Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (1st-5th Gen)

Reading a Xeon Scalable model number

The four digits give the tier and the generation, and any letters after them mark a special version. Intel's numbering guide reads them like this: a first digit of 8 or 9 is Platinum, 6 or 5 is Gold, 4 is Silver and 3 is Bronze; the second digit is the generation, 1 to 5; the last two digits identify the model, with a larger number generally the better part.

Xeon Scalable generations at a glance

Intel encodes the generation in the second digit of the model number, so a Gold 62xx part is 2nd Gen and a Platinum 83xx part is 3rd Gen. Socket, memory and PCIe change with each generation, per Intel ARK, and the server follows the socket:

On HPE, the QuickSpecs list 1st and 2nd Gen for the DL380 Gen10, 3rd Gen for the DL380 Gen10 Plus and 4th Gen for the DL380 Gen11.

What separates the four tiers

Tier sets how far a processor scales and how much vector hardware it carries. In the 2nd Gen, where all four tiers were built, Intel ARK lists standard parts as follows, and it marks Optane persistent memory support on the 2nd Gen Gold and Platinum parts:

From the 3rd Gen on, standard Gold and Platinum parts top out at two sockets and the tiers differ more in core count, clock and memory speed. The tier pages go generation by generation.

Upgrade paths within a socket

Only generations that share a socket can share a server, and then only where the maker supports it. 1st and 2nd Gen share FCLGA3647, and Dell documents both for 14th-generation servers; 3rd Gen stands alone on FCLGA4189; 4th and 5th Gen share FCLGA4677, and Dell specifies its 16th-generation R660 and R760 for either. Check that the server's BIOS supports the newer generation before swapping.

Rules that catch buyers

A shared socket does not guarantee a swap. HPE does not support field upgrades from 1st Gen to 2nd Gen processors in the DL380 Gen10, and Intel defines U-suffix parts as single-socket only, so a U part cannot be paired in a two-socket server.

Shop by tier on Intel Xeon Platinum, Intel Xeon Gold and Intel Xeon Silver; Bronze parts have no tier page of their own. For the servers, see Dell PowerEdge servers, the R740, R750 and R760 among them, and our R750 buying guide. Older platforms are on Intel Xeon E5-2600, E5-2400 and E5-4600 processors, other CPUs on Intel Xeon processors. Each CPU carries an Enterasource warranty, the term shown on its listing.

To shop by core count instead, see 24-core and 32-core Xeon processors, and for the 16th-generation platform read our R760 buying guide.

Xeon Scalable questions

What do the letters after a Xeon Scalable model number mean?

They mark special versions. Per Intel's numbering guide, U means single-socket only, H means four- or eight-socket configurations, N is tuned for networking and NFV, Y supports Speed Select (SST-PP), T adds long-life and higher-temperature support, M and L mark larger memory ceilings on early generations, R marks a refreshed part, and a plus sign means one of each on-chip accelerator is enabled.

Can a 1st-gen Scalable server take 2nd-gen processors?

Often, because the two generations share the FCLGA3647 socket, but the server maker decides. Dell's R640 technical guide lists processors of both generations, whereas HPE does not support swapping a DL380 Gen10's original 1st Gen processors for 2nd Gen ones after delivery. Confirm that your server's BIOS supports 2nd Gen, and order the same model for both sockets.