It’s been a while since AMD successfully competed in the market for workstation-caliber CPUs for CAD computing. (Image source: Jon Peddie Research)

 That said, the industry seems to be experiencing a bit of déjà vu these days, as AMD is mounting another credible assault on Intel in the market for high-performance CPUs, including those that serve the CAD workstation market. As it did in the mid-00’s, AMD has once again gained a decided advantage over Intel. Like Hammer, it’s got a far more competitive microarchitecture in Zen — with the recent Zen 3 the latest incarnation — but more than that, it’s fortunately tied its silicon manufacturing wagon to the right horse. In this case, that horse is the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC), which in recent years has shrunk its design process more successfully than Intel. With TSMC-manufactured chips, AMD currently holds a significant advantage in both transistor density and performance.

2021’s 11^th Gen Core for HEDT: Cypress Cove and Rocket Lake S

11^th Gen Core got its refresh for fixed high-performance desktops and workstations at the tail end of Q2’21 with the release of Rocket Lake S, built on the enhanced Cypress Cove microarchitecture. The same silicon behind the Core 11000 series is what ends up driving the Xeon W-1000 series as well, in this case spawning the W-1300 series.

Manufactured in Intel’s now aged 14 nm process, Rocket Lake S was not going to see a major performance boost via faster or more plentiful transistors compared to previous 14 nm generations. Rather, Intel promised an upgrade-worthy improvement courtesy of the new enhanced Cypress Cove microarchitecture. Most notably with respect to key CPU metrics, Cypress Cove delivers:

• An x86 core with 19% better IPC and AI-accelerating Deep Learning Boost instructions.
• A memory speed bump from DDR4-2933 to DDR4-3200.
• Up to 40 PCIe 4.0 lanes, providing faster and wider I/O to GPU, storage, and other peripherals.

IPC (instructions per cycle) give an idea of how much computation a microarchitecture can manage per clock in ideal conditions, thereby making a comparison independent of clock frequencies. In the modern age of complex, superscalar CPUs, where the low-hanging fruit of parallelism and acceleration has long been picked, 19% is a respectable generational gain. And worth pointing out, if “19% IPC improvement” sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the exact same broad-brushed IPC gain AMD advertised for its recently released Ryzen 5000.

The launch of Rocket Lake S marks another clear step on the path to higher core counts. Where not long ago, quad-core represented the norm and 6-core options were pushing past the mainstream, Rocket Lake options in their most economical (at least with respect to high-performance platforms suitable for CAD) start at 6 and push to 8, for both 11^th Gen Core and Xeon W-1300 SKUs.

Clock frequencies for the first round of Rocket Lake S Core and Xeon W sit comparable to previous generations, from a top base frequency of 3.9 GHz (with 6 cores) to 3.6 GHz (at 8 cores). But it’s worth remembering that the boost clock (what Intel calls Turbo) can rise to a maximum 5.3 GHz with the top end Core i9-1900K and W-1390P SKUs. Check out this recent 2-part column for an analysis of the often inverse relationship of the two clock specs relative to core count, and why you may want to pay closer attention to one or the other when selecting a CPU like Rocket Lake S to handle your most common CAD workloads.

Continue reading for more on how workstation manufacturers are implementing Rocket Lake S Core and Xeon W technology and what you can expect as a CAD professional! Read more »

Alex Herrera is a consultant focusing on high-performance graphics and workstations.

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How to Get Started
with Generative Design

Generative design has made its way into AEC software and you can see the benefits right out of your reach. Find out how you can get your design firm bought into using this technology.

AEC software is undergoing a time of powerful transition. Architects are pushing the boundaries of design using a new technology called generative design (GD), which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to explore thousands of design possibilities in the time a human being can explore one. For firms striving to compete more effectively, this capability offers a path to creating better designs faster — but adopting any new technology poses challenges that can seem overwhelming.

To make those challenges less daunting, begin by considering the implementation fundamentals — your goals, project approval, training, and hardware — to get a clearer idea of how you can start using GD in your firm.

Cadalyst and Z by HP joined forces to develop a three-part series on generative design for AEC. Generative design has made its way into AEC software and you can see the benefits right out of your reach. Find out how you can get your design firm bought into using this technology. Start the series »

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