Intel Skylake-EP server flagship to have 32 cores, 64 threads

Over the last couple of years time constraints have pushed me to be a bit more selective about the news I post at DV Hardware. Typically I try to limit news coverage to things that are relevant or exciting for consumers, but every once in a while there's something that blurs the lines. Today there's the news that Intel's future Skylake-EP server processor will have up to 32 cores and 64 threads.

To be launched as the Xeon E5-2699 V5 around mid-2017, this seems the answer to the upcoming AMD Naples lineup. If the leak is accurate, the new chip will offer ten more cores than the recently launched E5-2699V4A, bringing the number of cores to the same 32 that will be offered by AMD's high-end Naples parts.

The Xeon E5-2699 V5 uses the new LGA3647 and the engineering sample on which this leak is based has a base clock of 2.1GHz. FYI, the engineering sample below is offered on Chinese marketplace Taobao for 26,500 yuan ($3,845).

The Intel Xeon V5 line-up will be going up against AMD's Zen based Naples platform next year. While Intel enjoys a staggering, overwhelming presence in the server market, AMD is counting on Zen's performance and core counts as being a renaissance of sorts for the company, allowing it to claw back market share in this highly-lucrative market. Intel seems to be making an effort to at least equalizing its offers in regards to Naples' expected core counts, in a bid to ensure it is able to maintain its tight grip on the lion's share of the server market.