- W890 board confirms that Intel’s next workstation platform is almost ready
- Granite Rapids-WS Aims to Deliver Higher Compute Density for Demanding Workstation Tasks
- The platform supports extensive storage through SATA, SlimSAS and dual M.2 options.
A recently introduced ADLINK ISB-W890 motherboard has provided the clearest indication yet that Intel’s W890 platform is getting closer to being ready for the Granite Rapids-WS generation.
The board follows the SSI-CEB standard and supports a single processor via Intel’s new Socket E2 design.
It includes eight DDR5 RDIMM slots aligned with a four-channel controller, enabling configurations reaching up to one terabyte of ECC memory.
Platform and connectivity specifications.
This capability places the platform firmly within the category of advanced workstations used for demanding computing workloads.
The hardware design confirms a storage configuration consisting of eight SATA III connectors, two SlimSAS interfaces and two M.2 slots with support for NVMe drives.
PCIe lane allocation corresponds to Intel’s division between Expert and Mainstream modes.
The Expert configuration exposes up to one hundred and twenty-eight lanes in PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 4.0.
ADLINK’s board implements seven PCIe slots, including three x16 slots and MCIO connectors intended for high-speed expansion requirements.
Networking is managed through integrated controllers that provide one gigabit and two point five gigabit connections, while management functions rely on an AST2600 BMC.
Rear I/O includes USB 3.2 ports, management controller VGA and DisplayPort outputs, and a COM interface for legacy equipment.
Intel’s W890 platform is supported by upcoming Granite Rapids-WS Xeon processors that scale up to 86 cores with boost clocks approaching four point eight gigahertz.
These processors use the large E2 socket, which supports power levels of up to three hundred and fifty watts.
Additional evidence of the lineup has surfaced in the form of a SiSoftware Sandra entry referencing a Xeon 696X with 64 cores and 128 threads.
The entry also describes large pools of L2 and L3 cache along with power figures that match the values associated with this platform.
This new segment is intended to replace the aging Xeon W-3400 series used in high-end workstations.
It also continues Intel’s focus on single-socket workstations, a category that previously overlapped with mobile workstations in lighter workloads.
ADLINK has confirmed that the ISB-W890 board will be used in its AXE-7420GWA short-range server, a system aimed at GPU-accelerated workloads.
The platform supports up to 12 expansion slots and supports a single Granite Rapids-WS processor within a four-unit rack form factor.
These confirmations suggest that the move towards next-generation Xeon 6 hardware is moving forward as leaked documentation and official listings now converge.
In practical terms, the platform’s capabilities introduce levels of performance that exceed what could be achieved on a mini PC.
This indicates that the W890 ecosystem is designed for high-end business and professional computing rather than consumer experimentation.
Via TechPowerUp
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
