Please note that this post is tagged as a rumor.
Intel Sapphire Rapids soon to have 12 steps
Igor’sLAB reports on the new launch windows for Sapphire Rapids.
Intel Sapphire Rapids, Source: CNET
The website has gained access to internal NDA-Sights documents listing the silicon’s problems. Those documents have already amassed 500 entries. This bug list is one of the largest that Intel has ever had for a CPU, which is why the silicon has been delayed for almost one and half years. According to Igor, the next-gen data-center already had as many as 12 different steppings:
The problems and errors are collected under NDA in internal documents (“so called NDA sights”) and currently amount to almost 500 (!) entries, with the trend continuing to rise. […] This started with A0 and A1, then proceeded via B0, C0, C1, C2, D0, E0, E2, E3 and E4 until currently stepping E5! The market launch was planned about 1.5 years ago and the plan was recently updated again.
—Igor Wallossek, Igor’sLAB
It is reported that the launch windows for Sapphire Rapids has moved to the 6-9th week of 2023, which is between February 6 and March 3 (2023). Some 2S (two socket scalable) SKUs are to ship in the 42nd week of this year while 4/8S (4-8 socket scalable) models might become available in the 45th week. However, according to the report, the availability of these samples is only for select partners.
[…] internal information is now becoming a bit more concrete. Intel has now announced the “launch window” for Sapphire Rapids (SPR) for calendar week 6 to 9 (Feb. 6, 2023 to March 3, 2023).
—Igor Wallossek, Igor’sLAB
Such a large number Steppings suggest that Intel has encountered numerous bugs that required changes and silicon respin, which have further delayed the 4th Gen Xeon Scalable series. At this point, however, it is not entirely sure if E5 is the last stepping.
During the recent Q2 earnings call, Intel explained that a bug was found that prevented the use of some features that are not fundamental to all Sapphire Rapids customers, yet they are the reason the silicon is delayed. The company now plans to ship some SKUs in the fourth quarter of this year, but the main launch is expected in 2023. So this official information appears to match what Igor is saying.
What is important to note that Igor only mentions the 4th Gen Xeon Scalable series here. There is no word on Sapphire Rapids-X/HEDT workstation CPUs availability. It is possible that those will indeed be among those available this year already.
Source: Igor’sLAB