The Intel Xeon 6th generation processors have undergone transformative changes. This analysis focuses on the two distinct codenames and core architectures: Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest, featuring P-cores (Performance cores) and E-cores (Efficiency cores) respectively.

Naming Convention Changes

Previous Xeon processors were categorized into:

• Bronze series (3xxx models)
• Silver series (4xxx models)
• Gold series (5xxx/6xxx models)
• Platinum series (8xxx/9xxx models)

The 6th generation simplifies this with:

• Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest codenames
• P-core and E-core architectures
• New numbering system: 6900/6700/6500/6300 series with P or E suffixes

Key Differences Between Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest

P-core vs E-core Characteristics:

• P-cores excel in single-thread performance and support hyper-threading
• E-cores optimize for multi-core parallel processing without hyper-threading

Enhanced Expansion Capabilities:

• 6900 series (both P and E variants)

  • Single socket: 96 PCIe 5.0 lanes
  • Dual socket: 192 PCIe 5.0 lanes

• 6700 series

  • Single socket: 136 PCIe 5.0 lanes
  • Dual/multi-socket: 88 lanes per socket

Model Breakdown

• 6900P series (e.g., 6980P)

  • High-end market
  • Up to 128 cores
  • Ideal for data center VMs and containers
  • 72-128 core configurations
  • 400W/500W TDP
  • Core count doubles previous generations

• 6700P series (e.g., 6776P)

  • Cloud computing and high-density environments
  • 8 memory channels (vs 12 in 6900P)

Important Notes

• Significant socket changes require specific motherboards, limiting CPU interchangeability
• E-core processors no longer support hyper-threading
• P-core TDP reaches 500W, surpassing many GPUs
• Intel no longer provides baseboards, complicating OEM motherboard development
• AMD's Turin platform development is progressing faster due to Intel's architectural changes