New benchmarks of Intel’s 18-Core Xeon 654 CPU have leaked out, showcasing what the entry-level Granite Rapids-WS chip has to offer.
Intel Xeon 654 With 18-Cores Matches The MT-Performance of A 28-Core Xeon 3465X But Falls Short When Compared To AMD’s Zen 5 Threadripper With 16 Cores
Intel’s upcoming Granite Rapids-WS or Workstation CPU family should be launching in a matter of months if everything goes smoothly. We know from prior details that the lineup will feature two CPU segments: the mainstream family with 4-channel DDR5 memory support and the Expert family with 8-channel memory support. The mainstream family will feature 80 PCIe Gen5 lanes while the Expert line features…
New benchmarks of Intel’s 18-Core Xeon 654 CPU have leaked out, showcasing what the entry-level Granite Rapids-WS chip has to offer.
Intel Xeon 654 With 18-Cores Matches The MT-Performance of A 28-Core Xeon 3465X But Falls Short When Compared To AMD’s Zen 5 Threadripper With 16 Cores
Intel’s upcoming Granite Rapids-WS or Workstation CPU family should be launching in a matter of months if everything goes smoothly. We know from prior details that the lineup will feature two CPU segments: the mainstream family with 4-channel DDR5 memory support and the Expert family with 8-channel memory support. The mainstream family will feature 80 PCIe Gen5 lanes while the Expert line features 128 PCIe Gen5 lanes.
While we have seen several Xeon Granite Rapids-WS (Workstation) CPUs leak out, the new entry for the Xeon 654 can be seen as an improvement to the performance that we saw earlier. But before that, let’s give you a quick rundown on the specifications.
Image Soure: PassMark
The Intel Xeon 654 is an entry-level CPU within the Granite Rapids-WS stack. It features 18 cores, 36 threads, 72 MB of L3 cache, 36 MB of L2 cache, and, based on previous entries, the chip should have a boost clock of up to 4.8 GHz and a base clock of 3.10 GHz. The early samples are clocked much lower, and as such, the performance is severely affected.
In terms of performance, theIntel Xeon 654 with its 18 P-Cores matched the 28-core Xeon W7-3465X in multi-threading and offered 18% higher single-threaded performance. Compared with the same core count Xeon W5-2565X, the chip offers 17% higher MT performance. Once again, these results should get better with retail samples. When compared with AMD’s lineup, the 16-core Threadripper 9955WX is much faster in both ST and MT benchmarks, which shows the true power of Zen 5.
Even the mainstream desktop chips, such as the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9950X3D, offer better performance. But at the same time, the score is better than the previous entry that failed to even beat the 12-Core Ryzen Threadripper 9945WX. The high-end Xeon 696X with 64 cores also leaked out in the same PassMark benchmark a while ago.
0
25727
51454
77181
102908
128635
154362
Threadripper Pro 9985WX (64-Core)
4512
154361
Xeon 696X (64-Core)
3359
112888
Xeon W9-3595X (60-Core)
3714
96443
Threadripper Pro 9955WX (16-Core)
4510
67444
Xeon 654 (18-Core)
3766
61351
Xeon W7-3465X (28-Core)
3204
61600
Threadripper PRO 9945WX (12-Core)
4560
56471
Xeon W5-2565X (18-Core)
3548
52378
The Intel Granite Rapids-WS "Xeon 600" family should be launching soon. We expect an announcement at CES 2026, though the retail launch might still be a few months away.
These chips should offer competition against AMD’s Threadripper lineup, especially the higher core count variants, but the real deal should be when Intel updates the architecture of its Workstation lineup to match that of its desktop SKUs. AMD’s Threadripper lineup features the current "Zen 5" architecture, while Intel’s Granite Rapids-WS lineup is still relying on the Redwood Cove P-Core architecture, which is at least a generation older than what is out right now (Lion Cove), and new architectures such as Cougar Cove and Coyote Cove are planned for 2026.
Intel HEDT/Workstation Processor Families:
| Intel HEDT Family | Granite Rapids | Sapphire Rapids Refresh | Sapphire Rapids | Cascade Lake | Skylake | Skylake | Skylake | Broadwell | Haswell | Ivy Bridge | Sandy Bridge | Gulftown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Process Node | Intel 3 | 10nm ESF | 10nm ESF | 14nm++ | 14nm+ | 14nm+ | 14nm+ | 14nm | 22nm | 22nm | 32nm | 32nm |
| Flagship SKU | TBD | Xeon W9-3595X Xeon W7-2595X | Xeon W9-3495X Xeon W7-2495X | Core i9-10980XE | Xeon W-3175X | Core i9-9980XE | Core i9-7980XE | Core i7-6950X | Core i7-5960X | Core i7-4960X | Core i7-3960X | Core i7-980X |
| Max Cores/Threads | 86/172? | 60/120 26/52 | 56/112 24/48 | 18/36 | 28/56 | 18/36 | 18/36 | 10/20 | 8/16 | 6/12 | 6/12 | 6/12 |
| Clock Speeds | TBD | 4.8 GHz | 4.8 GHz | 3.00 / 4.80 GHz | 3.10/4.30 GHz | 3.00/4.50 GHz | 2.60/4.20 GHz | 3.00/3.50 GHz | 3.00/3.50 GHz | 3.60/4.00 GHz | 3.30/3.90 GHz | 3.33/3,60 GHz |
| Max Cache | TBD | 105 MB L3 | 105 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 38.5 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 24.75 MB L3 | 25 MB L3 | 20 MB L3 | 15 MB L3 | 15 MB L3 | 12 MB L3 |
| Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU) | 128 Gen 5 | 112 Gen 5 | 112 Gen 5 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 44 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen3 | 40 Gen2 | 32 Gen2 |
| Chipset Compatiblity | W890 | W790 | W790 | X299 | C612E | X299 | X299 | X99 Chipset | X99 Chipset | X79 Chipset | X79 Chipset | X58 Chipset |
| Socket Compatiblity | LGA 4710? | LGA 4677 | LGA 4677 | LGA 2066 | LGA 3647 | LGA 2066 | LGA 2066 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011-3 | LGA 2011 | LGA 2011 | LGA 1366 |
| Memory Compatiblity | DDR5-6000? | DDR5-4800 | DDR5-4800 | DDR4-2933 | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2800 | DDR4-2666 | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-2133 | DDR3-1866 | DDR3-1600 | DDR3-1066 |
| Max TDP | 350W? | 350W | 350W | 165W | 255W | 165W | 165W | 140W | 140W | 130W | 130W | 130W |
| Launch | 2025? | 2024 | 2023 | Q4 2019 | Q4 2018 | Q4 2018 | Q3 2017 | Q2 2016 | Q3 2014 | Q3 2013 | Q4 2011 | Q1 2010 |
| Launch Price (Top SKU) | TBD | TBD | $5889 | $979 US | ~$4000 US | $1979 US | $1999 US | $1700 US | $1059 US | $999 US | $999 US | $999 US |
News Source: Momomo_US
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