Intel’s 128-core wonder processor is also its most expensive CPU right now, Xeon 6980P costs more than twice its AMD’s 128-core rival, the EPYC 9754
Intel is aiming to position the 6900P family as a premium option
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Intel’s new Xeon 6900P “Granite Rapids” CPU family is here, and the first reviews say it provides solid competition forAMD’s EPYC processors. The top-of-the-line model, the 6980P, has 128 high-performance cores and 256 threads, with a 2.0 GHz clock speed and 504MB of L3 cache.
We know a lot about the 6980P processor, but until now what we didn’t know how much it was going to cost.
Based on other processor estimates and some educated guesswork,The Next Platformsuggested it would come in at around an eye-watering $24,980. Intel has since added the costs for its new Xeon 6 6900-series CPUs to its Ark database, and it’s actually more affordable than expected. That’s not to say it’s cheap - far from it.
Not cheap
The flagship Xeon 6980P is priced at $17,800, making it the most expensive modern x86 CPU currently available. In comparison, AMD’s EPYC 9754 “Bergamo” processor, with 128 cores, has a list price of $11,900 - a substantial difference of almost $6,000 and if you shop around you can easily get it for $8500, half the price of Intel’s processor.
We have pricing for the other models in the 6900-series lineup as well. The 120-core Xeon 6979P is listed at $15,750 ($131 per core), and the 96-core Xeon 6972P comes in at $14,600 ($152 per core), which, asTom’s Hardwarepoints out, is $2,795 more than AMD’s 96-core EPYC 9654 ($123 per core). The 72-core Xeon 6960P is priced at $13,750 ($191 per core), making it one of the most expensive options per core in the range despite its lower core count.
Interestingly,Tom’s Hardwarenotes that Intel’s 96-core Xeon 6952P, priced at $11,400 ($119 per core), is the only Granite Rapids CPU currently cheaper than AMD’s EPYC 9654.
Historically, Intel has not priced its processors as highly as AMD’s multi-threaded performance has led the market. This shift may indicate a new pricing strategy from Intel in a bid to position itself as a premium option, but it could also be indicative of the high production costs involved in creating this new generation of CPUs.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
More from TechRadar Pro
Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.
Samsung plans record-breaking 400-layer NAND chip that could be key to breaking 200TB barrier for ultra large capacity AI hyperscaler SSDs
Adobe’s decision to eliminate perpetual licensing for its Elements software has stirred controversy among consumers
Scotland vs South Africa live stream: how to watch 2024 rugby union Autumn International online from anywhere
