Intel Launches Cooper Lake Xeons CPUs, New Optane Persistent Memory + SSDs

Intel is launching their 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable (Cooper Lake) processors today along with Intel Optane Memory 200 Series, new Intel 3D NAND SSDs, and Intel AI-optimized FPGAs in the form of Stratix 10 NX.

Intel Cooper Lake Xeon CPUs are shipping now with BFloat16 (BF16) instruction support. Optimized for AI, the main addition over the recently launched Cascade Lake Refresh Xeon CPUs is support for the BF16 floating point format. Intel's open-source/Linux team has already been plumbing the kernel and compiler support for their BFloat16 instruction into the relevant software components and with the latest Linux stack should be in good standing.

As expected from earlier rumors, Cooper Lake Xeon CPUs will be available for 4-socket and 8-socket servers. Single/dual socket Xeons will remain on Cascade Lake / Cascade Lake Refresh until the much anticipated Ice Lake Xeon launch. The Cooper Lake SKUs range from the Xeon Platinum 8380H/8380HL at the top-end to the Xeon Gold 5318H at the bottom of the stack.

The Xeon Platinum 8380H series is 28 cores / 56 threads, 2.9GHz base frequency, 4.3GHz maximum turbo, 38.5MB cache, and a 250 Watt TDP. The Xeon Gold 5318H meanwhile is an 18 core / 36 thread part with 2.5GHz base frequency, 3.8GHz turbo, 24.75MB cache, and 150 Watt TDP.

Intel did mention during their briefing that Ice Lake Xeon is still "coming later this year" while Sapphire Rapids Xeon Scalable in 2021 for one through eight socket platforms.

On the solid-state storage front, Intel is now shipping the Optane Persistent Memory 200 series with up to 4.5TB of storage. The Optane Persistent Memory 200 Series is said to offer an average of 25% higher memory bandwidth over the prior Optane products.

Intel is also shipping the SSD D7-P5500 and P5600 as their newest SSDs built atop TLC 3D NAND. These new 3D NAND SSDs are said to offer up to 40% lower latency and 33% more performance over the prior generation products.

Intel Cooper Lake Xeon CPUs are shipping today to partners along with the new Intel SSD D7-P5500 and P5600 3D NAND SSDs. The Intel Stratix 10 NX FPGAs will begin shipping in H2'2020.