Intel has laid the foundations for a new generation of entry-level workstations with the launch of the ‘Kaby Lake’ Intel Xeon E3-1200 v6 family.
The quad core chips are based on the same silicon as the 7th generation Intel Core i7 CPUs launched in January – the main difference being that the new Xeon E3s support Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory, which is important for some workstation applications.
There are eight models in the new Xeon E3-1200 v6 family, including the top-end E3-1280 v6, which is clocked at 3.90 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 taking it up to 4.20 GHz.
Intel HD graphics P630 is available on select models within the Intel Xeon E3-1200 v6 family. For design and manufacturing, the entry-level GPU includes certifications for Siemens NX, Solid Edge, SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor. For architecture and construction, there’s Autodesk Revit and Bentley MicroStation.
For more demanding 3D workflows, Xeon E3-1200 v6-based workstations are likely to be paired with a discrete GPU, up to the Nvidia Quadro P4000 or AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100.
Of the tier one workstation manufacturers, to date only Lenovo and Fujitsu have announced new desktop workstations based on the Xeon E3-1200 v6 – the Lenovo ThinkStation P320 and Fujitsu Celsius W570 . We expect Dell and HP to follow soon.
Both the Lenovo ThinkStation P320 Tower (left) and SFF (right) feature the Xeon E3-1200 v6
