Intel unveiled its new advancements in AI at Computex 2024. Intel has revealed the details of its Lunar Lake architecture for AI PC processors, along with Gaudi 3 AI accelerators. The company also introduced two new Xeon 6 processors with improved cloud computing performance. Here are the details from Intel’s latest announcements.
Lunar Lake Architecture Details Unveiled
Intel also revealed the details of its latest Lunar Lake architecture, which will be used in its upcoming processors for AI PCs. It will offer 40% improved energy efficiency and a 3x boost in AI performance. Lunar Lake processors will have huge applications in power-efficiency thin and light laptops. Here are the technical details of the Lunar Lake architecture:
- New performance cores (P-cores) and efficiency cores (E-cores) with improved performance and power consumption.
- Fourth-gen neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 48 tera-operations per second (TOPS), offering 4x more compute performance in generative AI than previous-gen NPU.
- New GPU design code-named Battlemage with X2 GPU cores and X Matrix Extension (XMX). This will offer 1.5x performance improvement in gaming, and XMX arrays will be capable of up to 67 TOPS of AI performance.
- An advanced low-power island system that handles background and productivity tasks more efficiently, improving laptop battery life.
Intel has partnered with multiple computer OEMs for its upcoming Lunar Lake CPUs. The company says that over 80 different AI PC models will be available in consumer markets.
Intel Xeon 6 Processors Announced
Intel’s new Xeon 6 processors are designed for high-density cloud computing applications with native support for AI. They are more power-efficient compared to their previous generation. Intel announced two new processors in this lineup, the Xeon 6 E-core with all efficiency cores code-named Sierra Forest, and the Xeon 6 P-core with all performance cores code-named Granite Rapids.
The new Xeon 6 processors provide rack-level consolidation of 3-to-1 to improve the system efficiency in case of a hardware failure. They also offer performance improvements of up to 4.2x per watt and a 2.6x performance boost in media transcoding. They can also fit in compact-size systems that occupy less rack space.
The new Xeon 6 processors will reduce operation costs for servers as they consume less power with higher sustainability. The Xeon 6 E-Core will be available in international markets starting today, while the P-Core processors will be launched in the next quarter.
Intel’s Gaudi AI Accelerators
Intel also announced the pricing of its Gaudi 2 and Gaudi 3 AI accelerators. These systems provide significant performance boosts in generative AI tasks, for large language models (LLMs). The Gaudi AI accelerators by Intel directly compete against the flagship grade Nvidia H100 GPUs but at lower costs.
The Gaudi 3 AI accelerator is also faster in training large data on the Llama2-70B model and Mistral 7B. Intel is also collaborating with ASUS, Foxconn, Gigabyte, and other major OEMs to increase the availability of systems with Gaudi 3 AI accelerators. Although most of these solutions are enterprise-oriented, they also have applications in consumer markets for heavy users.
