Intel has updated its roadmap for server GPUs. Several lines of server GPUs, such as the Rialto Bridge and the Lancaster Sound, will not be developed further. These GPU lines will be replaced by subsequent, already planned, iterations.
This is according to an update from Jeff McVeigh (Corporate Vice President, Interim General Manager, Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics). The message announces that several upcoming iterations of these products will be dropped.
Move to Falcon Shores GPUs
One major change is the elimination of the Intel Rialto Bridge server GPU line for high performance computing (HPC). These server GPUs, the intended successor to the Ponte Vecchio GPU line now sold in the Intel Datacenter Max GPU portfolio, should have become available by the middle of this year.
Instead of the Intel Rialto Bridge GPUs, the chipmaker is now moving forward with its Intel Falcon Shores portfolio of GPUs that are not due to become available until 2025. More specifically, Intel announced that it is going to give a biennial update to its server portfolio from now on. With this, the chip giant wants to cater to its customers to get more value out of their latest series of server GPUs. The rollout of the Falcon Shores GPUs had previously been planned for 2024.
The Intel Falcon Shores GPUs are the chip giant’s first server GPUs that combine both a CPU and GPU. This using a chiplet-based architecture. This chiplet architecture, where components can come from either Intel or other vendors, is especially suitable for handling high-demand workloads, such as HPC and AI solutions.
However, the previously developed Intel Rialto Bridge architecture was only an incremental improvement to the current server GPU architecture and thus not really suitable for high-demand solutions. Therefore, the introduction of this particular GPU series will not be continued, Intel indicated.
Scrapping Flex Lancaster Sound GPUs
A second notable decision regarding the GPU roadmap is the removal of the Lancaster Sound GPUs from the Intel Flex portfolio of cloud gaming and media encoding GPUs. Instead of the Lancaster Sound GPUs, it is now betting on the successor to these series; Melville Sound.
Again, the chip giant indicates that the Lancaster Sound GPUs were only incremental improvements to the existing Intel Flex-series GPUs and that the successor is a major architectural step forward. Hence, Intel decided to accelerate the development of the Melvill Sound GPUs.
This new generation of GPUs should especially bring more major improvements in terms of performance, features and the workloads it can enable, Intel states in its announcement. When the Mellvile Sound GPUs will be available is not yet known. Again, this would be 2025 and Intel is using a two-year refresh cycle for this.
The chip giant is also betting heavily on updating its software portfolio for its MAX and Flex-series portfolios. This includes performance improvements, new features, more operating system support and new uses cases for applications of these GPUs.
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