Intel’s 6th Gen Xeon Granite Rapids-D processors have been spotted on the Chinese Bilibili forums. The die configuration of the two variants has been laid bare. Unlike the Xeon Scalable (SP) lineup, the D-series parts will target the micro-server and workstation markets. Granite Rapids-D will consist of two skews: HCC (High Core Count) and XCC (Extreme Core Count). Both designs will feature a single compute die, but I/O capabilities will be doubled on the latter.
Granite Rapids-D will leverage the BGA4368 package, featuring a chiplet design. The compute dies will be fabbed on the Intel 3/3nm node, and the I/O dies on the more mature Intel 7 node. The HCC Compute Die should feature up to 28 cores (speculation), while the XCC will pack up to 40 cores.
Each I/O Die integrates four memory channels and between 32 to 44 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. This leaves the HCC with four memory channels and 32-44 PCIe lanes, while XCC packs twice as many. You can also expect a decent CXL bandwidth and integrated ethernet and AI accelerator units.
Granite Rapids is slated to launch in the second half of 2024. Emerald Rapids will be released towards the end of the year. Planned as a stopgap before Granite Rapids, it will refresh Sapphire Rapids with slightly more cores and a lot of L3 cache. In terms of modularity, Emerald Rapids will take a step back.
Sapphire Rapids comprised four dies, but Emerald will feature two dense compute dies to accommodate the additional cache. Much like AMD’s Epyc-X processors, you can expect notably better performance in cache sensitive workloads.
