Intel’s Q3 2024 Earnings Report – New Products, Strategic Moves, and Future Prospects

Intel Corporation’s Q3 2024 earnings report was packed with exciting developments and insights into the company’s future direction. With a robust focus on cutting-edge products, Intel’s commitment to AI, advanced chip manufacturing, and expansion of foundry services, the tech giant is making strides to solidify its leadership across multiple markets. Below, we break down Intel’s latest product launches, ongoing projects, and strategies for continued growth. I will provide some reviews for new product lunches on the CCG and DCAI segments since they drive more than 80% of Intel revenue.

Intel Product Segments: CCG, DCAI, and NEX

Intel divides its offerings into three core segments to serve different market needs:

1. Client Computing Group (CCG): Products in this segment cater to the consumer market, such as laptops and desktops.

2. Data Center and AI (DCAI): This segment targets enterprise customers, providing servers and AI solutions.

3. Network and Edge (NEX): Dedicated to networking and telecommunications, the NEX division ensures Intel’s presence in the networking sector.

Key Highlights from Q3 2024: New Products by Segment

Client Computing Group (CCG)

The CCG segment saw significant product launches in the past quarter:

1. Intel® Core™ Ultra 200V Series Processors (Lunar Lake):

Launched in September 2024, the Core Ultra 200V series is Intel’s latest mobile processor line, designed for exceptional AI performance and efficiency. The series represents Intel’s commitment to delivering high-powered AI capabilities in compact, mobile devices. To add a bit more of flavor, let’s see some of the reviews:

1.a Thomson’s Guide: Caution for Gaming Laptops

The review suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 200V is not suitable for gaming laptops as it doesn’t effectively pair with dedicated GPUs. The performance relies heavily on integrated graphics, and though it can run some games reasonably well, it is not a solid choice for serious gaming. The reviewer advises caution, particularly in how these CPUs handle power management between Windows and manufacturer software, leading to inconsistent gaming experiences. Main takeaway: While the integrated graphics can perform decently, the Core Ultra isn’t ideal for high-performance gaming setups.

1.b Ars Technica: Mixed Performance with Good Battery Life

Ars Technica highlights that the Core Ultra 200V series shows a significant improvement in single-core performance, a 30% increase in graphics performance, and substantial battery life, reportedly lasting around 16.5 hours on a charge. However, the multi-core performance seems to have decreased compared to previous models, leading to the conclusion that while these processors offer good battery life and efficiency, they may not outperform older Intel chips in all scenarios. The overall impression is of a balanced product that meets basic needs but lacks leading-edge performance. Key points: Excellent battery life, improved single-core performance, but reduced multi-core performance.

2. Arrow Lake Processors:

Released in October 2024, the Arrow Lake series brings Intel’s innovative AI technology to desktop computers, further expanding its lineup of AI-enhanced PCs. Below are some of the reviews of Arrow Lake

2.a TechPowerUp Discussion Forum: The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is noted for being faster than the i9-14900KS and Ryzen 9 9950X in some benchmarks. However, the conversation suggests skepticism regarding the degree of performance improvement, especially as several posts highlight that results from synthetic benchmarks might not accurately translate to real-world gaming performance. Users expressed a desire for full reviews by established tech sites before making any conclusions about the processor’s general performance in gaming scenarios. Read more here.

2.b HotHardware Review: The article highlights the Arrow Lake’s disaggregated design which aims to enhance both performance and efficiency compared to Raptor Lake. The Core Ultra 200S series, which includes the Arrow Lake CPUs, features important upgrades like the integration of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), aimed to improve efficiency during AI workloads while maintaining strong single-thread performance. While the Core Ultra 9 285K has the potential for excellent performance, the review notes that its gaming performance may not exceed that of previous generations, compelling gamers to assess the value based on their specific needs. Check out the full review here.

2.c Phoronix Review: Phoronix discusses the thermal efficiency of the Arrow Lake CPUs, which are expected to achieve similar performance levels to Raptor Lake at significantly reduced power consumption. The review emphasizes that the Core Ultra 200S series does not support Hyper-Threading, yet advertises an impressive structure of cores tailored for enhanced multi-thread performance. Despite the improvements, some benchmarks for gaming seem to show minimal gains, especially with respect to power usage compared to the architecture of previous generations. Explore more details in this analysis.

2.d Based on the Reddit discussions, here’s a summary of the key points about the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K:

1. Performance Issues: The 285K’s performance is generally disappointing, especially in gaming. In some cases, it performs worse than previous generation chips like the 14900K and even the 12600K. There are significant memory latency problems, with latency increasing by 15-20ns or more compared to previous generations57. Browser benchmarks show the 285K lagging behind older CPUs like the Ryzen 7700 and Intel i5-13600K9.
2. Power Efficiency: While power consumption is lower than previous generations, the performance decrease outweighs this benefit for many users35.
3. Pricing and Value: At $589, plus the need for an expensive new motherboard, many find the 285K overpriced for its performance35.
4. Compatibility Issues: Some reviewers reported issues with Windows 11 24H2, suggesting the CPUs may have been released prematurely510.
5. Specific Use Cases: The 285K shows some advantages in video encoding, slightly outperforming competitors in AV1 and HEVC encoding9.
6. Comparisons to Competition: Many users and reviewers are suggesting AMD alternatives, particularly the upcoming Zen 5 X3D chips, as potentially better options56.

3. Panther Lake:

Looking ahead, Panther Lake, Intel’s first client CPU built on the Intel 18A process, is on track for a 2025 release. This release will mark another leap forward for Intel’s consumer products, with the potential to further strengthen the CCG portfolio. Given that expected release is in 2025, I cannot really provide any reviews.

Data Center and AI (DCAI)

In the DCAI segment, Intel introduced products to boost enterprise performance and support the expanding AI market:

1. Intel® Xeon® 6 (Granite Rapids)

The new Xeon 6 processors were released in Q3 2024, boasting double the performance of the previous generation. These processors are tailored for data centers, emphasizing reliability and performance. Below are some reviews that I found online:

1.a Phoronix Review:

• The review begins with a strong endorsement of the Xeon 6900P performance, particularly in AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and technical workloads. The Granite Rapids architecture provides a significant uplift in performance compared to previous generations.
• The Xeon 6980P features 128 cores & 256 threads, a base clock of 2.0GHz, and a maximum turbo boost frequency of 3.9GHz. Notably, it has a 500W TDP and 504MB of L3 cache.
• The review indicates improved performance in AI inferencing through the incorporation of Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX), and results suggest that the Granite Rapids processors can outperform some AMD EPYC offerings in specific workloads.
• The Xeon 6900P series processors can handle up to 8800 MT/s memory with DDR5, and the platform supports multiple configurations for flexibility in deployment.
• Read the full review on Phoronix.

1.b Another Phoronix Benchmarking Article:

• This article provides extensive benchmarking results for the Xeon 6980P, confirming that it excels in AI and HPC applications. The benchmarks showcased its capability against both previous Intel Xeon processors and contemporaneous AMD EPYC chips, effectively surpassing the latter in some tests.
• The results indicate an overall generational performance boost, which is expected to be competitive ahead of future AMD offerings.
• The benchmarking environment was configured with MRDIMM memory, which greatly enhances performance.
• Explore the detailed benchmarks here.

1.c HotHardware Review:

• The article outlines the strategic shift Intel is making with the Granite Rapids series, focusing on delivering high-performance P-core models optimized specifically for demanding workloads like AI and HPC, in contrast to the E-core models designed for efficiency.
• The Xeon 6 6900P processors are said to deliver high performance for big data analytics and other intensive computing tasks, addressing the increasing demand for computational power in various industries.
• The integration of CXL 2.0 support is emphasized as a key feature, enhancing the architecture’s flexibility and efficiency.
• The Xeon 6 series aims to regain performance leadership from AMD, making substantial claims about improvements in efficiency and application performance.
• The overall sentiment points to considerable advances, particularly at higher core counts and memory bandwidth.
• Read more about these advancements on HotHardware.

2 Intel® Gaudi® 3 AI Accelerator:

Also launched in Q3 2024, the Gaudi 3 provides enhanced networking and memory bandwidth, catering to the growing demand for AI-centric computing solutions in the data center space. Some of the reviews that I found talk positively about it:

2.1 AnandTech Review:

• Intel’s Gaudi 3 was unveiled as part of its bid to compete in the AI accelerator market, promising substantial improvements over its predecessor, Gaudi 2. Gaudi 3 architecture features 64 Tensor Processor Cores (TPCs), 8 Matrix Multiplication Engines (MMEs), and 128 GB of HBM2E memory with a bandwidth of 3.67 TB/s.
• One of the standout claims is that the Gaudi 3 delivers up to 1835 TFLOPS in FP8 matrix performance. Intel asserts that Gaudi 3 is designed to handle demanding workloads efficiently while providing a lower price point compared to Nvidia’s H100 GPUs.
• While Gaudi 3 is said to be slower than Nvidia’s counterparts in certain areas, it emphasizes offering better price-performance ratios, especially for AI model training.
• For a complete technical overview, see the full AnandTech article here.

2.2 Tom’s Hardware Review:

• his review confirms that while Intel’s Gaudi 3 might not outperform Nvidia’s H100 in every aspect, it comes at a significantly lower price. It details a pricing strategy where a system with eight Gaudi 3 accelerators would cost around $125,000, compared to $30,678 for an Nvidia H100.
• Performance metrics showed that Gaudi 3 excels in certain types of AI inferencing, claiming up to 1.5x better performance than H100 in specific scenarios.
• The review underscores the importance of software optimization and highlights that the success of Gaudi 3 will significantly depend on real-world performance and workload compatibility.
• Check out the detailed analysis here on Tom’s Hardware.

2.3 The Next Platform:

• This article provides a comprehensive competitive analysis between Intel’s Gaudi 3 and Nvidia’s offerings. It discusses the inherent strengths of Gaudi 3, emphasizing its design for scalability and efficiency within the AI market.
• Intel is banking on Gaudi 3’s AI training capabilities to challenge existing GPUs while also addressing the total cost of ownership (TCO) for businesses. The article presents favorable price/performance data, aiming to entice customers with lower operational costs compared to Nvidia.
• While the Gaudi 3 is being promoted as a viable alternative for clusters dealing with large AI models, the review highlights that performance could vary by workload, and practical results remain to be validated in operational settings.
• For further insights, refer to the full article on The Next Platform.

Network and Edge (NEX)

Intel has honed its focus within the NEX segment, pivoting towards networking and telecommunications while also realigning the Edge business to enhance CCG. Key initiatives in NEX include:

• Refocusing on Networking and Telecom: Intel is concentrating NEX resources specifically on the networking and telecommunications sectors.

• Edge Business Shift: Intel has moved its Edge business to CCG, leveraging its client market strength to drive innovative edge solutions.

• Open Source Ethernet Solutions: The Ultra Accelerator Link and Ultra Ethernet Consortium are part of Intel’s initiative to advance open-source Ethernet solutions, fostering innovation in networking.

Intel Foundry Services: A New Era in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Intel Foundry Services (IFS) plays a crucial role in Intel’s strategy, not only as a service provider for Intel’s own processors but also as a provider of semiconductor manufacturing solutions for external clients. Here are some standout points from Intel’s IFS in Q3 2024:

• Intel 18A Node Progress: As Intel’s fifth node in just four years, Intel 18A has shown excellent progress and achieved multiple design wins. Panther Lake and Clearwater Forest (internal projects) are both built on this node, along with custom Xeon 6 and AI fabric chips for Amazon Web Services (AWS).

• Advanced Packaging: With industry-leading packaging technology, Intel has attracted multiple backend design wins in Q3 2024, reflecting growing interest from external clients.

• Independent Subsidiary: Intel has established Intel Foundry as an independent subsidiary. This strategic move aims to enhance relationships with external customers and evaluate independent funding opportunities for the foundry division.

Strategic Realignments: Altera and Mobileye

Intel announced additional strategic moves to streamline its business and focus on growth areas:

• Altera Spin-off: Intel plans to spin off Altera, a programmable solutions subsidiary, through an IPO in the coming years. This move will likely unlock value for Intel and allow Altera to operate as an independent entity.

• Mobileye’s Continued Focus on Autonomous Driving: Mobileye will remain part of Intel, concentrating on advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving technologies, positioning Intel as a key player in automotive AI.

Looking Forward: The Future of x86 and AI at Intel

Intel’s Q3 earnings report highlights its commitment to advancing x86 technology, with an ongoing focus on integrating AI into its products. Intel’s roadmap includes continual innovation within x86 architectures and increasing involvement in AI-driven product development. This strategy underscores Intel’s confidence in AI as a defining feature of the future of computing.

Conclusion

With advancements in AI, computing power, and foundry services, Intel is strategically positioned to drive innovation in both consumer and enterprise markets. As the company moves forward with its ambitious product roadmaps and strategic realignments, it is clear that Intel aims to shape the future of computing, from PCs to the cloud and beyond.