{"id":1490,"date":"2020-06-11T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T15:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pogostorage.com\/blog\/?p=960"},"modified":"2026-09-29T21:21:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T04:21:59","slug":"intel-xeon-servers-cascade-lake-refresh-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/intel-xeon-servers-cascade-lake-refresh-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"Server Solutions: 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Processor Cascade Lake Refresh Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As we approach the mid-point of a tumultuous 2020, competition between Intel and AMD in the data center is starting to heat up. Despite the economic impact on business and technology and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/update-intel-xeon-processors-supply-availability-corona-virus\/\">supply chain disruption from COVID-19<\/a>, demand for server computing is growing, and Intel is looking to fend off AMD by pushing forward on an interim product refresh of\u00a0 its 14nm architecture to buy itself some time on the development of its 10nm next-generation Ice Lake Xeon series.<\/p>\n<p>Building off the momentum of last year&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/now-available-intel-xeon-servers-2nd-gen-scalable-family\/\">2nd gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors<\/a> launch, the company has released a &#8216;performance&#8217; and &#8216;performance-for-value&#8217; focused CPU refresh with increased core counts, higher clock speeds, in some cases but also more aggressive pricing, across the board. The 18 new Xeon Gold, Silver and Bronze CPU additions will be added to the 2nd generation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intel.com\/content\/www\/us\/en\/design\/products-and-solutions\/processors-and-chipsets\/cascade-lake\/2nd-gen-intel-xeon-scalable-processors.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Intel Xeon Cascade Lake Refresh (R)<\/a> product-lineup to go up against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/rackmount-server-solutions-amd-epyc-processor-overview\/\">AMD EPYC 7002 Series processors<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/intel-xeon-servers-cascade-lake-refresh-overview\/#Intel_Xeon_vs_AMD_EPYC_vs_Intel_Xeon_Cascade_Lake_R\" >Intel Xeon vs. AMD EPYC vs. Intel Xeon Cascade Lake R<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/intel-xeon-servers-cascade-lake-refresh-overview\/#Why_You_Should_Care\" >Why You Should Care<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/intel-xeon-servers-cascade-lake-refresh-overview\/#More_Cores_More_Cycles_More_Cache\" >More Cores, More Cycles, More Cache<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/intel-xeon-servers-cascade-lake-refresh-overview\/#Intel_Xeon_Cascade_Lake_R_Servers\" >Intel Xeon Cascade Lake R Servers<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Intel_Xeon_vs_AMD_EPYC_vs_Intel_Xeon_Cascade_Lake_R\"><\/span><strong>Intel Xeon vs. AMD EPYC vs. <\/strong><strong>Intel Xeon Cascade Lake R<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Intel&#8217;s cost-cutting shift shouldn&#8217;t come as a surprise to IT professionals following the data center space. As workloads at the edge, cloud computing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/why-leverage-nvme-ssds-on-premise-artificial-intelligence-machine-learning\/\">artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads<\/a> grow, market-leader Intel has needed to play more defensively against their data center semi-conductor adversary. In fall 2017, AMD first began chipping at Intel&#8217;s market share with the release of their first-generation EPYC server processor, the company&#8217;s return to the data center with a meaningful HPC offering in years. Last August, several months following the Cascade Lake spring launch, AMD followed up with the 7nm <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/rackmount-server-solutions-amd-epyc-processor-overview\/\">EPYC 7002 Series processors<\/a> that feature the highest-core density available in a x86 server CPU.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Cascade Lake?<\/strong> Cascade Lake is the codename for Intel&#8217;s 2nd Generation Xeon Scalable processor family, the 14nm successor to Skylake-SP and the generation that comes before Ice Lake. The Cascade Lake Refresh (&#8220;Cascade Lake R&#8221;) is a 2020 update to that lineup, adding 18 new Xeon Gold, Silver and Bronze CPUs with higher core counts and clock speeds. Planning a server refresh? See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/5-reasons-rack-mount-server-refresh-2019\/\">5 reasons to upgrade now<\/a>. Coming from an older platform? See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/introducing-the-intel-xeon-e5-2600-v4-processor-family\/\">Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 overview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And while both CPU\u2019s have their own strengths in the battle for the data center, Intel\u2019s refreshed Cascade Lake R-based CPU product-line are designed to meet growing data center demands for enhanced performance and faster processing for hyper-converged and virtualization, predictive data analytics.<\/p>\n<p>While Intel hasn\u2019t officially cut prices, the refreshed Intel Xeon Cascade Lake R processors come in at the same price as their direct predecessor (e.g. the new Gold 6242R has a list price of $2,529, the same as the existing Gold 6242). With increased core counts and clockspeeds across the board, from a fixed performance perspective, the new SKUs are a de-facto price cut because, for the same price, you&#8217;re getting more cores, more cycles, and more cache.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-5002\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2nd-Gen-Xeon-Scalable-Portfolio-Enhancements.jpg\" alt=\"2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor portfolio enhancements in the Cascade Lake Refresh\" width=\"1536\" height=\"896\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_You_Should_Care\"><\/span><strong>Why You Should Care<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The new Cascade Lake R (Cascade Lake Scalable Performance Refresh) are manufactured on an enhanced 14 nm process, and offer up to 1.36x higher performance and up to 1.42x higher performance-per-dollar compared to earlier parts.<\/p>\n<p>Cascade Lake R-based CPU build on the momentum of Intel\u2019s by delivering customers enhanced performance and continues value. Users can choose from 1 to 8 sockets with 8 to 56 cores per socket and up to 4.5TB memory for workloads optimized for networking, cloud computing, high-frequency or low-power consumption to deliver:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Real world performance for leading workloads<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Unique capabilities to improve performance and TCO.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>The most robust solution ecosystem<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 End-to-end breadth of server computing choice and and flexibility<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>A strategic foundation for the future<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Built-in agility for AI, 5G, edge, exascale and many others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This type of breakthrough processor frequencies for High Performance Usages for Financial Services (High-frequency trading), HPC, CDN\/Media Streaming, Edge\/IoT, Cloud Gaming, Virtualization Performance)<\/p>\n<p>For users still running the 2-socket E5 2006 Skylake Processors (2015), they will experience 36% more performance, 42% more performance-for-value, as well as higher base frequency (3.9GHz) and turbo frequency (4.5GHz) options.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3Ajx08QijhE\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/center><center>Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.servethehome.com\/big-2nd-gen-intel-xeon-scalable-refresh-brings-competition-anew\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">ServeTheHome<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_Cores_More_Cycles_More_Cache\"><\/span><strong>More Cores, More Cycles, More Cache<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Peak Frequencies for High-Performance Use Cases<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Two new Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae Gold 6200 processors delivering up to 4.5 GHz Intel\u00ae Turbo Boost Technology, along with up to 3.9 GHz base frequency, with up to 33% more processor cache, offering customers breakthrough performance for frequency-fueled workloads.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Enhanced Performance for Mainstream Usage<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 New Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae Gold 6200R processors delivering built-in value through a combination of higher base and Intel\u00ae Turbo Boost Technology frequencies, in addition to increased processor cache, all at similar or lower recommended customer pricing.<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Increased Value and Expanded Capability for Entry-level Workloads<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 New Intel\u00ae Xeon\u00ae Gold 6200U, Silver 4200R and Bronze 3200R processors delivering increased value for single-socket, entry, edge,networking and IoT usages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Intel_Xeon_Cascade_Lake_R_Servers\"><\/span>Intel Xeon Cascade Lake R Servers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Following the launch of the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/product-overview-wd-ultrastar-nvme-ssd\/\">WD Ultrastar DC series NVMe SSDs<\/a> with capacity sizes from 800GB to 20.72TB, Pogo Linux server users will experience low-latency and high-throughput for high-transaction AI and ML applications from fast, dense and efficient NVMe SSD storage. In both single- and dual-processor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/products\/intel-servers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rackmount server configurations<\/a>, data center leaders will be able to accelerate access to critical data \u2013 ideal for AI and ML workloads with read-intense workloads \u2013 from 96-Layer 3D NAND and up to 1.2M random read IOPS.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d be excited to take a deeper dive into how to architect low-latency and high-throughput with NVMe SSD storage at petabyte scale for AI &amp; ML workloads. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/book-meeting\/\">Schedule a time<\/a> or give us a call at <strong>(888) 828-7646<\/strong> to learn how we\u2019ve helped businesses of all sizes with custom hardware configurations and exceptional technical support.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/products\/intel-servers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4957 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog-article-footer_intel-xeon-servers.jpg\" alt=\"Intel Xeon servers from Pogo Linux\" width=\"725\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we approach the mid-point of a tumultuous 2020, competition between Intel and AMD in the data center is starting to heat up. Despite the economic impact on business and technology and supply chain disruption from COVID-19, demand for server computing is growing, and Intel is looking to fend off AMD by pushing forward on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[248,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-intel-servers","category-rackmount-servers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1490"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6495,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1490\/revisions\/6495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pogolinux.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}