While the latest HEDT processors still use Skylake and Zen 2 architectures, the future of this segment would not be very bright.
The end of Core-X processors at Intel?
The YouTuber and leaker Moore’s Law Is Dead has revealed new information (to be taken of course, as usual, as a rumor) about HEDT processors, especially those from Intel with Sapphires-Rapids.
MLID has received contradictory information from its best sources, some claiming that the Sapphires-Rapids HEDT will arrive around the third quarter of 2022, while another seems to think that the range has simply been cancelled.
The rumors about the existence or not of this next generation, could come from the fact that Intel abandons the Core-X designation in favor of Xeon W (Workstation), as mentioned by MLID and from an old roadmap showing that the successor of the X299 platform, would use a W790 chipset.
Regarding the characteristics of the first ES chips, we would be of course a maximum of 56 cores at 350W TDP for the highest model. With an LLC greater than 100 MB, 112 lines of PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 8 channel at 4400 or 4800 MT/s. On the frequency side, we would currently be on a boost to over 4 GHz and about 2.8 GHz on all cores, with the possibility of overclocking the processor.
Apart from the 56-core version, the range using the XCC configuration would currently contain 12, 36 and 44-core versions, with TDPs ranging from 180 to 350W and other differences, such as Power Limits and locked/unlocked overclocking or support for multiple processors per socket
.
Threadripper Zen 3 cancelled due to lack of competition?
At the same time, AMD is reportedly in no hurry to deliver a replacement for the Threadripper, which is currently based on the Zen 2 architecture. Faced with the lack of competition from Intel and the high demand for Zen 3 processors and the new EPYC Milan-X, AMD seems to want to “manage” its production capacities.
Currently, the Chagall Threadripper and the potential Chagall-3D would not be in sight at all and might even be cancelled. But with the existence of Workstation
versions as we saw several weeks ago, AMD seems to want to give itself the opportunity to launch its processors quickly if the competition unveiled.
Because that’s the problem, both Intel and AMD have not been very vocal about the future of their HEDT processors. A situation that amplifies the doubt on the future of this segment, so we will have to wait until next year to hope for news.
