{"id":1765,"date":"2019-12-03T16:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T00:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.209.169.194\/blogs\/glenn\/?p=1765"},"modified":"2020-08-04T17:06:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T00:06:25","slug":"glenns-tech-insights-for-december-3-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/glenn\/glenns-tech-insights-for-december-3-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenn’s Technical Insights For December 3, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Glenn\u2019s Technical Insights\u2026<\/em> used to be part of our bi-weekly <\/span>newsletter<\/span><\/a> but we decided to make it a regular blog post instead so it can get more visibility. It covers new hardware and software developments that are generally relevant for SQL Server). It also can just be other technically-oriented items that I find interesting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Intel Releases Cascade Lake-X HEDT Processors<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

On November 25, Intel released their new line of 14nm high-end desktop (HEDT) processors which is the Cascade Lake-X family. This is the latest iteration of Intel\u2019s Core X-series Processors<\/a> which have traditionally been their most expensive non-Xeon processors. This release includes four SKUs, ranging from 10C\/20T up to 18C\/36T.<\/span><\/p>\n

Intel Core i9-10980XE<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 18C\/36T\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $979.00<\/span><\/p>\n

Intel Core i9-10940X<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 14C\/28T\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $784.00<\/span><\/p>\n

Intel Core i9-10920X<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 12C\/24T\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $689.00<\/span><\/p>\n

Intel Core i9-10900X<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10C\/20T\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $590.00<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These prices are roughly 50% lower than the previous generation Skylake-X Refresh HEDT processors. Given Intel\u2019s poor competitive position right now, a large price cut was about they best they could do to try to make this release more attractive. Even a 50% price cut doesn\u2019t actually seem to be enough given the benchmark results for these processors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Intel-Cascade-Lake-Pricing\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Figure 1: Intel Cascade Lake-X Details<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, there is no 16C\/32T SKU in this generation (which would replace the previous generation Core i9-9960X<\/a>). I think it is pretty likely that Intel purposely skipped that SKU because it would not compare very well to the new 16C\/32T AMD Ryzen 9 3950X. <\/span><\/p>\n

The reviews (and benchmark results) for these four new HEDT processors have been almost universally negative. These processors use the pretty ancient X299 chipset, which is lacking several modern features. What is really bad for Intel is that their new \u201cflagship\u201d Core i9-10980XE HEDT processor is beaten by the new AMD Ryzen 9 3950X mainstream desktop processor in many benchmarks, even though it costs about $200 more. It is also completely dominated by the new, more expensive 7nm AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X and 3970X HEDT processors in most benchmarks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few reviews:<\/span><\/p>\n