Intel’s 2023‑2025 Xeon Roadmap: Emerald, Granite, Sierra & Clearwater Forest

Intel officially announced the 2023‑2025 Xeon processor roadmap, introducing P‑core and E‑core families such as Emerald Rapids, Granite Rapids, Sierra Forest, and Clearwater Forest.

2023: Intel 5th‑gen Xeon – Emerald Rapids

2024: Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest

2025: Clearwater Forest

Intel splits the next‑generation Xeon data‑center CPUs into P‑Core (traditional Xeon) and E‑Core (energy‑efficient) lines; the first E‑Core product, Sierra Forest, is expected in 2024.

2023 Intel 5th‑gen Xeon: Emerald Rapids

Emerald Rapids, based on Intel 7 process, targets Q4 2023, offering higher performance and efficiency for HPC, AI, and data‑center workloads.

Emerald Rapids‑SP improves performance‑per‑watt within the same TDP and increases core density, fully compatible with the Eagle Stream platform.

It uses the Reaptor Cove core, an optimized Golden Cove variant delivering 5‑10% higher IPC, with up to a 64‑core/128‑thread configuration, surpassing Sapphire Rapids.

Intel Emerald Rapids‑SP (64‑core SKU): 320 MB L3 + 128 MB L2 = 448 MB

AMD EPYC Genoa (64‑core SKU): 384 MB L3 + 96 MB L2 = 480 MB

Intel Sapphire Rapids‑SP (60‑core SKU): 112.5 MB L3 + 120 MB L2 = 232.5 MB

Emerald Rapids‑SP Xeon CPUs feature up to 64 cores for 1S/2S servers; higher‑socket platforms await Granite Rapids‑SP. The L3 cache is expected to reach 320 MB, 2.84× the 112.5 MB of the top Sapphire Rapids‑SP.

2024: Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest

In 2024 Intel will launch Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest on the Intel 3 process with Redwood Cove cores.

Granite Rapids‑SP, supporting Mountain Stream and Birch Stream platforms, will increase core density, memory and I/O, offering DDR5‑8800 MCR memory (83% peak bandwidth) and up to 1.5 TB/s platform bandwidth; a demo showed DDR5‑8000 MT/s on a dual‑socket board.

Sierra Forest, the first E‑Core Xeon product, will have up to 144 Intel‑3 cores, designed for cloud‑optimized workloads, competing with AMD EPYC Bergamo.

2025: Clearwater Forest

Clearwater Forest will replace the second‑generation E‑Core Xeon family in 2025, using Intel 18A process and optimized RibbonFET architecture for higher core counts and performance.

Intel also updated its future GPU, AI accelerator, and FPGA roadmaps, introducing the Melville Sound data‑center GPU Flex series and Falcon Shores accelerator, as well as next‑gen Habana Gaudi, eASIC, and AGILEX FPGA families.

The roadmap demonstrates Intel’s commitment to innovation in HPC, AI, and data‑center markets, though execution timing remains uncertain.