To simplify such a vast array of CPUs, Intel has divided its offering into three main ranges, Xeon 6 (high-end), Xeon Scalable (mid-range) and Xeon E (entry-level).
It is worth mentioning that there is also a range of Intel CPUs designed for high-end workstations, called Intel Xeon W - you can learn more about these by reading our Intel Desktop CPU Buyers Guide.
Intel offers three main families of Xeon processors, each designed for different workloads and performance requirements.
Intel Xeon 6 P CPUs deliver maximum performance for AI and HPC workloads via high-frequency cores, while Xeon 6 E CPUs deliver maximum core density for virtualised workloads with lots of energy-efficient cores.
High End AI & HPC
High End Virtualisation
There are also multiple generations of older Intel Xeon Scalable CPUs still available, delivering competitive performance for a wide range of workloads at a reduced price point.
Mid-Range
Intel Xeon E CPUs deliver server-level reliability for entry-level and small business server workloads at an attractive price point.
Entry Level
Explore the different Intel Xeon processor families and their specifications.
Architecture: Granite Rapids
Socket: Intel LGA7529
Previous Generation: Intel Xeon Scalable 5th gen
Intel Xeon 6 P processors feature P-cores and are optimised for a wide range of workloads, including AI inference, machine learning, public cloud workloads and HPC. Xeon 6 P CPUs are available in four main ranges, - 6900 for high-end, 6700 and 6500 for mid-range and 6300 for the entry-level.
They also retain the dedicated QuickAssist Technology (QAT), Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA) and Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB) cores seen in the Xeon 6 E range. Intel Xeon 6 P CPUs also feature improved memory throughput with the fastest DDR5 memory available, MRDIMM. These can deliver more than 37% greater memory bandwidth than RDIMMs.
View Processors View Servers
Architecture: Sierra Forest
Socket: Intel LGA4710-2
Previous Generation: Intel Xeon Scalable 5th gen
Intel Xeon 6 E processors with E-cores are optimised for high core density and exceptional performance per watt, delivering distinct advantages for cloud-scale workloads that demand high task-parallel throughput. In comparison to Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd gen CPUs, which make up the majority of systems within today's datacentres, Xeon 6 E processors with E-cores can deliver more than 2.6x better results. This efficient performance is also ideal where power, space, and cooling are limited.
They also retain the dedicated QuickAssist Technology (QAT), Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA) and Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB) cores seen in the Xeon 6 P range.
View Processors View Servers
Architecture: Emerald Rapids
Chipset: Intel C740-series
Previous Generation: Intel Xeon Scalable 4th gen
Intel 5th gen Xeon Scalable processors build on the foundation created by the 4th gen CPUs. Memory capacity remains the same but bandwidth has been increased and there is still support for eight-channels of DDR5 memory and 80 lanes of PCIe 5.0. The maximum number of cores has been increased from 60 to 64.
They also retain the dedicated QuickAssist Technology (QAT), Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA) and Dynamic Load Balancer (DLB) cores seen in the 4th gen Xeon Scalable range.
View Processors View Servers
Architecture: Sapphire Rapids
Chipset: Intel C740-series
Previous Generation: Intel Xeon Scalable 3rd gen
For legacy systems we still offer Intel 4th gen Xeon Scalable processors. These added dedicated accelerators cores for specific workloads including Intel AMX, IAA, DSA, DLB, and QAT. Memory bandwidth and capacity, I/O were expanded as well as the maximum number of cores.
View Processors View Servers
Architecture: Ice Lake
Chipset: Intel C620-Series
Previous Generation: Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd gen
For legacy systems we still offer Intel 3rd gen Xeon Scalable processors. These use a different platform from the 4th gen Xeon Scalable CPUs, supporting 8-channels of DDR4 memory and 64 lanes of PCIe 4.0.
View Processors View Servers
Architecture: Raptor Lake
Chipset: Intel C260-Series
Previous Generation: Intel Xeon E-2300
Designed for entry-level servers, Intel Xeon E processors provide solid performance with the built-in platform security features and reliability that professional users demand. The Xeon E-2400 family is 4th gen of Xeon E and features up to 8 cores and 16 threads, support for up to 128GB of 2-channel DDR5 ECC memory and 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes.
View Processors View Servers
Intel Xeon processors include advanced features for workload acceleration and security.
Intel 4th gen Xeon Scalable and later processors have dedicated accelerators for speeding-up specific operations, freeing up the CPU cores for other tasks. Not every accelerator is present on every CPU, so check the specs carefully if a particular accelerator is important for you.
Accelerates deep learning and AI model training. AMX works by speeding up matrix-multiply tasks by up to 8x versus older VNNI instructions, boosting performance in tasks such as recommendation engines, natural language processing, and image recognition.
A purpose-built accelerator that offloads from the CPU cores the compression and decompression of very high throughput in-memory databases. For example, in RocksDB IAA delivers 2x the operations per second versus traditional CPU cores.
A purpose-built accelerator that offloads from the CPU cores common data movement tasks between core components such as CPU and system memory as well as storage and network devices. For storage applications, DSA can improved I/O by up to 1.7x.
A purpose-built accelerator that offloads from the CPU cores responsibility for allocating the distribution of network processing, dynamically allocating these tasks across the CPU as the load varies.
A purpose-built accelerator that offloads from the CPU cores encryption and decryption tasks such as cryptography, key protection and data compression. This leaves the CPU cores free to serve a larger number of clients.
Security with server workloads is important for both the user experience and customer satisfaction. To protect data in use, the latest Intel Xeon processors use Intel Confidential Computing technology.
Intel Trust Authority is a suite of trust and security services that provides customers with assurance that their apps and data are protected on the platform of their choice, including multiple cloud, edge, and on-premises environments. Intel Trust Authority takes Confidential Computing to the next level with a Zero Trust attestation SaaS that verifies the trustworthiness of compute assets.
Intel Trust Domain Extensions (TDX) is a hardware-based trusted execution environment that facilitates the deployment of trust domains which are hardware-isolated virtual machines (VM) designed to protect sensitive data and applications from unauthorised access. Intel TDX ensures data integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity.
Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) helps protect data in use via unique application isolation technology. By protecting selected code and data from modification, developers can partition their application into hardened enclaves or trusted execution modules to help increase application security.
Still not sure which Intel Xeon server processor is right for you? This table shows the relative performance and features of the main ranges of Xeon processor.
| Xeon 6 | Xeon 5th gen Scalable | Xeon 4th gen Scalable | Xeon 3rd gen Scalable | Xeon E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xeon P | Xeon E | Platinum 8500 | Gold 6500 | Gold 5500 | Silver 4500 | Platinum 8400 | Gold 6400 | Gold 5400 | Silver 4400 | Platinum 8300 | Gold 6300 | Gold 5300 | Silver 4300 | E-2400 | |
| GEN | 6th | 6th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th |
| SMP SUPPORT | 2 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ✖ |
| SOCKET | 7529 | 4710-2 | 4677 | 4677 | 4677 | 4677 | 4677 | 4677 | 4677 | 4677 | 4189 | 4189 | 4189 | 4189 | 1200 |
| MAX CORES/THREADS | 128/256 | 144/144 | 64/128 | 32/64 | 28/56 | 24/48 | 60/120 | 60/120 | 28/56 | 20/40 | 40/80 | 32/64 | 24/48 | 20/40 | 8/16 |
| MAX BASE FREQUENCY | 2.7GHz | 2.4GHz | 4.1GHz | 4.1GHz | 4.1GHz | 4.1GHz | 3.9GHz | 3.9GHz | 3.8GHz | 3.2GHz | 4.0GHz | 3.2GHz | 4.0GHz | 2.8GHz | 3.7GHz |
| MAX BOOST FREQUENCY | 3.9GHz | 3.2GHz | 2.8GHz | 2.5GHz | 2.2GHz | 2.0GHz | 4.4GHz | 4.5GHz | 4.2GHz | 4.0GHz | 4.5GHz | 5.1GHz | 5.3GHz | 5.3GHz | 5.1GHz |
| MAX L3 CACHE | 504MB | 108MB | 320MB | 60MB | 52.5MB | 45MB | 105MB | 60MB | 52.5MB | 37.5MB | 57MB | 48MB | 30MB | 30MB | 24MB |
| MAX MEMORY | 3TB | 1TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 8TB | 128GB |
| MEMORY CHANNELS | 12-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 8-channel | 2-channel |
| MEMORY TYPE | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC Reg | DDR4 ECC Reg | DDR4 ECC Reg | DDR4 ECC Reg | DDR4 ECC Reg | DDR5 ECC |
| MAX MEMORY SPEED | 8,800MHz | 6,400MHz | 5,600MHz | 5,200MHz | 4,800MHz | 4,400MHz | 4,800MHz | 4,800MHz | 4,400MHz | 4,000MHz | 3,200MHz | 3,200MHz | 2,933MHz | 2,933MHz | 4,800MHz |
| PCIe VERSION | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| MAX PCIe LANES | 96 | 88 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 16 |
| MAX TDP | 500W | 330W | 350W | 270W | 205W | 185W | 350W | 270W | 205W | 165W | 270W | 205W | 185W | 150W | 95W |
Note: SMP = Symmetrical Multi Processing, TDP = Thermal Design Power, ECC = Error Correction Code
View the range of Intel Server CPUs and systems. If you still have questions on how to select the perfect Intel Xeon server CPU, don't hesitate to contact one of our friendly advisors.
Intel Xeon CPUs
Build your own custom Intel Xeon server with our 3XS Server Configurator. Choose from a wide range of options to create the perfect system for your needs.
Configure Server
Here are some common questions and answers to help you find the information you need.
Intel Xeon processors are CPUs designed for server workloads such as HPC, AI, virtualisation plus file and print services. Intel Xeon processors have more cores and cache and enhanced reliability versus Intel Core processors, plus integrated security features.
Intel Xeon processors are CPUs designed for server workloads such as HPC, AI, virtualisation plus file and print services. Intel Xeon processors have more cores and cache and enhanced reliability versus Intel Core processors, plus integrated security features.
Intel Xeon processors are CPUs designed for server workloads such as HPC, AI, virtualisation plus file and print services. Intel Xeon processors have more cores and cache and enhanced reliability versus Intel Core processors, plus integrated security features.
Intel Xeon processors are optimised for server workloads, typically having lots of cores but relatively low clock speeds. In contrast, Intel Core processors are better for gaming, as although they have fewer cores, they have much higher clock speeds.
Intel Xeon processors can be used for gaming, but are optimised for server workloads, typically having lots of cores but relatively low clock speeds. In contrast, Intel Core processors are better for gaming, as although they have fewer cores, they have much higher clock speeds.
Intel Xeon W is a range of CPUs designed for high performance workstations for demanding workloads such as AI, rendering, 3D modelling, video editing and VFX.
Intel Xeon E CPUs is a range of CPUs designed for entry-level and small business server workloads at an attractive price point.
The first Intel Xeon processor was introduced in 1998, since then Intel has launched multiple generations of faster, more powerful Xeon CPUs.
Intel Xeon 6 is a range of server CPUs. Intel Xeon 6 P CPUs deliver maximum performance for AI and HPC workloads via high-frequency cores, while Xeon 6 E CPUs deliver maximum core density for virtualised workloads with lots of energy-efficient cores.
Intel Xeon Scalable is a range of server CPUs. Intel Xeon Scalable CPUs deliver competitive performance for a wide range of workloads at a reduced price point compared to Xeon 6.
SMP (Symmetrical Multi Processing) is when a server has more than one physical CPU, typically two, but up to as many as eight CPUs. Each CPU in the server has to the same make and model, with software operating across all CPUs equally.
ECC (Error Correction Code) memory allows the system to recreate the correct data in real time in case of an error, using a form of parity, which is a method of using a single bit of data to detect errors in larger groups of data. ECC memory looks different to non-ECC memory as it has an extra chip that performs the ECC calculations.
TDP (Thermal Design Power) is a measure of how much electrical power a CPU consumes at maximum load. A higher TDP usually indicates higher performance and means the CPU will require a more capable cooling system.