Pulled from a working server to upgrade CPU.
General informationTypeCPU / MicroprocessorFamilyIntel XeonProcessor number?8260YFrequency?2.3 GHzMaximum Turbo frequency3.9 GHzClock multiplier?23Package type3647-land FC-LGASocket typeSocket 3647Architecture / Microarchitecture / OtherCore steppingB0Processor coreCascade Lake-SPManufacturing technology0.014 micronThe number of cores24L2 cache size?24 MBL3 cache size33 MBThermal Design Power?165 WattNotes on sSpec QRC1
- Ultra Path Interconnect speed is 10.4 GT/s.
- The processor supports DDR4-2933 memory.
The "Y" suffix in the Intel Xeon Scalable (Cascade Lake) lineup represents Speed Select Technology — Performance Profile (SST-PP).
Essentially, a "Y" processor is a "three-in-one" CPU. It allows you to reconfigure the core count and base frequency at boot time, effectively letting you trade cores for clock speed depending on your current workload.
1. The Three Operating Profiles
On your Xeon Platinum 8260Y, you can choose between three distinct configurations in the BIOS of your X11SPi-TF. While the exact specs can vary slightly by SKU, the 8260Y generally follows this logic:
ProfileActive CoresBase FrequencyTurbo BoostTDPConfig 0 (Default)24 Cores2.4 GHz3.9 GHz165WConfig 120 Cores2.5 GHz3.9 GHz165WConfig 216 Cores2.7 GHz3.9 GHz165W2. Why use the "Y" variant?
The primary advantage is License and Per-Core Performance Optimization:
Software Licensing: Some enterprise software (like Oracle or MS SQL Server) is licensed per core. With a "Y" chip, you can disable unnecessary cores to save on license costs while simultaneously boosting the clock speed of the remaining cores.
Thermal Headroom: By disabling 8 cores (moving from 24 to 16), the remaining cores have more "room" within the 165W TDP to maintain their maximum Turbo frequencies for longer periods.
Workload Specificity: For LLM Inference, you generally want all 24 cores (Config 0) because inference is highly parallel. However, if you were running a high-speed database that favored single-thread latency, you might switch to Config 2.
Y-Variant: Standard memory support (1TB), but adds the Speed Select core reconfiguration.
