Intel’s 288-Core Clearwater Forest Xeon 6+ Lands on 18A, Claiming 30% Performance and 50% Efficiency Lead Over AMD’s 192-Core EPYC

Intel launched Clearwater Forest, a 288-core Xeon 6+ server CPU built on its 18A process.

The chip uses E-core-only design plus RibbonFET, PowerVia, EMIB, and Foveros Direct3D packaging.

Intel says it can deliver up to 30% better performance and 50% better efficiency than AMD’s 192-core EPYC.

The launch is a major milestone for Intel’s 18A data center roadmap and a direct challenge to AMD in servers.