Intel has launched its Xeon 6 server processors which have an efficiency model and a performance model.

The 144 core efficiency model is claimed to use 67% fewer server racks and is available in Q2. The performance core processor ships in Q3. A 288-core Intel Xeon 6 E-core chip is expected early next year.

Intel needs to support its declining datacentre market share for x86  chips which fell  5.6% last   year to 76.4%, with AMD now holding 23.6%, according to Mercury Research.

Lunar Lake, Intel’s next  laptop chip, is claimed to use  40% less power,  has a more a powerful AI processor and will ship in Q3.

Intel has initiated a pricing war on AI accelerators with Nvidia stating that Gaudi 2 accelerators for training AI models are  priced at $65k for a cluster of eight while an eight Gaudi 3  cluster will sell for $125k.

Each  Gaudi 3 cluster has 8,192 accelerators and Intel estimates it is 40% faster at training tasks than  a similar sized cluster of Nvidia H100 GPUs which, according to analysts, can cost more than twice as much.

Intel also said Gaudi 3 would be two times faster than Nvidia’s H100 in inferencing.