Intel is about to release its fifth-generation Xeon (Emerald Rapids) processor on December 14. However, according to leaks, Xeon Platinum 8580 may be the successor to the existing Xeon Platinum 8480+ (Sapphire Rapids). The chip is currently an ES2 (Engineering Sample 2) version, so final specifications are subject to change.
Emerald Rapids CPU
Emerald Rapids will succeed Sapphire Rapids, an upcoming 10nm server chip that will compete with AMD's fifth-generation EPYC Turin series, which will be launched by 2025. Emerald Rapids will still use the Intel 7 (formerly 10nm Enhanced SuperFin) process. Unlike Sapphire Rapids' Golden Cove core, Emerald Rapids will feature an updated Raptor Cove core.
The Xeon Platinum 8580 has a base frequency of 2,000 MHz and is designed to contain 60 cores and 120 threads. Same number of cores as the Xeon Platinum 8490H, but four more cores than its predecessor, the Xeon Platinum 8480+. This means that Intel is still trying to catch up with AMD's lead in the number of cores. At present, in AMD's fourth-generation EPYC 9004 series, the total number of cores of EPYC 9654 has reached 96, which makes Intel and AMD's high-end server chips have a 60% gap in the number of cores.
| Processor | Cores / Threads | Base Clock (MHz) | L2 Cache (MB) | L3 Cache (MB) | TDP (W) |
| EPYC 9654 | 96 / 192 | 2,400 | 96 | 384 | 360 |
| EPYC 9554 | 64 / 128 | 3,100 | 64 | 256 | 360 |
| Xeon Platinum 8580* | 60 / 120 | 2,000 | 120 | 300 | 350 |
| Xeon Platinum 8490H | 60 / 120 | 1,900 | 120 | 112.5 | 350 |
| Xeon Platinum 8480+ | 56 / 112 | 2,000 | 112 | 105 | 350 |
Unlike the four-chip design of the Sapphire Rapids, Intel uses a two-chip design on the Emerald Rapids. Each Sapphire Rapids chip contains 15 cores, for a total of 60 cores. The Emerald Rapids has 33 cores per chip, for a total of 66, but it is uncertain whether the largest Emerald Rapids SKU will be produced.
Xeon Platinum 8580
This major change in design allowed Intel to configure more L3 cache on Emerald Rapids, while the L2 cache remained unchanged. Each core comes with 2MB of L2 cache. But L3 caching is a highlight of Emerald Rapids. Compared to Sapphire Rapids' L3 cache of 1.875MB per core, Emerald Rapids' L3 cache per core has increased to 5MB, a 2.66x improvement. As a result, 60-core models such as the Xeon Platinum 8580 have up to 300MB of L3 cache.
Xeon Platinum 8580
Emerald Rapids will be compatible with Intel's existing Eagle Stream platform, support LGA4677 slots, and continue to offer 8-channel memory support. However, unlike Sapphire Rapids' DDR5-4800, Emerald Rapids supports DDR5-5600. In addition, Emerald Rapids provides users with 80 high-speed PCIe 5.0 lanes.
Xeon Platinum 8580
The release dates of Emerald Rapids and EPYC Turin are not much different, both are heavyweights in the server chip market, and the competition will be very fierce and worth looking forward to.
Xeon Platinum 8580