Intel 'Ponte Vecchio' Xe Graphics Architecture, 'Sapphire Rapids' Xeon CPUs, OneAPI Toolkit to Power Aurora Supercomputer

Intel has disclosed an early overview of plans for the upcoming Aurora supercomputer, which it is building in conjunction with Cray for the Argonne National Laboratory, run by the United Sates Department of Energy. It is due to be delivered in 2021. The key components of the Aurora supercomputer will be 'Ponte Vecchio' GPUs based on Intel's Xe graphics architecture, and Xeon Scalable CPUs from the 'Sapphire Rapids' generation. This is the first time that Ponte Vecchio has been disclosed publicly. To tie everything together, Intel will be offering its new OneAPI software toolkit, which is said to allow developers to easily work with multiple CPU, GPU, and accelerator architectures.

Starting with Ponte Vecchio, Intel has been publicising its upcoming integrated and discrete Xe graphics processors for some time now, and is definitely planning to target gamers and PC enthusiasts. However, the bigger picture is that Xe will be an overarching framework that can be customised for different products. Intel has now confirmed that its Xe architecture strategy will address segments right from ultra-mobile graphics to gaming, and workstation graphics, as well as high-performance exascale-level AI and deep learning applications.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X With 32 Cores Announced

AMD has announced two new high-end Ryzen Threadripper processors with up to 32 cores, as well as a new entry-level Athlon processor with integrated Radeon Vega 3 graphics. The company has also disclosed the official date of sale for its delayed 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X desktop CPU. The new Athlon APU model will go on sale from November 19, priced at $49 (approximately Rs. 3,470 before taxes) while the high-end processors will all be available starting from November 25. The 32-core Ryzen Threadripper 3970X will cost $1,999 (approximately Rs. 1,41,565) and the 24-core Ryzen Threadripper 3960X will cost $1,399 (approximately Rs. 99,073). AMD has also introduced the new sTRX4 socket which its third-gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs will use. Motherboard manufacturers are expected to announce compatible new motherboards soon.

The third-generation Threadripper CPUs are based on AMD's Zen 2 architecture and manufactured using a 7nm process. They are expected to compete with Intel's recently announced 'Cascade Lake-X' lineup of X-series processors. Base clock speeds for the Threadripper 3970X and 3960X are 3.7GHz and 3.8GHz respectively, with a common boost speed of 4.5GHz. Both models feature multi-threading for up to 64 and 48 threads respectively. Both also feature 128MB of L3 cache and 280W TDP figures. They use the same modular 'chiplet' design as AMD's current-gen Epyc server CPUs. RAM support officially goes up to 256GB of quad-channel DDR4-3200.