Raptor Lake Refresh, HEDT Replacement by Q3 2023

Intel's Desktop and Workstation Platforms Roadmap which covers things like Raptor Lake-S Refresh processors for 2023 desktops as well as Sapphire Rapids-64L/112L CPUs set to address high-end desktops and workstations next quarter poses more interest.

Aside from increased clock speeds, refreshes can also include small upgrades like improved power improvements or new turbo boost algorithms, however, the leaked roadmap does not provide any of these details for the Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs. While it is unclear from the extracts whether Intel's 34-core Raptor Lake-S (RPLS-34C) belongs to the RPL Refresh family or not, we may assume that this particular chip is intended for workstations.

Intel's codenamed Meteor Lake processor, which will rely on a multi-tile (multi-chiplet) design, is noticeably absent from the company's plans for desktops in the second half of 2023. Maybe this section it will not make it to desktop computers until 2024.

Despite the name change, Intel's Raptor Lake-S Refresh will still use chips from the Z790, W680, Q670, and other 700-series chipsets. However, we do not know if these new components will be compatible with already-existing motherboards as drop-in replacements (including those powered by 600-series chipsets).

In Q1 2023, the company also intends to launch desktop workstations powered by the Xeon W-2400 (Sapphire Rapids-64L) and Xeon W-3400 (Sapphire Rapids-112L). Unfortunately, Intel has decided to focus solely on the Xeon brand for its solutions and platforms in the high-end desktop (HEDT) sector. Xeon W-2400 and Xeon W-3400 CPUs, as was announced a week ago, would use the LGA4677 socket and motherboards with the Intel W790 chipset.

The Intel Xeon W-2400 will have a processor base power (PBP) of up to 225W, as well as up to 24 high-performance cores, 64 PCIe 5.0 lanes, a quad-channel DDR5 memory subsystem supporting up to 2TB of DDR5 memory with ECC, and other features. Intel's Xeon W-3400 CPUs, in comparison, will feature as many as 56 high-performance cores, 112 PCIe 5.0 lanes, an octa-channel DDR5 memory subsystem with support for as much as 4TB of ECC memory, and a PBP of up to 350W.

Intel's Eagle Stream platform, which is compatible with up to two Xeon Scalable Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze (Sapphire Rapids-SP) processors, is available to customers who require unrivalled performance. Using two processors, the platform can support a whopping 112 Hyper-Threaded performance cores, 160 PCIe Gen5 lanes, and 8 terabytes of 16-channel DDR5 RAM in a single chassis. Naturally, this platform will not support overclocking, but it will provide all the RAS and remote administration features found in the Sapphire Rapids-WS.