Intel Begins Next-Gen Xeon E-Core “Clearwater Forest” CPU Enablement, Uses Darkmont Cores

23.01.2024 - 16:58 / wccftech.com / Sierra Forest / Muhammad Zuhair

Intel has begun enablement for its next-gen E-Core Xeon CPUs codenamed Clearwater Forest which will adopt the Darkmont core architecture.

Intel's 2nd Gen All E-Core Clearwater Forest Xeon CPUs Will Feature Darkmont Cores Onboard

Intel has been ramping up developments on Linux, whether it involves the firm's "Arc" graphics lineup, or their mainstream consumer CPUs. However, server processors were something that was "relatively" lacking behind, but Intel has caught up on it by starting to push out early support for the firm's Clearwater Forest processors, which are slated to launch somewhere in 2025.

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Phoronix reports that with Intel Linux engineers fulfilling the support for Intel's Sierra Forest lineup, which is the predecessor to Clearwater Forest, it seems like things won't take a break, as the team directly shifts the focus to the future.

In terms of what the patch involved, it was a "basic" one that added a new model number for Clearwater Forest Xeon CPUs, and they are now assigned " 0xDD (221)" in the kernel.

Another interesting addition, or probably a validation is the mention of "Atom Darkmont", which is expected to be the E-core architecture for these chips. These cores are expected to be an updated Skymont E-Core design and previous information suggests that Intel would retain the 288 core count and 288 threads which we will be getting with Sierra Forest chips too but those are based on the Crestmont E-Core architecture codenamed Sierra Glen.

While information about the Clearwater Forest lineup is slim for now, we are aware of the fact that it would feature Intel's 18A process, which is said to bring refinements to the RibbonFET technology to deliver another major leap in transistor and chip performance. We could see huge performance leaps in the processors, however, since they are scheduled for launch by 2025, we have still to see much more.

Intel Xeon CPU Families (Preliminary):

Family BrandingDiamond RapidsClearwater ForestGranite RapidsSierra ForestEmerald RapidsSapphire RapidsIce Lake-SPCooper Lake-SPCascade Lake-SP/APSkylake-SP Process NodeIntel 20A?Intel 18AIntel 3Intel 3Intel 7Intel 710nm+14nm++14nm++14nm+ Platform NameIntel Mountain Stream
Intel Birch StreamIntel Mountain Stream
Intel Birch StreamIntel Mountain Stream
Intel Birch StreamIntel Mountain Stream
Intel Birch StreamIntel Eagle StreamIntel Eagle StreamIntel WhitleyIntel Cedar IslandIntel PurleyIntel Purley Core ArchitectureLion Cove?DarkmontRedwood CoveSierra GlenRaptor CoveGolden CoveSunny CoveCascade LakeCascade LakeSkylake MCP (Multi-Chip Package) SKUsYesTBDYesYesYesYesNoNoYesNo SocketLGA 4677 / 7529LGA