Later this year, Intel is set to introduce its Xeon 6-branded processors, codenamed Granite Rapids (6x00P) and Sierra Forest (6x00E). This rollout will bring a new slew of server motherboards and pre-built server platforms. Notably, this will be the first generation where Intel won’t offer any pre-builts of its own, following the sale of that business to MiTAC last year.
In this light, MiTAC and its subsidiary Tyan showcased their developments at this year’s event, which include server platforms for the Xeon 6 family. They displayed two server platforms – a compact dual-socket (2S) system and a larger 2S system with significant expansion capabilities – alongside two single-socket designs from Tyan.
The most basic platform showcased by MiTAC is the TX86-E7148 (Katmai Pass), a half-width 1U system that succeeds Intel’s D50DNP platform. Katmai Pass features two CPU sockets, supports up to 2 TB of DDR5-6400 RDIMMs across 16 slots (8 per CPU), and offers two low-profile PCIe 5.0 x16 slots. Targeted at mainstream servers, this platform is not designed for extensive storage or bulky add-in cards like AI accelerators.
MiTAC’s other platform is the TX77A-E7142 (Deer Creek Pass), a more advanced system replacing Intel’s M50FCP platform. It supports up to 4 TB of DDR5-6400 RDIMMs across 32 slots (16 per CPU with 2DPC), has four PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, one PCIe 5.0 x8 slot, two OCP 3.0 slots, and 24 hot-swap U.2 bays. Deer Creek Pass can handle general-purpose workloads, high-performance storage, and workloads requiring GPUs or other specific accelerators.
Tyan showcased the single-socket Thunder CX GC73A-B5660. This system supports up to 2 TB of DDR5-6400 memory across 16 RDIMMs and features two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot, two OCP 3.0 slots, and 12 hot-swappable U.2 drive bays.
Finally, Tyan unveiled the Thunder HX S5662, an HPC server board specifically designed for multiple AI accelerators and other large PCIe cards. This board supports one Xeon 6 6700 processor, up to 1 TB of memory across eight DDR5-6400 RDIMMs, and includes five traditional PCIe 5.0 x16 slots as well as two PCIe 5.0 x2 M.2 slots for storage.
MiTAC is expected to begin shipping these new Xeon 6 motherboards in the coming months as Intel rolls out its next-generation datacenter CPUs. Pricing details are yet to be disclosed, but they are likely to be comparable to existing servers.
