Intel Sapphire Rapids CPU with 20 cores and 40 threads shows up on Geekbench

Intel Sapphire Rapids with 20 cores tested

Despite the delay, the engineering samples of Sapphire Rapids server CPUs are already out in the wild. 

The processor that has been tested features 20 cores and 40 threads, in fact, there are two such CPUs running in a dual socket system. It is reportedly running at a 1.5 GHz base frequency but according to the JSON output from the Geekbench reported clock speed is 4.68-4.70 GHz. Whether that is a real clock speed or an error from Geekbench, we do not know, but it is worth noting that Sapphire Rapids will also launch as HEDT consumer CPU, so such frequencies are to be expected at some point:

Geekbench does not explicitly confirm these are Sapphire Rapids CPUs, however, the ‘identifier reveals the CPU family, which is Family 6 Model 143 Stepping 2. This model specifically is known as Sapphire Rapids.

The processor has been tested on the Intel reference platform codenamed VulcanCity. The system was equipped with 32GB of memory (presumably DDR5), but the Geekbench result does not confirm the frequency. More interestingly though, the CPU caches have been listed in this leak. The CPU has 75MB of L3 cache and 40MB of L2 cache.

Intel sapphire Rapids Specifications, Source: Geekbench

In its current state, this 20-core Sapphire Rapids CPU running in a dual-socket system is not very fast. It is easily outperformed by Ryzen 9 5950X which offers twice as high multi-core performance. The single-core performance is even worse, it is outclassed by most of the CPUs released in the last 5 years, including mobile CPUs. That said, the CPU is clearly not running at its full speed.

Intel sapphire Rapids Performance, Source: Geekbench

Intel recently announced that its Sapphire Rapids CPUs will enter volume production in the second quarter of next year. The manufacturer is also developing a version with HBM2e memory, which is expected to launch by the end of next year.

Source: Geekbench via @BenchLeaks