On June 4 at Computex in Taiwan, Intel announced the next generation of its AI PC products: the Lunar Lake client processor architecture. Other Intel revelations at the international computer expo were:
- Prices for the Intel Gaudi 2 and Gaudi 3 AI accelerator kits.
- The launch of Intel Xeon 6 processors with efficient cores (E-cores).
Intel products are available globally through the corporation and its distributors.
Lunar Lake processor runs up to 48 TOPS
Intel revealed details of the Lunar Lake processor, which will enable AI PC performance. Lunar Lake brings:
- 40% less system-on-chip power and more than three times the AI computing compared to the previous generation.
- An NPU with up to 48 billion operations per second.
- A new GPU design with Xe2 GPU cores for improved graphics performance and Xe Matrix Extension, which is a second AI accelerator with up to 67 TOPS.
Lunar Lake will appear on AI-powered PCs from more than 20 brands, including Microsoft, throughout 2024.
Moon Lake Competitors
Intel's Lunar Lake competes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon
Companies are competing for higher TOPS speed and lower power consumption to enable AI PC capabilities like Microsoft's Copilot. AMD claims that its AI 300 series reaches 50 TOPS. NVIDIA is talking about getting between 200 and 1300 TOPS with its GeForce RTX GPUs for intensive gaming and creative work on PCs and workstations.
SEE: What is generative AI and what does it mean for companies?
Last week, it was announced that Intel is also part of a group promoting a standard communications accelerator aimed at artificial intelligence chips in data centers.
For enterprise use cases, faster AI performance could power seamless generative AI assistants. Copilot, for example, is powered by OpenAI technology. OpenAI and Microsoft are working to make their generative AI sound more human-like and remember where you might have dropped a lost item on your Copilot+ PC.
Intel Gaudí 2 and 3 prices revealed
A standard AI kit consisting of eight Gaudi 2 AI accelerators and a universal motherboard will be available to system vendors for $65,000. Gaudi 2 is now shipping.
A kit consisting of eight Gaudi 3 AI accelerators and a universal motherboard will be available to system vendors for $125,000. It will be available in the second quarter of 2024.
In addition to revealing the price of the kits, Intel announced at Computex that six new suppliers will work with Gaudi 3. The initial agreements with Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, have been joined by Asus, Foxconn, Gigabyte, Inventec, Quanta and Wistron. Lenovo and Supermicro.
Intel Xeon 6 P-Core processor now available
Initially unveiled at the Intel Vision conference in April, the first of two new Xeon 6 processors became available starting June 3, Intel announced at Computex. That processor, the Intel Xeon 6 P-core (codenamed Sierra Forest), is suitable for AI, other high-performance computing projects, and cloud-native applications.
One level up from the Xeon 6 P-core is the Xeon 6 E-core (codenamed Granite Rapids), which has a shared software stack with the P-core version, plus:
- Higher core density.
- Better performance per watt.
- Lower energy costs.
The Xeon 6 E-core is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2024.
“AI is driving one of the most important eras of innovation the industry has ever seen,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a press release. “The magic of silicon is once again enabling exponential advances in computing that will push the boundaries of human potential and drive the global economy for years to come.”
