Intel launches new Xeon processors to empower visual cloud solutions

At Computex 2016, Intel launched its new Xeon processor family to expand the business around emerging visual cloud solutions. The new range of chips belongs to the all-new Intel Xeon E3-1500 v5 and comes with the graphics power of Intel Iris Pro graphics P580.

To deliver an accelerated experience for video streaming and graphics-intensive applications, the new Intel Xeon processors support hardware-assisted HEVC (High Efficiency Video Codec). They transcode 4K video playback without any visible lag.

Intel previewed a 360-degree live-streamed virtual reality jazz concert at its Computex keynote in Taiwan to show the hardwareassisted 4K video delivery capabilities of the new chips. The chipmaker claimed that the new chips have sufficient power to deliver up to 26 per cent more performance to complex CAD and content creation applications in virtualised environments when compared with the previous generation Intel Xeon E-1200 v4.

Based on the existing Skylake microarchitecture, the new Xeon family consists of four data centre graphics SKU models including Intel Xeon E3-1585 v5, E3-1585L v5 and E3-1565L v5, as well as two media processing SKU models—Xeon E3-1578L v5 and E3-1558L v5. All the six chips are capable of providing up to 18 advanced video coding (AVC) streams or eight HEVC streams at 1080p 30FPS, or two HEVC streams at 4K 30FPS.

The concept of the visual cloud isn’t new for the tech world. However, Intel’s latest development could bring some refinements to the existing trend. Intel claims that its new Xeon family will last for up to 10 years. Thus, the new processors are targeted at mainstream cloud and network service providers who are looking at solutions for the long term.