Intel Announces Xeon 7 Diamond Rapids: Launch in 2027 on 18A-P

Intel has revealed key specifications for its next-generation Xeon 7 server processors, codenamed Diamond Rapids. The official launch is scheduled for 2027, giving AMD a head start with its competing EPYC Venice chips based on the Zen 6 architecture, expected later this year.

The new processors will be built on Intel’s enhanced 18A-P process, which the company claims delivers up to 9% performance improvement at the same power level or an 18% reduction in power consumption while maintaining performance. Key upgrades include PCIe 6.0 support, an increase in core count to 192 (with potential for further growth), and double the memory bandwidth. The theoretical maximum could reach 1.6 TB/s thanks to second-generation MRDIMM support.

The microarchitecture of the cores remains uncertain. Intel previously discontinued Hyper-Threading in its consumer chips, Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake, but hinted in January at a potential return of multithreading in server solutions. More details are expected to be unveiled at the Hot Chips conference this summer. Diamond Rapids represents a critical step for Intel in its battle for dominance in the server processor market, where AMD has already announced Venice chips with 256 cores and memory bandwidth of up to 1.6 TB/s.

The next generation of Intel’s server processors, Coral Rapids, is planned for 2028. The company is considering an accelerated release for these chips, which are expected to reintroduce SMT (Simultaneous Multithreading) support.