Intel has begun enablement for its next-gen E-Core Xeon CPUs codenamed Clearwater Forest which will adopt the Darkmont core architecture.
Intel’s 2nd Gen All E-Core Clearwater Forest Xeon CPUs Will Feature Darkmont Cores Onboard
Intel has been ramping up developments on Linux, whether it involves the firm’s “Arc” graphics lineup, or their mainstream consumer CPUs. However, server processors were something that was “relatively” lacking behind, but Intel has caught up on it by starting to push out early support for the firm’s Clearwater Forest processors, which are slated to launch somewhere in 2025.
Phoronix reports that with Intel Linux engineers fulfilling the support for Intel’s Sierra Forest lineup, which is the predecessor to Clearwater Forest, it seems like things won’t take a break, as the team directly shifts the focus to the future.
In terms of what the patch involved, it was a “basic” one that added a new model number for Clearwater Forest Xeon CPUs, and they are now assigned ” 0xDD (221)” in the kernel.
Another interesting addition, or probably a validation is the mention of “Atom Darkmont”, which is expected to be the E-core architecture for these chips. These cores are expected to be an updated Skymont E-Core design and previous information suggests that Intel would retain the 288 core count and 288 threads which we will be getting with Sierra Forest chips too but those are based on the Crestmont E-Core architecture codenamed Sierra Glen.
While information about the Clearwater Forest lineup is slim for now, we are aware of the fact that it would feature Intel’s 18A process, which is said to bring refinements to the RibbonFET technology to deliver another major leap in transistor and chip performance. We could see huge performance leaps in the processors, however, since they are scheduled for launch by 2025, we have still to see much more.
Intel Xeon CPU Families (Preliminary):
| Family Branding | Diamond Rapids | Clearwater Forest | Granite Rapids | Sierra Forest | Emerald Rapids | Sapphire Rapids | Ice Lake-SP | Cooper Lake-SP | Cascade Lake-SP/AP | Skylake-SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | Intel 20A? | Intel 18A | Intel 3 | Intel 3 | Intel 7 | Intel 7 | 10nm+ | 14nm++ | 14nm++ | 14nm+ |
| Platform Name | Intel Mountain Stream Intel Birch Stream |
Intel Mountain Stream Intel Birch Stream |
Intel Mountain Stream Intel Birch Stream |
Intel Mountain Stream Intel Birch Stream |
Intel Eagle Stream | Intel Eagle Stream | Intel Whitley | Intel Cedar Island | Intel Purley | Intel Purley |
| Core Architecture | Lion Cove? | Darkmont | Redwood Cove | Sierra Glen | Raptor Cove | Golden Cove | Sunny Cove | Cascade Lake | Cascade Lake | Skylake |
| MCP (Multi-Chip Package) SKUs | Yes | TBD | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Socket | LGA 4677 / 7529 | LGA 4677 / 7529 | LGA 4677 / 7529 | LGA 4677 / 7529 | LGA 4677 | LGA 4677 | LGA 4189 | LGA 4189 | LGA 3647 | LGA 3647 |
| Max Core Count | Up To 144? | Up To 288 | Up To 136? | Up To 288 | Up To 64? | Up To 56 | Up To 40 | Up To 28 | Up To 28 | Up To 28 |
| Max Thread Count | Up To 288? | Up To 288 | Up To 272? | Up To 288 | Up To 128 | Up To 112 | Up To 80 | Up To 56 | Up To 56 | Up To 56 |
| Max L3 Cache | TBD | TBD | 480 MB L3 | 108 MB L3 | 320 MB L3 | 105 MB L3 | 60 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 |
| Memory Support | Up To 12-Channel DDR6-7200? | TBD | Up To 12-Channel DDR5-6400 | Up To 8-Channel DDR5-6400? | Up To 8-Channel DDR5-5600 | Up To 8-Channel DDR5-4800 | Up To 8-Channel DDR4-3200 | Up To 6-Channel DDR4-3200 | DDR4-2933 6-Channel | DDR4-2666 6-Channel |
| PCIe Gen Support | PCIe 6.0 (128 Lanes)? | TBD | PCIe 5.0 (136 Lanes) | PCIe 5.0 (TBD Lanes) | PCIe 5.0 (80 Lanes) | PCIe 5.0 (80 lanes) | PCIe 4.0 (64 Lanes) | PCIe 3.0 (48 Lanes) | PCIe 3.0 (48 Lanes) | PCIe 3.0 (48 Lanes) |
| TDP Range (PL1) | Up To 500W? | TBD | Up To 500W | Up To 350W | Up To 350W | Up To 350W | 105-270W | 150W-250W | 165W-205W | 140W-205W |
| 3D Xpoint Optane DIMM | Donahue Pass? | TBD | Donahue Pass | TBD | Crow Pass | Crow Pass | Barlow Pass | Barlow Pass | Apache Pass | N/A |
| Competition | AMD EPYC Venice | AMD EPYC Zen 5C | AMD EPYC Turin | AMD EPYC Bergamo | AMD EPYC Genoa ~5nm | AMD EPYC Genoa ~5nm | AMD EPYC Milan 7nm+ | AMD EPYC Rome 7nm | AMD EPYC Rome 7nm | AMD EPYC Naples 14nm |
| Launch | 2025? | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 | 2017 |