Features of Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3 processors

Next year Intel is going to introduce Haswell microarchitecture, that will offer numerous enhancements over existing Ivy Bridge processors. The first Xeon CPUs, transitioned to the new architecture, will be E3-1200 series, that will be dubbed as E3-1200 v3. The v3 products will be released as a part of Denlow server platform, that is also going to include Lynx Point chipset. Most Haswell new features will make their way into Xeon E3-1200 v3 series family. The E3s will have improved CPU and graphics performance, new AVX instructions (AVX 2.0), and integrated voltage regulator. On-chip dual-channel memory controller will support up to 2 DDR3 or DDR3L DIMMs per channel, with data rates up to 1600 MHz. The CPUs and the chipset will boast lower power consumption in idle mode. Like desktop Haswell chips, Denlow platform will utilize socket 1150, and it will be compatible with Xeon E3-1200 v4 microprocessors, coming in 2014 and built on Broadwell microarchitecture. Majority of the Xeon E3-1200 v3 SKUs will have 4 CPU cores, 8 MB L3 cache, and support Hyper-Threading technology. Remaining features will differ depending on their intended market.

Server-oriented Xeon E3 chips will have integrated GPU disabled. There will be SKUs with 80 Watt and 95 Watt TDP.

Xeon processors for workstations will have 95 Watt TDP, and there will be CPUs with and without GT2 graphics. Similar to Bromolow platform, that had Xeon E3-1290 model, which required high efficiency heatsink, Denlow platform will also have at least one 95 Watt CPU, requiring high efficiency heatsink.

Xeon E3 family will include several SKUs for micro-servers and other low-power applications. These include two quad-core processors: one with GT1 graphics and 45 Watt TDP, and another without GPU and with 25 Watt - 30 Watt TDP. There will be also dual-core part with 3 MB L3 cache, and 15 - 20 Watt TDP. This processor will lack integrated GPU.

Lastly, Intel will release a few SKUs for Virtual Hosted Desktop (VHD) applications. These Xeons will be shipped with GT2 graphics, and they will be rated at 65 Watt and 95 Watt TDP.

The Xeon E3-1200 lineup looks mostly similar to E3-1200 v2 with a few exceptions. As much as we can tell, the v2 lineup didn't have workstation model with non-standard heatsink requirements. The E3-1200 v3 also includes new low-power chip with 25W - 30W TDP, and processors for VHD market.

The summary of Xeon E3-1200 v3 CPU features is provided below:

Market	Cores/Threads	L3 cache	Graphics	TDP
Server	4 / 8	8 MB	GT0	95 Watt
	4 / 8	8 MB	GT0	80 Watt
Workstation	4 / 8	8 MB	GT0	95 Watt
	4 / 8	8 MB	GT2	95 Watt
Low power	4 / 8	8 MB	GT1	45 Watt
	4 / 8	8 MB	GT0	25 - 30 Watt
	2 / 4	3 MB	GT0	15 - 20 Watt
VHD	4 / 8	8 MB	GT2	95 Watt
	4 / 8	8 MB	GT2	65 Watt