Intel Xeon w7-2595x Review: All P-Core Pro Workstation Power
Intel Xeon w7-2595X Review: Sapphire Rapids For Workstation Professionals
| Intel Xeon w7-2595X - MSRP $2,039 The Intel Xeon w7-2595X is a new high-performance 26-Core processor for creators or workstation professionals that require massive memory capacity, bandwidth and horsepower.
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Intel is refreshing its Xeon W line of processors for professional workstations today, with a multitude of models with core counts spanning all the way from 8 to 60 cores. The new Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 supplant last year’s Xeon W-3400 and W-2400 series, but at their foundation the processors are quite similar. Both generations are based on Intel’s Sapphire Rapids platform, featuring all P-Core designs based on the Golden Cove microarchitecture. The new Xeon W-3500 and W-2500, however, offer higher core counts and tweaked frequencies and power management to optimize performance.
We’ve got the top-end Xeon W-2500 series processor in hand here, the Xeon w7-2595X, and will take it for spin shortly. Before we dive into the numbers, however, let’s cover the specifics of Intel’s new Xeon W line-up and check out what the company has in store for workstation pros...
Intel Xeon W-2500 series processors will offer up to 26 cores, while the higher-end W-3500 series will top out at up to 60 cores. Both series of Xeon W processors utilize the same chipsets and motherboards, and slot into the same LGA 4677 socket, but offer different IO configurations, and obviousl core counts. In terms of features however, the Xeon W-3500 and W-2500 series are similar. They offer support for Intel AMX (Advacned Matrix Extensions), AVX-512, and support up to 4TB of memory, with support for up to 8 channels, for massive potential bandwidth. The processors, in conjunction with the W790 chipset, will also offer up to 112 lanes of PCIe Gen 5 connectivity, in addition to Intel vPro technology, and all of the advanced networking interfaces you'd expect from a modern workstation platform.
Those last couple of points are really what differentiate the Xeon W platform from mainstream desktop processors. Over and above the higher core counts and all P-Core configurations, the ability to stuff tons of memory and PCIe devices into a Xeon W system set it apart from mainstream desktops. Although the huge memory capacities, and higher peak memory bandwidth won't come into play with every type of workload, when they do, they can have a major impact on performance.
The Intel Xeon W-2500 & W-3500 Processor Line-Up
The Xeon W-2500 and W-3500 series target somewhat different use cases. Both are designed for professional workstations targeting advanced creators, academia, and scientific types, but the W-3500 series cranks things up a few notches in terms of its memory support and PCIe connectivity...
The Xeon W-2500 series is comprised of a single, monolithic die built on Intel 7. Though a similar die offers up to 32 cores on Intel's Emerald Rapids-based Xeon server processors, the top Xeon W-2500 series part has 26 cores -- an increase of two cores versus the previous-gen Xeon w7-2495X. Xeon W-2500 series processors also support up to quad-channel memory, maxing out at 2TB, with up to 64 lanes of PCIe Gen 5. The Xeon w7-2595X we'll be showing you here features 48.75MB of L3 Smart Cache, though that number decreases as the core count is reduced. Frequencies and cache configurations for the line-up are detailed in the above table.
The Xeon W-3500 series essentially doubles up on everything versus the Xeon W-2500. Xeon W-3500 series processors are comprised of two dies (or tiles, or chiplets), with the top end SKU packing 60 P-cores, 112 lanes of PCIe Gen 5, and support for up to 4TB of memory in an 8-channel configuration. L3 cache tops out at 112.5MB.
All Xeon W-series processors require DDR5 RDIMMs, similar to AMD's latest Threadripper 7000 series processors, with the maximum officially supported speed of DDR5-4800, though much faster speeds are possible. As you look through the SKU stacks, note that Xeon W-2500 series processors span 8 - 26 core configurations, while Xeon W-3500 series processors pack 16 - 60 cores. And because all of those cores are P-Cores, they support HyperThreading, so each core can process two threads concurrently.
The Xeon W-2500 series is comprised of a single, monolithic die built on Intel 7. Though a similar die offers up to 32 cores on Intel's Emerald Rapids-based Xeon server processors, the top Xeon W-2500 series part has 26 cores -- an increase of two cores versus the previous-gen Xeon w7-2495X. Xeon W-2500 series processors also support up to quad-channel memory, maxing out at 2TB, with up to 64 lanes of PCIe Gen 5. The Xeon w7-2595X we'll be showing you here features 48.75MB of L3 Smart Cache, though that number decreases as the core count is reduced. Frequencies and cache configurations for the line-up are detailed in the above table.
The Xeon W-3500 series essentially doubles up on everything versus the Xeon W-2500. Xeon W-3500 series processors are comprised of two dies (or tiles, or chiplets), with the top end SKU packing 60 P-cores, 112 lanes of PCIe Gen 5, and support for up to 4TB of memory in an 8-channel configuration. L3 cache tops out at 112.5MB.
All Xeon W-series processors require DDR5 RDIMMs, similar to AMD's latest Threadripper 7000 series processors, with the maximum officially supported speed of DDR5-4800, though much faster speeds are possible. As you look through the SKU stacks, note that Xeon W-2500 series processors span 8 - 26 core configurations, while Xeon W-3500 series processors pack 16 - 60 cores. And because all of those cores are P-Cores, they support HyperThreading, so each core can process two threads concurrently.
Introducing The Xeon w7-2595X
Although they're comatible with the same socket, Xeon W-3500 and Xeon W-2500 processors feature slightly different designs that necessitate the use of different heat spreaders. What you see pictured here is the Xeon w7-2595X...
Xeon W-3500 series processors are of a similar size and have the same LGA 4677 pad configuration on their undersides, but the notches in their heat spreaders are different and each requires a specific CPU guard when being installed into a motherboard. We detail the build process and show you the differences in this build video.
Xeon W processors are much larger than mainstream desktop chips. When they are installed into a socket, the processors must first be affixed into a CPU guard, that then attaches to whatever cooling solution is being used. At first blush, it seems like a weird way to go about things and is somewhat the opposite of mainstream desktop CPU installs, where the chip just drops into the socket and gets locked into place with a lever, but in practice, it's kind of simple. Over the course of this review, we swapped processors 4 times and had no issues with fitment or cooler installation. Should you build a rig around a Xeon W processor, just be sure to check out that video so you can see exactly what we mean.
Xeon W processors are much larger than mainstream desktop chips. When they are installed into a socket, the processors must first be affixed into a CPU guard, that then attaches to whatever cooling solution is being used. At first blush, it seems like a weird way to go about things and is somewhat the opposite of mainstream desktop CPU installs, where the chip just drops into the socket and gets locked into place with a lever, but in practice, it's kind of simple. Over the course of this review, we swapped processors 4 times and had no issues with fitment or cooler installation. Should you build a rig around a Xeon W processor, just be sure to check out that video so you can see exactly what we mean.
Intel W790 Motherboard And RDIMM Memory
Intel Xeon W processors require motherboards built around the Intel W790 chipset. Motherboards that were compatible with the Xeon W-2400 and W-3400 series should be compatible with the new W-2500 and W-3500 series as well, provided the manufacture has updated the board's BIOS / UEFI with the necessary microcode. We can confirm that the Xeon w7-2595X does work with the latest public BIOS available for the ASUS Pro WS W790-ACE and the ASRock W790 WS offers support as well. (All current W790 motherboard should)
All W790-based motherboards currently available are decidedly high-end options, built with ultimate connectivity and reliabilty in mind. Pay attention to motherboard specifications if shopping for a W790 motherboard though, especially if you're conisdering a Xeon W-3500 series processor. Many W790 motherboards support quad-channel memory, but only a few support the full eight-channel configurations for Xeon W-3500s. For Xeon W-2500 series processors, which max out at four channels, it won't matter, but if you want the most out of a Xeon W-3500 an eight-channel configuration is where it's at.
We also want to show you all the memory we used for testing. We ran some G-SKILL Zeta R5 Neo RDIMM memory in our test rig, specifically the 64GB F5-6400R3239G16GQ4-ZR5K quad-channel kit.
G.SKILL has a few Zeta R5 RDIMM kits currently available, in quad and eight channel varieties, for both Intel Xeon W processors and AMD Threadripper 7000s. The kit we used consists of four, matching 16GB sticks of memory, for a grand total of 64GB when configured in an 4-channel setup.
This memory is capable of running at 6,400MT/s with CL32-39-39-102 timings at 1.4v, but we ran them on each platform's maximum rated memory speed, without overclocking (DDR5-4800 to DDR5-5200 depending on the platform). The memory supports ECC, and depending on the specific kit XMP or EXPO are supported as well.
At first glance, although it may look a though these memory sticks have simple black and silver, glossy heat spreaders, but they do not. The branding on the RDIMMs is simply a sticker and it doesn’t have any real mass to aid in cooling.
Intel Xeon w7-2595X CPU-Z Details
