Intel Xeon W-2195 18-Core/36-Thread Review

Final Thoughts and Pricing

Pricing

The Xeon W series is quite new and as such it might not be easy to find. At the time of this review, I could not find any listing at our usual shopping places. However, the official MSRP for the Xeon W-2195 is $2553.00.

Conclusion

Today we had a look at the flagship Xeon W-series processor, and boy, what a beast. With 18 cores packed in an LGA2066 form factor, it isn’t hard to see why this is the flagship. It is an unprecedented amount of cores and threads for a CPU of this type. Not only that, it delivers an incredible performance. It doesn’t really matter what you’re going to use this type of processor for, whether you’re dealing with graphics, financial calculation, or scientific research. It shines in all areas. Well, it isn’t a gaming CPU, but I doubt there is anyone out there who would purchase it for that anyway.

Is the CPU worth the price?

The asking price certainly isn’t cheap, but is it worth it? Yes, in my opinion, it is! And also sure that a lot of people will think about a comparison to Threadripper now – but there really isn’t any. Yes, they’re powerful processors, but they’re far from what Intel delivers here. At least that’s my take on it and I have to admit, I put out that statement without having tested them in the same scenarios. Sadly, I don’t expect to be able to either, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

The pure numbers truly speak for themselves. Not only does the Xeon W-2195 deliver, it’s an impressive step up from the previous generations. The official statements of 20% IPC gain might, in fact, be an understatement in many situations. The processor chews through the numbers as hot water does through ice.

Advanced Technologies

Intel packed a lot of advanced technologies into this processor, we already know that from our review of the 10-core W-2155 processor. The W-2195 has the same features, but more cores, more threads, and more cache. Depending on the task and whether your application setup can take full advantage of all the threads is something else. It isn’t every situation that will benefit from the extra cores, but it will never hurt. Especially when it comes to encryption, we see a very strong performance and that is no doubt due to the integrated hardware functions.

Pros

• 36 Threads, 18 Cores
• Quad-Channel DDR4 ECC memory up to 2666MHz
• AVX-512 with up to 2 FMA units and Intel Mesh Architecture
• Great compatibility through the LGA2066 socket
• 48 PCIe Lanes
• vPro and VROC Technologies

Cons

• Availability at the time of review
• The price might be an issue for some interested parties

“Intel’s Xeon W-2195 is a true monster and a worthy flagship product. Those who need the performance and features within will love it!”

Thank You, Intel, for this review sample.