Intel Xeon Gold 6326 Processor

Intel Xeon Gold 6326 — 16 cores and 32 threads at 2.9 GHz base / 3.5 GHz turbo, 24 MB cache, 185 W TDP, FCLGA4189. Supplied from stock with a 1-year warranty.

The all-round 16-core Gold of the Ice Lake stack

The 6326 belongs to the 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable (Ice Lake-SP) family, launched in Q2 2021 on a 10 nm process. It pairs 16 cores / 32 threads with a 2.9 GHz base and a 3.5 GHz turbo ceiling on a 185 W envelope, plus PCIe 4.0 with 64 lanes. The chip is rated 2S (two sockets) with three UPI links at 11.2 GT/s, and it runs DDR4-3200 across eight channels with a 6 TB per-socket ceiling - Intel Optane persistent memory 200 series is supported alongside DDR4. Speed Select comes as Core Power, Turbo Frequency and Base Frequency variants, with a high-priority / low-priority partition of 4 cores at 3.0 GHz and 12 cores at 2.6 GHz underneath. Thermal rating is TCASE 78 °C - nine degrees under the 87 °C ceiling of the Gold 6338T - in a 77.5 mm × 56.5 mm package, and Embedded Options are Available for long-life appliance builds.

Security and acceleration are Ice Lake staples: AVX-512 with two FMA units, DL Boost, TSX-NI and VMD, Intel Crypto Acceleration, Resource Director Technology and Speed Shift, plus Total Memory Encryption, Run Sure reliability and Platform Firmware Resilience. SGX is supported with Intel SPS and a 64 GB enclave page cache.

Technical specifications

Servers that commonly take this processor

The 6326 fits any FCLGA4189 (Whitley) platform whose BIOS supports 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable parts, in single- or dual-CPU two-socket systems. With 16 cores inside a 185 W envelope and the full DDR4-3200 memory ceiling, it is the all-round bin for general-purpose virtualisation, databases and compute nodes that need clock headroom without moving up to a 205 W or 250 W part:

• Dell PowerEdge R750 / R650
• HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Plus / DL360 Gen10 Plus
• Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V2 / SR630 V2
• Two-socket appliance, edge and storage chassis built around the Whitley platform

Because the part is rated 2S with three UPI links, it can pair with a second 6326 in dual-socket nodes - check that the platform BIOS and the second CPU stepping are compatible before ordering, and confirm the chassis cooling is rated for two 185 W processors. The 32-thread node total with a compact four-core high-priority partition suits mixed workloads: latency-sensitive request handlers sit on the 3.0 GHz cores while batch threads fill the twelve 2.6 GHz cores.

How it compares across generations

Against the 32-core Gold 6338, the 6326 gives up 16 cores and 24 MB of cache while running 900 MHz higher at base (2.9 vs 2.0 GHz), 300 MHz higher at turbo (3.5 vs 3.2 GHz) and 20 W less (185 vs 205 W). Against the Gold 6330 it gives up 12 cores and 18 MB but runs 900 MHz higher at base and 400 MHz higher at turbo on 20 W less, with the memory ceiling one step up at DDR4-3200. Against the thermally flexible 6338T it gives up 8 cores and 12 MB but carries 20 W more (185 vs 165 W) for 800 MHz more base and 100 MHz more turbo at the same DDR4-3200. Against the Cascade Lake flagship Platinum 8280 it trades 12 cores and 14.5 MB of cache for PCIe 4.0, eight memory channels and a 6 TB ceiling at 20 W less, moving from 6ch DDR4-2933 to 8ch DDR4-3200.

How each processor is tested before it ships

1. Visual inspection of the heat spreader, capacitors and substrate on arrival.
2. Thermal paste residue cleaned from the IHS; socket contact pads checked under magnification.
3. sSpec marking (SRKXK) verified against the order line before testing.
4. Full-core load test on an LGA4189 diagnostic board, confirming rated clocks and cache.
5. Re-run of the memory controller stress pass, then anti-static packing for dispatch.

Warranty and lead time

Every 6326 carries a 1-year warranty covering defects in workmanship and function; a verified faulty unit is replaced or refunded with return shipping covered. New units come in Intel tray packaging (order code CD8068904657502); tested pull units are labelled as such and priced separately. In-stock units typically ship within 2-3 business days after payment confirmation.

Purchasing and volume enquiries

Pricing is quotation-based rather than fixed. Send the quantity, condition preference (new or tested) and delivery destination, and we reply with a firm quote including current stock and lead time. Volume and project pricing is available for multi-unit orders.