Arm's new super powerful Neoverse V3 CPU core obliterates previous generation and should get Intel and AMD worried — HBM and CXL support, 128 cores per socket, hyperscalers will be salivating

Arm CPU
(Image credit: Arm)

Chip manufacturer Arm has announced its highly anticipated third-generation Neoverse CPU cores, the Neoverse V3 and Neoverse N3, along with the Neoverse E3 for edge computing and low-power applications.

The V3, Arm’s highest-performing CPU core to date, is based on the Armv9-A (v9.2) ISA and comes equipped with a 1MB/2MB/3MB L2 cache with ECC capability. According to Arm, a simulated 32-core Neoverse V3 offers a 9% - 16% performance uplift compared to a simulated 32-core Neoverse V2 in typical server workloads. 

In AI data analytics, the Neoverse V3 processor can offer a whopping 84% performance improvement over the Neoverse V2. It's worth pointing out of course that the V2 itself is no slacker. NVIDIA's Grace CPU uses 72 Arm Neoverse V2 CPU cores to deliver its leading per-thread performance.

Neoverse V3

(Image credit: Arm)

Neoverse V3 CSS

Arm’s Neoverse CSS are integrated and verified platforms that bring together all the key components required for the heart of a SoC and so are designed to provide a starting point for building custom solutions.

The Neoverse V3 Compute Subsystems (CSS) - the first Neoverse CSS product for the V-series portfolio - reportedly boasts a staggering 50% performance-per-socket improvement over the CSS N2.

The new Neoverse V3 CSS includes 64 Neoverse V3 cores, a memory subsystem with 12-channel DDR5/LPDDR5 and HBM memory support, 64-lanes of PCIe Gen5 with CXL support, and can scale to 128 cores per socket. 

The V3 isn't the only new chip of course. Arm’s Neoverse N3 implements the Armv9.2-based architecture for general-purpose CPU instances and infrastructure applications and so offers a balance between performance and power consumption. Arm claims that a simulated 32-core Neoverse N3 processor outperforms a simulated 32-core Neoverse N2 processor by 9% to 30% depending (naturally) on the workload. In AI data analytics, the simulated Neoverse N3-based SoC is 196% faster than the simulated Neoverse N2 chip. 

Arm's Neoverse CSS has been adopted by over 20 partners to date, most notably Microsoft for its Cobalt 100 general-purpose server processor, and more companies are likely to come onboard following the introduction of these new cores and the growing Arm Total Design ecosystem. 

Arm Neoverse roadmap

(Image credit: Arm)

More from TechRadar Pro

Wayne Williams
Editor

Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.