Intel announces new Xeon processors at Vision 2024. The Xeon Scalable branding disappears and makes way for a simpler naming convention. Xeon 6 will include various CPU types and will be released soon.

Intel will present its latest generation of Xeon processors at Vision 2024. The naming is simplified. So don’t say it 6th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processorbut Xeon 6. Xeon 6 will include two major families. One is built with the Sierra Forest architecture and contains only E cores, the other has only P cores and is codenamed Granite Rapids.

The Intel Xeon 6 CPUs with E-Cores are designed for cloud-native workloads where the number of cores is more important than the clock speed. With these chips, Intel wants to offer a large number of cores with manageable power consumption. Compared to 2nd generation Xeon Scalable chips, these CPUs deliver 2.4 times more horsepower per watt. Intel points out that data center specialists can replace their legacy systems with a rack of Xeon 6 chips, which replaces about three racks of 2nd generation Xeon Scalable.

P-cores

The Intel Xeon 6 chips with P cores are the more traditional Xeon processors. The P cores build on a long heritage of Xeon cores and deliver plenty of processing power with multithreading for a wide range of workloads. As usual, Intel doesn’t go into too much detail about the core improvements, but the focus is on AI performance. These are making significant progress, which is pleasing for those who rely on them today, although such customers are currently a rarity in Europe.

Intel says it plans to eliminate sub-brands of Xeon Scalable to create more simplicity, but the company has not yet provided details. The Xeon Scalable line has traditionally been a huge soup with dozens of SKUs that sometimes differ greatly but often only very slightly from each other. AMD is moving forward with a much more streamlined offering in the server market.

E-cores

During Computex, Intel officially introduced the E-core-only Xen 6 variant. 6700 series chips feature up to 144 E-cores with a maximum TDP of 350 watts, eight DDR5 memory channels, and 88 PCIe 5.0 lanes. For the 6900 series, these specifications increase to 288 E-cores, 500 watts, twelve memory channels, and 96 PCIe lanes per processor. According to Intel, this enables performance gains of up to 4.2x at the rack level and 2.6x per watt.

Granite Rapids with only P cores will follow later this year. Intel itself is aiming for a third-quarter launch, although Intel’s schedule is not always reliable. The chipmaker also presented its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake processors at the trade fair.

This article originally appeared on April 10. The text has been updated with the latest information.