In a disappointing turn of events, Intel has removed all Xeon processor support for desktop-grade motherboards. Beginning with the 6th Generation architecture Skylake, Intel will no longer be supporting its Xeon processors on desktop chipsets and will instead run on the newer Skylake C232/236 Workstation architecture. Intel’s argument for the change is that they offer additional features and performance businesses requiring Xeon CPUs would expect to have.
Unfortunately, the decision will impact G2 Digital’s current product line-up, where many of our customers require the performance characteristics of the Xeon server processor, but locked into the smaller, more functional chassis of a PC. Whilst we are doing everything possible to minimise the impact of this on our customers, inevitably it will force uncomfortable decisions over whether to stick with legacy Intel architectures and continue using earlier generation Xeon chips or moving to the current generation of Skylake processors and conceding that Xeon won’t be an option on a desktop-grade motherboard.
Whilst this is a setback for those of our customers looking for a cost effective Xeon option, we will still be harnessing all of the features and benefits of the Xeon Skylake architecture across both our rack and mini PCs in our ‘Industrial’ Series machines.
Likewise, we can continue to offer the previous Intel Xeon Haswell processors on our ‘Workstation’ Series.
If you want to know more about how you can continue using Xeon in our products or want to know more about Skylake, please get in touch with one of the team.
