Lenovo 4XG7A38080 SR650 Xeon Gold 6238R

Lenovo 4XG7A38080 Intel Xeon Gold 6238R 28-Core Processor Option for ThinkSystem SR650

Overview

The Lenovo 4XG7A38080 is a factory-configured processor option kit that installs an Intel Xeon Gold 6238R into the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 two-socket rack server. Based on Intel's 2nd Generation Xeon Scalable (Cascade Lake) architecture on a 14 nm process node, the 6238R is a 28-core, 56-thread processor that hits a 2.2 GHz base clock and turbos to 4.0 GHz — a combination that suits mixed enterprise workloads where you need consistent multi-threaded throughput without sacrificing single-threaded burst for latency-sensitive tasks.

This is a component part, not a standalone system. It is designed specifically for the SR650 platform and installs into the LGA 3647 (Socket P) socket. If you are configuring a two-socket SR650 for compute-intensive work — virtualization, database, video analytics at scale, or HPC — this processor option gives you a balanced core-count-to-clock-speed ratio that fits within a 165 W thermal envelope. No cooler is included; the SR650 chassis supplies its own cooling infrastructure.

Key Features

• 28 Cores / 56 Threads: Intel's Hyper-Threading delivers 56 logical processors to the OS, which matters for hypervisor workloads where you are overcommitting vCPUs. At 2 vCPUs per logical thread you can sustain 112 vCPUs per socket before hitting contention — meaningful for dense VM deployments on a rack server.
• 2.2 GHz Base / 4.0 GHz Boost: The 1.8 GHz headroom between base and boost clock means single-threaded jobs (database query compilation, VMS recording indexing, real-time analytics triggers) get the speed they need without forcing the entire 28-core package to run at max frequency and heat. Power draw stays predictable under mixed load.
• 38.5 MB L3 Cache: A large last-level cache reduces main-memory round trips, which is particularly useful in surveillance analytics pipelines where the same frame-region data is accessed repeatedly by inference engines. More cache = fewer DRAM fetches = lower latency per inference cycle.
• 165 W TDP: Running dual 6238R sockets in a single SR650 means planning for up to 330 W of processor-only thermal load. Verify your rack PDU and UPS headroom includes this plus memory, storage, and NIC draw before committing to a dual-socket build. This is not a low-power SKU — it is a full-performance data center processor.
• LGA 3647 (Socket P): The 6238R installs into the SR650's standard Socket P, which supports the full range of 2nd Gen Xeon Scalable options. If workload requirements change post-deployment, you can swap to a higher- or lower-TDP Cascade Lake variant without replacing the entire platform — provided the SR650's BIOS and power delivery support the target SKU.
• 2× UPI Links at Full Bandwidth: Dual Ultra Path Interconnect links between sockets keep cache coherency traffic from becoming a bottleneck in NUMA-aware workloads. Applications that explicitly respect NUMA topology — most enterprise databases and hypervisors do — will see near-linear scaling when moving from single- to dual-socket configuration.
• 14 nm Cascade Lake Process: The mature 14 nm node means well-characterized thermal behavior and proven silicon reliability for always-on data center deployments. Cascade Lake also includes hardware mitigations for Spectre/Meltdown variants, reducing the performance penalty of software-only mitigations that affected earlier Skylake-SP generations.
• 64-Bit Operating Mode: Full 64-bit instruction set support is a baseline expectation for any enterprise server workload today, but it confirms compatibility with every major enterprise OS and hypervisor without virtualization mode restrictions.

Integration & Compatibility

The 4XG7A38080 is validated for the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 platform. Before ordering, confirm your SR650's system board revision and installed BIOS version support Cascade Lake processor options — Lenovo's system compatibility matrices (available via the Lenovo ServerProven program) list approved processor-to-platform pairings. Memory configuration must also be revisited when adding or upgrading a processor: the 6238R supports six DDR4 memory channels per socket, so fully populating memory slots requires matching DIMMs in the correct channel order per Lenovo's population rules for the SR650.

From a software perspective, any OS or hypervisor certified for 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable will run on this processor. For security and video analytics server builds, validate that your VMS or AI inference platform's CPU license model accounts for physical core count — some platforms license per physical core, and 28 cores per socket is a meaningful input to that calculation.

Integrators deploying this in a server component upgrade workflow should schedule a planned maintenance window: CPU installation on the SR650 requires chassis opening, heatsink installation (sourced separately), and a POST validation cycle before returning to production. Lenovo's XClarity Administrator can verify processor presence and health post-installation without OS involvement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What server platform is the Lenovo 4XG7A38080 compatible with?

A: The 4XG7A38080 is a processor option kit validated for the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 two-socket rack server. It installs into the LGA 3647 (Socket P) socket on the SR650 system board.

Q: Does the 4XG7A38080 include a heatsink or cooler?

A: No. This processor option does not include a cooler. The ThinkSystem SR650 supplies its own cooling infrastructure; a compatible heatsink must be sourced separately if not already present in the target socket position.

Q: What are the base and boost clock speeds of the Xeon Gold 6238R?

A: The Intel Xeon Gold 6238R operates at a 2.2 GHz base frequency and boosts to 4.0 GHz under single- or lightly-threaded load, providing a wide performance envelope for mixed enterprise workloads.

Q: How many cores and threads does the 6238R provide?

A: The 6238R delivers 28 physical cores and 56 logical threads via Intel Hyper-Threading. This makes it well-suited for dense virtualization and parallel compute workloads on the SR650 platform.

Q: What is the thermal design power (TDP) of this processor?

A: The Xeon Gold 6238R has a 165 W TDP. In a dual-socket SR650 configuration, plan for up to 330 W of processor-only thermal and power load in addition to memory, storage, and network adapter draw.

Q: Is the 4XG7A38080 compatible with DDR4 memory?

A: Yes. The Intel Xeon Gold 6238R supports DDR4 memory via six memory channels per socket. Refer to Lenovo's SR650 memory population rules to ensure correct DIMM placement when configuring or expanding memory alongside this processor.

Jerry Tildsen

The 4XG7A38080 is a processor option I reach for when a ThinkSystem SR650 deployment needs serious multi-threaded headroom without stepping up to the 32- or 40-core Cascade Lake parts. The 6238R's 4.0 GHz boost ceiling is notably higher than many of its 28-core peers, which means latency-sensitive single-threaded tasks — think SQL query compilation or VMS alert processing — don't get buried behind heavy parallel batch jobs.

Technical Highlights:

• 28C / 56T at 165 W TDP: You get a strong core count within a manageable thermal envelope. At 165 W, this fits cleanly in a dual-socket SR650 without requiring non-standard cooling modifications — the SR650's standard heatsink and fan architecture is designed around this TDP class.
• 38.5 MB L3 Cache: For AI inference or video analytics workloads, that cache depth keeps frequently-accessed model weights and frame buffers closer to compute, reducing DRAM pressure and keeping per-frame latency tighter than smaller-cache Cascade Lake options.
• Dual UPI Interconnect: Two UPI links between sockets means the SR650's NUMA fabric doesn't collapse under cross-socket memory access — critical for hypervisor workloads where VMs are scheduled without NUMA pinning.

Deployment Considerations:

• No cooler is included with this option kit. Before scheduling installation, confirm the SR650's second socket position has an appropriate heatsink installed — the chassis will not boot with a bare processor and no heatsink in place.
• At 165 W per socket, a fully-loaded dual-socket SR650 with two 6238R units, fully-populated DDR4 DIMMs, and NVMe storage can approach or exceed 600 W system draw under full load. Size your PDU circuits and UPS accordingly before the system goes live.

This processor option fits best in an SR650 deployed as a mid-tier virtualization host or a dedicated video analytics server where you need the 28-core thread count for concurrent inference streams and the 4.0 GHz burst for responsive management-plane operations alongside the data-plane workload.