Intel Xeon 6 processors were launched at AMD’s annual Computex event as the company shared details about its AI strategy. Like Nvidia, Asus and other event participants, the chipmaker also showcased its AI-driven portfolio, including new hardware, data center innovations and AI accelerators to power servers with AI processing capabilities. Specifically, the company shared details about its Lunar Lake platform and explained how the architecture will power AI PCs. Intel also revealed pricing for its Gaudi 2 and Gaudi 3 AI accelerators.
Intel shares details of Lunar Lake Architecture
To power the next wave of AI PCs, Intel last month announced Lunar Lake CPUs, the successor to its Meteor Lake chipset. At the ongoing Computex event, the chipmaker shared more details about the architecture. The company has a new system-on-a-chip design that it claims delivers more than three times the size and four times the performance of AI accelerators. Additionally, compared to previous products, CPU performance is said to be improved by up to 14%, graphics performance is improved by 50%, and battery efficiency is improved by up to 60%.
Lunar Lake processors feature fourth-generation neural processing units (NPUs) capable of processing up to 48 tera operations per second (TOPS) of AI performance. The new GPU design, codenamed Battlemage, significantly improves gaming and graphics performance and delivers up to 67 TOPS of performance for AI content creation.
Other notable changes include the integration of sixteen 32GB LPDDR5X memory into the system instead of separate memory sticks. This means there is no option to connect more RAM.
Intel Xeon 6 processor released
Just six months after launching the 5th generation Intel Intel Xeon 6 E-Cores, also known as efficient cores, are designed to deliver AI-centric performance with low power consumption. On the other hand, P cores provide higher performance output. These processors are used in data centers to support server-based AI functions and AI computing for devices.
The Intel Xeon 6 E-Core processors are available now and the company is expected to launch the Xeon 6 P-Core processors in the third quarter of this year. The price has not been disclosed.
Intel Gaudi 2, Gaudi 3 AI accelerator kit prices revealed
Intel also shared pricing details for its Gaudi 2 and Gaudi 3 AI accelerator kits, which are positioned as alternatives to Nvidia’s H100 chip. Targeted at customers with heavy AI workflows, these AI accelerators are said to deliver performance improvements for training and inference tasks for leading open source AI models.
According to the company, Intel Gaudi 3 is a cluster of 8,192 accelerators that delivers up to 40% faster AI model training times compared to H100 GPU clusters. The company found numbers running tests to train its Llama-2 70B AI model. Intel says that using the accelerator will also result in faster inference speeds.
The standard AI kit, which includes eight Intel Gaudi 2 accelerators and a Universal Baseboard (UBB), is available to system providers at a price of $65,000 (approximately Rs. 54,33,100). The Intel Gaudi 3 with a similar setup can be purchased for $125,000 (roughly Rs. 10,448,200).
