Intel Unveils Xeon 6 CPUs with P-cores

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 24, 2025 – Intel today launched its Xeon 6 processors with Performance-cores (P-cores) for data center and networking portfolios.

The company said:

• The Intel Xeon 6700/6500 series processor with P-cores is designed for for modern data centers, offering the perfect balance between performance and energy efficiency. Delivering an average of 1.4x better performance than the previous generation³ across a wide range of enterprise workloads, Xeon 6 is also the foundational central processing unit (CPU) for AI systems, pairing exceptionally well with a GPU as a host node CPU. When compared to 5th Generation AMD EPYC processors, Xeon 6 provides up to 1.5x better performance in AI inference on chip using one-third fewer cores⁴. Xeon 6 processors also enable substantial performance-per-watt efficiency, allowing for 5:1 consolidation of a 5-year-old server on average⁵, with potential for up to 10:1 in certain use cases, resulting in up to 68 percent savings in total cost of ownership (TCO)⁶.
• The Intel Xeon 6 for network and edge is a system-on-chip (SoC) designed for high performance and power efficiency. It leverages Intel’s built-in accelerators for virtualized radio access networks (vRAN), media, AI and network security, addressing the growing demand for network and edge solutions in an AI-driven world. Xeon 6 SoCs deliver up to 2.4x the RAN capacity⁷ and a 70 percent improvement in performance-per-watt compared to previous generations⁸ thanks to Intel vRAN Boost. Additionally, Xeon 6 is the industry’s first server SoC with a built-in media accelerator — the Intel Media Transcode Accelerator — enabling up to 14x performance per watt gain versus Intel Xeon 6538N ⁹.

As AI adoption continues to accelerate, organizations are projected to spend up to $153 billion on generative AI (GenAI) by 2027, with total spending for machine learning and analytics reaching $361 billion, according to IDC. Intel Xeon 6 is optimized to capture a significant share of this growing market, delivering leadership performance in traditional machine learning, smaller GenAI models and GPU-accelerated workloads in a host CPU capacity. Intel is collaborating with silicon, software and solution providers to enable the AI ecosystem, reinforcing Xeon 6 as the go-to CPU for AI systems.

“We are intensely focused on bringing cutting-edge leadership products to market that solve our customers’ greatest challenges and help drive the growth of their business,” said Michelle Johnston Holthaus, interim co-CEO of Intel and CEO of Intel Products. “The Xeon 6 family delivers the industry’s best CPU for AI and groundbreaking features for networking, while simultaneously driving efficiency and bringing down the total cost of ownership.”

With 5G and AI poised to transform connectivity, traditional network optimization strategies are no longer sufficient. To unlock the full potential of next-gen networks and connectivity, telecom operators are adopting technologies like network slicing, AI-powered radio controllers and cloud-native architectures. By leveraging Intel’s unified Xeon platform, operators can dynamically optimize workloads, reduce costs and build scalable, flexible networks that adapt in real time to changing customer demands, traffic patterns and market shifts.

Key performance highlights of the Intel Xeon 6 SoC include:

• Webroot CSI upload model inference is up to 4.3x faster than Intel Xeon D-2899NT¹⁰.
• AI RAN performance per core is improved by up to 3.2x compared with the previous generation with vRAN Boost¹¹.
•  A 38-core system supports int8 inferencing of up to 38 simultaneous camera streams on a video edge server¹².

Intel also unveiled two new Ethernet controller and network adapter product lines to address the growing demands of enterprise, telecommunications, cloud, high performance computing (HPC), edge and AI applications. Initial availability includes dual-port 25GbE PCIe and OCP 3.0-compliant adapters, with additional configurations expected this year.

• The Intel Ethernet E830 Controllers and Network Adapters deliver up to 200GbE bandwidth, flexible port configurations and advanced precision time capabilities, including Precision Time Measurement (PTM). These adapters are optimized for high-density virtualized workloads, offering robust security features and performance.
• The Intel Ethernet E610 Controllers and Network Adapters provide 10GBASE-T connectivity optimized for control plane operations. The 610 series offers outstanding power efficiency, advanced manageability and robust security features that simplify network administration and ensure maximum network integrity.

The combination of Intel Xeon 6 processors and high-performance Ethernet connectivity forms a powerful foundation for businesses to accelerate innovation and gain a competitive advantage.

Intel Xeon 6 processors have already seen broad adoption across the data center ecosystem, with more than 500 designs available now or in progress. Server systems, software solutions and services will be available around the globe from leading companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Samsung, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nutanix, Nvidia, Oracle, Red Hat, SAP, Supermicro, Vodafone, VMware and Wind River, among many others.