Intel's next-generation Xeon CPUs for the Eagle Stream platform codenamed Sapphire Rapids and Granite Rapids would be receiving a newer socket known as LGA 4677. Along with the new socket, there would also be new features added to the platforms which would allow Intel's Xeon platform to stay on par with AMD's post-2020 EPYC lineup.

Intel's 10nm++ Sapphire Rapids and 7nm Granite Rapids Xeon CPUs To Feature Support on LGA 4677 Socketed 'Eagle-Stream' Platform

The new information comes from Kazuki Kasahara of PC Watch who has posted a picture of a Xeon LGA socket roadmap over on his twitter feed. The roadmap shows the LGA 4189 socket for Whitley platform to be replaced by the LGA 4677 socket in 2021. Since both the Whitley and Eagle Stream platforms feature a different socket, there won't be inter-socket compatibility for their respective line of Xeon CPUs. Whitley would receive two Xeon families, the refined 14nm based Cooper Lake & 10nm+ Ice Lake while Eagle Stream would receive the 10nm++ Sapphire Rapids and 7nm Granite Rapids line.

Looking at the difference between the existing LGA 3647 socket (Purley) and LGA 4189 (Whitley), it can be noted that the latter is much bulkier in design which is a requirement to accommodate the higher number of pins. The mounting is also different so once again, don't expect any kind of CPU compatibility for the current Xeon lineup.

But that's not it, the roadmap also shows the next-gen LGA 4677 socket and mentions support for PCI-Express 5.0 in 2021. The socket LGA 4677 would feature a much larger layout and blueprints of the socket have already been shared by Momomo_Us. Once again, we spot a different layout and mounting structure which would be required for the new Xeon processors.

The Eagle Stream platform has also gone by the name of Tinsley before. The platform would also support two generations of Xeon processors as stated above. The platform would be competing against AMD's Zen 4 based EPYC Genoa lineup which would also be moving to a newer platform known as SP5. AMD has promised new memory and new capabilities for the Genoa lineup which would include support for DDR5, PCIe 5.0 and more. We don't know what other features would the new lineup include but Intel is doing the same with 8-channel DDR5 support & a new interconnect for the Eagle Stream platform.

Intel 14nm Cooper Lake-SP With Up To 48 Cores, PCIe Gen 3 and 8 Channel DDR4 in Q1 2020

The roadmap itself is said to be a part of Intel's partner program and includes some main details of each upcoming Xeon family. We start off with the 14nm Cooper Lake-SP family which will be part of the Whitley Platform and feature up to 48 cores (Cooper Lake-AP), 8 channel DDR4 memory and PCIe Gen 3 support. The latest Barlow Pass Optane DIMMs would also be compatible on Whitley so we should expect a good boost in performance. Cooper Lake will also be available for 4S and 8S servers with up to 26 core Xeon CPU configurations, 6 channel DDR4 memory support and PCIe 3.0 support.

Intel 10nm+ Ice Lake-SP With Up To 26 Cores, PCIe Gen 4 and 8 Channel DDR4 in Q2 2020

Intel Ice Lake-SP processors would be available around the second quarter of 2020 and will feature the 10nm process node. The chips will have up to 26 cores and support 8 channel DDR4 memory. The main highlight of Ice Lake-SP processors would be support for PCIe Gen 4 which is coming to AMD's EPYC Rome processors this year in Q3 2019. Ice Lake-SP processors would be based on the brand new Sunny Cove core architecture which is expected to deliver double-digit IPC gains and a much-needed increase in overall efficiency.

One thing to note is that Intel's 10nm for 2020 is an enhanced node of the original 10nm node that will launch this year. It's marked as 10nm+ and that is specifically what the Ice Lake-SP Xeon line will make use of. Some of the major upgrades that 10nm will deliver include:

2.7x density scaling vs 14nmSelf-aligned Quad-PatterningContact Over Active GateCobalt Interconnect (M0, M1)1st Gen Foveros 3D Stacking2nd Gen EMIB

Intel Xeon CPU Families (Preliminary):