Intel Xeon 6517P 16c/32t 3.2GHz-4.2GHz 190W (PK8072006398400)

Intel Xeon 6517P — High-Frequency P-Core CPU for Low-Latency Enterprise Workloads

The Intel Xeon 6517P represents one of the higher-frequency entries in the Granite Rapids Xeon 6 P-core family, engineered for environments where single-thread responsiveness, consistent throughput and fast service-side logic are central performance factors. With 16 P-cores, 32 threads and a notably high 3.2 GHz base frequency, this processor targets enterprise platforms that must sustain low-latency operations even under multi-tenant or container-heavy workloads.

The emphasis on clock speed gives the 6517P a distinct advantage in workloads that are sensitive to transaction time, event processing and near-real-time responsiveness. Examples include high-frequency trading gateways, API endpoints with strict SLA windows, edge inference nodes, telecommunications platforms and mid-size virtualization clusters where each VM or container must maintain predictable behavior despite shared resource pressure.

Built on Intel’s latest Redwood Cove–derived P-core design, the processor demonstrates impressive instruction-per-cycle efficiency and improved front-end throughput. These enhancements translate to better results in codebases written for synchronous frameworks—such as enterprise Java stacks, .NET microservices, Python API layers and Go-based distributed systems. Applications that frequently contend for locks or rely on rapid context switching benefit from the stronger single-thread engine.

The memory subsystem adds another critical performance pillar. With 8-channel DDR5 and support for speeds up to 6400 MT/s, the Xeon 6517P handles memory-intensive pipelines—like real-time analytics, telemetry aggregation, log processing, caching layers and in-memory operational databases—with significantly less variance under load. The wider memory bandwidth reduces queuing delays and ensures consistent performance scaling during peak traffic.

A 72 MB L3 cache pool combined with 2 MB L2 per core supports workloads that rely on heavy branching, unpredictable access patterns or moderately sized in-memory datasets. Distributed message brokers, search engines, configuration management systems and telemetry gateways often see measurable gains from such cache structures.

Thermal characteristics remain manageable at 190 W TDP, enabling high-density rack deployments without requiring exotic cooling. For operators scaling horizontally—particularly in Kubernetes clusters or distributed PaaS environments—this predictability ensures efficient planning for power domains and airflow management.

I/O capabilities remain a strong differentiator. With 88 PCIe 5.0 lanes, the 6517P can host multiple NVMe Gen5 arrays, acceleration hardware, security appliances and high-bandwidth NICs without introducing I/O bottlenecks. This makes it effective for storage-heavy roles, distributed object storage nodes, on-prem cloud deployments and large-scale CI/CD infrastructure.

In practice, the Intel Xeon 6517P is chosen by organizations that need fast per-core performance, consistently low latency and a reliable platform capable of driving real-time service architectures. Its blend of high base frequency, modern P-core design, advanced DDR5 support and broad PCIe scalability makes it a strong fit for cloud-native workloads, enterprise applications and emerging edge computing platforms.