Intel has just officially announced its new next-gen Clearwater Forest “E-Core” Xeon CPUs, which will drive performance and efficiency in the server market to new levels. Featuring up to 288 Darkmont E-Cores on advanced 18A process node, the Clearwater Forest Xeon family represents a big leap forward in terms of Intel’s E-Core backplane/server architecture.
The Clearwater Forest Xeon family is E-Cores only, in line with Intel’s bifurcation of P-Core and E-Core Xeon families. P-Core based Xeons, such as Diamond Rapids, are aimed at high performance and AI workloads, whereas E-Core Clearwater Forest series is optimized for high density and scale out workloads, providing an incredible power efficiency and enhanced compute per watt.
Intel Clearwater Forest Xeon CPU: What’s Hot that You Need to Know!
- 18A Process Node: Improved core logic power efficiency, higher cell density, more efficient signal routing and low-voltage power rails.
- Darkmont E-Core Architecture: More intelligent front-end, deeper out-of-order engine, larger scalar & vector execution, with an improved memory subsystem.
- 12 CPU Chiplets: Using Intel 18A tech, have 12 E-Core chiplets across three base tiles combined with two Intel 7 I/O chiplets.
- DDR5-8000 Memory Support: Is capable of supporting 12-channel DDR5-8000 memory with 3 TB per dual-socket server.
- Cache & Bandwidth: 4 MB L2 cache per four core cluster while 2x L2 cache BW and 576 MB LLC.
- Performance Uplift: 17% IPC uplift from previous generations, 35 GB/s fabric interconnect between clusters.
The Intel modular design uses Foveros Direct 3D stacking for shorter, power-efficient paths and better LLC integration. Each core has a 64kB instruction cache, 3-wide instruction decoders and very good branch prediction. The out-of-order engine is also provided with 60% higher allocation and 2x larger retire width, capable of handling 128 outstanding L2 misses for computation acceleration.
Clearwater Forest Xeon processors also support E-Core capabilities including L1 Data Cache ECC, data poisoning, recoverable machine check, and local machine check making them extremely dependable in a server workload. The CPUs offer 1300 GB/s memory bandwidth and up to 59 TF/s raw compute performance (with up to 288 cores in a dual-socket configuration).
Intel Clearwater Forest vs. Predecessor Xeon Families:]
| Feature | Clearwater Forest | Sierra Forest | Diamond Rapids |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | 18A | Intel 3 | TBD |
| Core Architecture | Darkmont | Sierra Glen | Panther Cove-X |
| Max Cores | 288 | 288 | TBD |
| Memory | DDR5-8000 | DDR5-6400 | TBD |
| L2 Cache | 4 MB per 4-core cluster | Smaller | TBD |
| L3 Cache | Up to 576 MB | 108 MB | TBD |
Intel’s Clearwater Forest Xeon processors are anticipated to arrive in 2026, delivering new levels of performance-per-watt, bandwidth and core density for next-generation servers. The use of 288 E-Cores (as well as support for DDR5-8000 and 18A process technology) means that Intel continues to be very competitive with AMD’s EPYC CPU offerings.
FAQ
Clearwater Forest Xeon is next-generation E-Core-only server CPU stack from Intel, PS: up to 288 cores and support for DDR5-8000.
There’s space for up to 288 Darkmont E-Cores per CPU, designed specifically for high-density workloads.
Clearwater Forest Xeon CPUs are manufactured on Intel’s 18A process node with new Foveros 3D packaging.
Yes, high-speed server memory with 12-channel DDR5-8000 is supported.
The CPUs are planned for release in 2026 and aimed at high-density, scale-out server workloads.
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