Intel: New CPUs with 3D V-Cache coming soon

AMD is enjoying great success with its CPUs with 3D V-Cache. The processors are the ultimate, especially for gamers. Now Intel also wants to incorporate similar technology into some of its upcoming chips. However, ordinary end customers have nothing to gain from this.

Triumph of 3D V-Cache

In spring 2022, AMD released its first processor with vertical L3 cache, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. This ensures strong CPU performance, especially in video games. The X3D series has been very popular with gamers ever since and has been considered the absolute top choice since the recent release of the new Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This was also reflected in the sales figures. The 9800X3D was sold out worldwide within a few hours.

Intel reveals its plans

Like Florian Maislinger, Tech Communications Manager at Intel, in one interview with the YouTubers der8auer and Bens Hardware (from 1:19:00), Intel now has concrete plans to use a comparable technology called “local cache”. However, this is supposed to be in the new Xeon generation called Clearwater Forest, i.e. in Intel’s chips for servers.
Watch on YouTube
The upcoming processors will consist of 12 compute tiles, four of which sit on one of three “active” base tiles. They then receive the cache. The compute and base tiles are connected using Foveros Direct 3D. There are also two I/O tiles on the outside. Clearwater Forest consists of 17 tiles in total.

Gaming market not relevant enough

Despite AMD’s success, Intel has no ambition to offer desktop CPUs with local cache. The gaming market for which these processors were made is simply too small and unprofitable for Intel, said Maislinger. The manufacturing process for CPUs with additional cache is too complex and expensive. Therefore, the focus is on server environments. Significantly more products are sold here.

The AMD CPUs are tailored to a very specific target group and that is gamers. We are aware that this technology can bring a lot for gamers, but that always comes with drawbacks or with certain disadvantages and compromises that you make with it. It’s good in this case if I have an X3D CPU, it might not be that powerful in applications. We are aware of this and we are still technologically up to it. […] In servers, it’s simply a different market and a different range of markets that you can potentially address than is the case with desktop CPUs. Florian Maislinger, Intel

Intel sees itself in a good position

So for now there will be no desktop processors from Intel with local cache. But Maislinger doesn’t see this as a problem. Even without this component, the current chips are quite close to the performance of AMD products. Recently, however, Intel’s new desktop flagship, the Core Ultra 9 285K, attracted attention due to rather disappointing gaming benchmarks.