Intel’s Unannounced 34-Core Raptor Lake CPUs Unintentionally Displayed at Innovation 2022

Intel has a wafer stuffed with Raptor Lake dies on show right here at Innovation 2022 in San Jose, however after nearer examination, it’s obvious that the wafer incorporates 34-core Raptor Lake processors that have not been introduced. It additionally seems that the wafer was displayed unintentionally. That is thrilling as a result of Intel had already introduced its Raptor Lake chips earlier at the moment with a peak of 24 cores, however there wasn’t any point out of a 34-core mannequin. 

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We first found the wafer within the sales space, and it was readily obvious that the dies have been bigger than the Raptor Lake desktop dies we noticed in Israel. After a dialogue with the sales space workers and Dr. Ian Cuttress of Extra Than Moore, the sales space workers, unaware that these have been unreleased CPUs, found a label on the provider and realized that this was a wafer of unreleased CPU silicon. 

A more in-depth have a look at the wafer implies that the design isn’t of the usual Raptor Lake CPUs. As you may see, the cores aren’t aligned horizontally in two rows as we see with the standard Raptor Lake die (you may see an Intel diagram of the Raptor Lake-S desktop chips within the second slide of the above album, and the precise die on the finish of the article).

Moreover, the 34 cores seem interconnected with a mesh, just like the Ice Lake fashions (third album picture), and never the acquainted ring bus we see with Intel’s desktop PC chips. We are able to additionally make out eight DDR5 reminiscence controllers and what seem like UPI blocks, all of which aren’t on the usual desktop PC fashions. 

That is doubtless what is called the Sapphire Rapids MCC die, however with Raptor Lake branding for the workstation market. We’re engaged on additional clarification.

The sales space workers was unaware that this wafer contained unannounced 34-core chips, and there was some confusion about which processors have been etched on the wafer. Lastly, after some dialogue with the sales space workers and predictions that these have been Ice Lake processors, a workers member confirmed us proof that the die was of precise Raptor Lake silicon — the again of the die provider incorporates a sticker that makes it clear with a label that claims “Raptor Lake-S 34-Core.” 

The die seems bigger than the die that drops into the usual desktop PCs with the LGA 1700 socket, so it seems to be too giant to suit contained in the package deal for desktop PCs. Which means that is doubtless a CPU destined for the workstation market.

Moreover, the die incorporates 34 distinct core areas that seem like linked by a mesh, that means these are all doubtless high-performance cores (p-cores). The design does not embrace quad-core clusters of e-cores as we see with desktop PC fashions. As a reminder, the height configuration for the desktop is eight p-cores and 16 e-cores. You possibly can see an image of the usual Raptor Lake dies for desktop processors beneath.