Question Is it just me, or does Intel have so many variants, I can't keep track ?

Markfw · Nov 11, 2024

Theres forest this and that
Theres lake this and that.
There mont this and that
And I will update with a few more. I can't keep track !! What is desktop, what is server, what is better ?

edit: and cove variants.

Markfw · Nov 11, 2024

I mean Apple has M1,M2,M3,M4 and provariant.
AMD has Zen1, 2,3,4,5 and Zen 4c and Zen 5c and strix. Thats it I think.
I have lost track of how many how many Intel cores there are.

gdansk · Nov 11, 2024

Zen 5 alone has at least four variants:
Zen 5 N4P with 512 bit FPU
Zen 5 N4P with 256 bit FPU and some other reductions
Zen 5C N4P with 256 bit FPU and some other reductions
Zen 5C N3E with 512 bit FPU and different CCX

And plenty of code names (Granite Ridge, Turin, Strix Point, Kraken Point, Strix Halo, etc)

poke01 · Nov 11, 2024

Markfw said:
Theres forest this and that
Theres lake this and that.
There mont this and that
And I will update with a few more. I can't keep track !! What is desktop, what is server, what is better ?

You forgot cove.

Markfw · Nov 11, 2024

gdansk said:
Zen 5 alone has at least four variants:
Zen 5 N4P with 512 bit FPU
Zen 5 N4P with 256 bit FPU and some other reductions
Zen 5C N4P with 256 bit FPU and some other reductions
Zen 5C N3E with 512 bit FPU and different CCX

And plenty of code names (Granite Ridge, Turin, Strix Point, Kraken Point, Strix Halo, etc)

as far as I am aware there is ONE Zen 5 and ONE Zen 5c I don't care what mfg there is and they are all the same code, except the C variant has less cache and rubs slower.

Shmee · Nov 11, 2024

I think that what you are getting at is that marketing/product schemes can be odd, and often don't make sense. Like doing away with i5 i7 i9 was dumb IMO.

poke01 · Nov 11, 2024

Essentially

Lion Cove = Zen5

Skymont = Zen5C

Arrow Lake = Granite Ridge

Rapids = Turin

Forrest = Turin Dense

Arrowlake-H = Strix Point

Arrowlake-HX = Fire range

Lunar Lake = Kraken

plus AMD has SKUs that Intel doesn’t have like Strix Halo.

SteinFG · Nov 12, 2024

It starts with a new Performance core, usually named "... cove", and an Efficiency core usually named "...mont".
Then we get products out of them. on client (desktop, laptop) it's "... lake", and on server it's "... rapids" (if only P-cores are used) or "... forest" (if only E-cores are used)

Segment	Product	P-core used	E-core used	CPU node
7nm generation
Client	Alder lake	Golden cove	Gracemont	7nm (intel 7)
Client	Alder lake-N	-	Gracemont	7nm (intel 7)
Server	Sapphire rapids	Golden cove	-	7nm (intel 7)
7nm refresh
Client	Raptor lake	Raptor cove	Gracemont	7nm (intel 7)
Server	Emerald rapids	Raptor cove	-	7nm (intel 7)
4 nm generation
Client	Meteor lake	Redwood cove	Crestmont	4nm (intel 4)
Server	Granite rapids	Redwood cove	-	3nm (intel 3)
Server	Sierra forest	-	Crestmont	3nm (intel 3)
3 nm generation
Client	Lunar lake	Lion cove	Skymont	3nm (TSMC N3)
Client	Arrow lake	Lion cove	Skymont	3nm (TSMC N3)
??? (future products)

Some notes: Raptor cove and Golden cove are almost identical; Intel's 3nm and Intel's 4nm are also almost identical

DrMrLordX · Nov 12, 2024

@SteinFG

It gets more complicated when you have parts using different core/chiplet layouts. For example, Meteor Lake and Granite Rapids have almost nothing in common outside of sharing a core design. The same is also true between Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake.

coercitiv · Nov 12, 2024

Is this the thread where enthusiasts get to complain it's hard to be an enthusiast today with all the new cores, technologies, packaging, memory names?

If so.. I guess I'll subscribe

maddie · Nov 12, 2024

Markfw said:
Theres forest this and that
Theres lake this and that.
There mont this and that
And I will update with a few more. I can't keep track !! What is desktop, what is server, what is better ?

edit: and cove variants.

I agree, you either get lost in the forests or drown in the lakes.

Markfw · Nov 12, 2024

coercitiv said:
Is this the thread where enthusiasts get to complain it's hard to be an enthusiast today with all the new cores, technologies, packaging, memory names?

If so.. I guess I'll subscribe

I would say yes ! Its hard when somebody is talking in lakes and forests and how one of them is better than 9950x or such. This is not for either, but for both ! But Intel does appear to have more variants than AMD, To me, AMS has Zen 1,2,3,4,5 and Zen4c (same as Zen 5 but less cache and speed, more dense) and Zen5c same as Zen4c as far as changes, but a Zenr core. Then laptop is some variants I don't follow as close.

Intel, I am just lost.

adamge · Nov 12, 2024

coercitiv said:
Is this the thread where enthusiasts get to complain it's hard to be an enthusiast today with all the new cores, technologies, packaging, memory names?

If so.. I guess I'll subscribe

This.
Usually I can keep one Intel name in my head as the one that MLID has hyped as being the next big hotness, the next chance for breakthrough redemption.
Then it releases, it is mediocre, and I promptly forget it.

StefanR5R · Nov 14, 2024

I am not quite keeping track either. But in this instance it's just me, not Intel.
– Laptop CPUs? Not interested. At home, it is very long ago that I stopped using a laptop as my main computer. And there is no reason for me to return to that use case as far as I can predict. At work, I never had to use a laptop as main computer, and hopefully it stays this way.
– Desktop CPUs? I keep checking when Intel announces a new one. Lately they all turn out to be hybrid. Yuck! Right away I lose interest in getting more information.
– Server CPUs? Around launch, I look for prerelease/postrelease reports from which I get an impression of performance/Watt. After that, I *would* track how performance/$ in retail develops. But for quite some time now, I keep losing interest before this second stage, because performance/Watt of Intel's competitor is decidedly better. (Well, Granite Rapids actually made some strides there, but whether perf/$ for somebody who doesn't purchase hundreds of units of CPUs will be getting good remains to be seen.)

Tuna-Fish · Nov 14, 2024

Markfw said:
as far as I am aware there is ONE Zen 5 and ONE Zen 5c I don't care what mfg there is and they are all the same code, except the C variant has less cache and rubs slower.

That's not correct. The FPU is configurable to have either 512-bit native or 256-bit datapaths. Their mobile dies use the narrower FPU. (Both can of course run all the same instructions, it's just that some of them have half the throughput on the narrow version.)

StefanR5R · Nov 14, 2024

Tuna-Fish said:
half the throughput on the narrow version

Half the theoretic peak throughput at iso-clock, that is.

Seba · Nov 14, 2024

Markfw said:
what is better ?

Lately AMD CPUs.

igor_kavinski · Nov 17, 2024

Markfw said:
I would say yes ! Its hard when somebody is talking in lakes and forests and how one of them is better than 9950x or such.

Well, Intel's execution is awful but the Lion Cove and Skymont cores in Arrow Lake are something for CPU enthusiasts to drool about (one is wayyy too beefy and the other is like a cheetah, sadly both without AVX-512 thanks to stupid Pat). That's why I got a 245KF to mess with. I don't know how successful I'll be (Tray CPU from a small shop and mobo not here yet) but I got tired of waiting for 9950X3D. Needed something to play with until then.

SteinFG · Nov 18, 2024

For laptops, 200 series from intel is really confusing though. I gathered some base specs. Maybe I'm off though, can't even tell

	Process	tile with CPU cores	P+E cores	LPE cores	Hyperthreading	P core architecture	E/LPE core architecture	iGPU architecture
Core Ultra 200HX	Tiles	TSMC "3nm"	8+16	-	off	Lion cove	Skymont	Xe-LPG (4 cores)
Core Ultra 200H	Tiles	TSMC "3nm"	6+8	2	off	Lion cove	Skymont	Xe-LPG+ (8 cores)
Core Ultra 200V	Tiles	TSMC "3nm"	4+4	-	off	Lion cove	Skymont	Xe2-LPG (8 cores)
Core Ultra 200U	Tiles	Intel "3nm"	2+8	2	on (for P cores)	Redwood cove+	Crestmont enchanced	Xe-LPG (4 cores)
Core 200H	Monolithic	Intel "7nm"	6+8	-	on (for P cores)	Raptor cove	Gracemont	Xe graphics (96 exec. units)
Core 200U	Monolithic	Intel "7nm"	2+8	-	on (for P cores)	Raptor cove	Gracemont	Xe graphics (96 exec. units)

poke01 · Nov 18, 2024

SteinFG said:
200 series from intel is really confusing though. I gathered some base specs. Maybe I'm off though, can't even tell

Process tile with CPU cores P+E cores LPE cores Hyperthreading P core architecture E/LPE core architecture iGPU architecture
Core Ultra 200HX Tiles TSMC "3nm" 8+16 - off Lion cove Skymont Xe-LPG (4 cores)
Core Ultra 200H Tiles TSMC "3nm" 6+8 2 off Lion cove Skymont Xe-LPG+ (8 cores)
Core Ultra 200V Tiles TSMC "3nm" 4+4 - off Lion cove Skymont Xe2-LPG (8 cores)
Core Ultra 200U Tiles Intel "3nm" 2+8 2 on (for P cores) Redwood cove+ Crestmont enchanced Xe-LPG (4 cores)
Core 200H Monolithic Intel "7nm" 6+8 - on (for P cores) Raptor cove Gracemont Xe graphics (96 exec. units)
Core 200U Monolithic Intel "7nm" 2+8 - on (for P cores) Raptor cove Gracemont Xe graphics (96 exec. units)

What a complete joke

Question Is it just me, or does Intel have so many variants, I can't keep track ?

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