Intel previews Xeon 6+ “Clearwater Forest” at MWC 2026
Intel is using MWC Barcelona 2026 to preview Intel Xeon 6+, describing it as the next step in the Xeon 6 roadmap for network and cloud infrastructure. The company positions Xeon 6+ as part of its “AI-ready network” message at MWC, where Intel is highlighting live-network AI inference and a broader path from 5G to 6G.
© Intel 
© Intel Clearwater Forest with 288 cores
Accpording to Intel Xeon6+ has 12 compute tiles on Intel 18A, plus 3 active base tiles on Intel 3 and 2 I/O tiles on Intel 7. Intel mentions 12 EMIB tiles (2.5D) as part of the package, and it references Foveros Direct 3D in the same presentation.
For the core complex, Intel’s compute-tile slide breaks the layout down into 6 modules per tile, with 4 cores per module. That is 24 Darkmont E-cores per compute tile . Intel says Xeon 6+ (Clearwater Forest) scales to up to 288 Darkmont E-cores, built from 12 compute tiles with 24 E-cores each, and targets 1-socket and 2-socket platforms.
© Intel Intel also lists 4 MB of shared L2 cache per module. The I/O tile slide lists 8 accelerators per tile, and names Intel QuickAssist Technology, Intel Dynamic Load Balancer, Intel Data Streaming Accelerator, and Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator. Intel also shows per-tile lane budgets of 48 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes, 32 CXL 2.0 lanes, and 96 UPI 2.0 lanes. The same slide notes tile reuse from Granite Rapids.
For cache and memory, the base-tile slide lists 192 MB of last level cache per base tile and 48 MB of last level cache per compute tile , with 4 DDR5 memory channels per base tile . Another overview slide repeats the platform targets of 12-channel DDR5-8000 , up to 576 MB LLC , 96 PCIe Gen 5 lanes , and 64 CXL lanes , with 1-socket and 2-socket configurations. Intel lists 300 W to 500 W TDP for Xeon6+.
According to Intel, the Xeon 6+ series is planned for a first-half 2026 launch window. The naming is still a point of confusion. Intel has also set a launch date for its Core 200K Plus series , which is expected to be an Arrow Lake refresh. Xeon targets data centers, while the Core series targets consumer PCs.
Source: Intel
