Intel Broadwell-E Family
| Processor Name | Intel Core i7-6950X | Intel Core i7-6900K | Intel Core i7-6850K | Intel Core i7-6800K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm | 14nm |
| Cores/Threads | 10/20 | 8/16 | 6/12 | 6/12 |
| Core Clock | 3.00 GHz | 3.20 GHz | 3.60 GHz | 3.40 GHz |
| Boost Clock | 3.50 GHz | 3.70 GHz | 3.80 GHz | 3.60 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 25 MB L3 Cache | 20 MB L3 Cache | 15 MB L3 Cache | 15 MB L3 Cache |
| Unlocked Multiplier (BCLK OC) | Yes, Full Range OC | Yes, Full Range OC | Yes, Full Range OC | Yes, Full Range OC |
| Chipset | X99 | X99 | X99 | X99 |
| Socket | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011-3 |
| PCI-E Lanes | 40 | 40 | 40 | 28 |
| Memory Support | DDR4-2400 MHz | DDR4-2400 MHz | DDR4-2400 MHz | DDR4-2400 MHz |
| TDP | 140W | 140W | 140W | 140W |
| Launch Price | $1723 US | $1089 US | $617 US | $434 US |
