Well this is interesting and, while not new, is news to me.
The upper-tier Haswell processors ushered DDR4 into the desktops for enthusiasts and servers, but DIMMs are quite expensive and incompatible with the DDR3 sticks that your organization might have been stocking up on. Despite the memory controller being placed on the processor, ASRock has a few motherboards which claim DDR3 support. ASRock, responding to Anandtech's inquiry, confirmed that this is not an error and Intel will launch three SKUs, one eight-core, one ten-core, and one twelve-core, with a DDR3-supporting memory controller.
The three models are:
| E5-2629 v3 | E5-2649 v3 | E5-2669 v3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cores (Threads) | 8 (16) | 10 (20) | 12 (24) |
| Clock Rate | 2.4 GHz | 2.3 GHz | 2.3 Ghz |
| L3 Cache | 20MB | 25MB | 30MB |
| TDP | 85W | 105W | 120W |
The processors, themselves, might not be cheap or easily attainable, though. There are rumors that Intel will require customers purchase at least a minimum amount. It might not be worth buying these processors unless you have a significant server farm (or similar situation).
Probably wind up in the Mac
Probably wind up in the Mac Pro, Apple is not ready for a drastic revision on the Pro, but eventually the Mac Pro will go DDR4, when the Apple’s bean counters approve. Hopefully Apple will get those P.A. semiconductor Boffins some Licensed Power8, to work into future Mac Pros, and some Power8 derived in house SKUs for its entire line of Macbooks. If anyone can do it, those P.A. Simi folks can, best acquisition that Apple ever made, and will net Apple Billions in profits not siphoned of by Chipzilla.