Lenovo 7XG7A04620 SN550 Xeon 8160 24C/150W/2.1GHZ

Lenovo 7XG7A04620 Xeon Platinum 8160 24-Core Server Processor

Overview

The Lenovo 7XG7A04620 is a 1st Generation Intel Xeon Platinum 8160 processor upgrade for the ThinkSystem SN550 blade server. With 24 cores, 48 threads, and a 2.1 GHz base clock that turbos to 3.7 GHz, this is a compute-dense option for enterprise workloads that need both high thread counts and sustained single-thread headroom. If you're configuring an SN550 chassis for virtualization, HPC, or compute-intensive enterprise applications, the 8160 sits in the upper tier of the Platinum 8000 series and delivers accordingly. The 7XG7A04620 ships factory-new from channel-direct sourcing with no grey-market risk.

Key Features

• 24 Cores / 48 Threads: The Xeon Platinum 8160 handles up to 48 concurrent threads per socket — on a dual-socket SN550 that's 96 threads per blade, which is the relevant number when you're sizing vCPU-to-pCPU ratios for VM density. At roughly 2 vCPUs per thread, a dual-socket SN550 blade can support ~192 vCPUs before oversubscription becomes a concern.
• 2.1 GHz Base / 3.7 GHz Boost (Intel Turbo Boost): The 2.1 GHz base frequency is intentional — it keeps the 150W TDP manageable across all 24 cores under full sustained load. The 3.7 GHz single-core boost is available for latency-sensitive workloads that don't fan out across all cores, such as database query planners or lightly threaded analytics jobs.
• 33 MB L3 Cache: The 33 MB last-level cache matters for workloads with working sets that fit on-die — reducing round-trips to main memory directly cuts latency in data-intensive operations. For in-memory databases or large-dataset analytics, this L3 size is a tangible advantage over lower-tier Xeon Gold parts.
• 150W TDP: At 150W per socket, thermal budget planning is non-negotiable before ordering. Verify your SN550 chassis and cooling configuration support dual 150W processors — the blade's power and thermal headroom needs to be confirmed against your chassis mid-plane specs before committing to this SKU.
• LGA 3647 (Socket P) — Skylake Architecture: The 14nm Skylake-SP die on Socket P is the foundation for this Platinum 8000 series part. This is a 1st Gen Scalable processor, meaning it is compatible with SN550 motherboards designed for the first Scalable generation. It is NOT drop-in compatible with 2nd or 3rd Gen Scalable (Cooper Lake/Ice Lake) boards — socket is physically the same but platform compatibility is generation-locked.
• 64-bit Operating Modes / H0 Stepping: H0 stepping represents a mature production revision of the Skylake-SP die, meaning errata exposure is lower than early A0/B0 stepping parts. For long-running production deployments this is the stepping you want if you're sourcing 1st Gen Scalable processors.

Integration and Compatibility

The 7XG7A04620 is specifically qualified for the Lenovo ThinkSystem SN550 blade server. Before purchasing, confirm your SN550 is a 1st Generation Scalable chassis — Lenovo published separate processor compatibility matrices for each blade generation, and mixing generations is not supported. This processor requires a compatible cooler; none is included with the server processor upgrade. Pair with ECC DDR4 DIMMs qualified for the SN550 platform and confirm your chassis power budget supports 150W per socket if running dual-socket configuration. For broader Lenovo server platform planning, cross-reference the Lenovo ServerProven compatibility database before finalizing your BOM. Integrators deploying these into blade server environments should also validate firmware levels on the SN550 system board — some early firmware revisions required updates before recognizing all 1st Gen Platinum SKUs. For storage-heavy workloads being planned alongside this processor upgrade, review your network storage architecture to ensure the compute tier isn't bottlenecked downstream.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the 7XG7A04620 compatible with the Lenovo ThinkSystem SN550 blade server?

A: Yes — the 7XG7A04620 is a processor option qualified for the ThinkSystem SN550. It uses the LGA 3647 (Socket P) interface and is a 1st Generation Intel Xeon Scalable part. Confirm your SN550 chassis is the 1st Gen Scalable platform before ordering.

Q: Does the 7XG7A04620 include a heatsink or cooler?

A: No. This SKU is the processor only — no cooler is included. You will need to source a compatible heatsink separately for the SN550 platform.

Q: What is the boost clock speed on the Xeon Platinum 8160?

A: The Intel Xeon Platinum 8160 has a base frequency of 2.1 GHz and a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 3.7 GHz, available on lightly loaded cores.

Q: Can this processor be used in a dual-socket SN550 configuration?

A: The SN550 supports dual-socket configurations. Both sockets must be populated with identical processor SKUs. At 150W TDP per processor, verify that the chassis and blade cooling infrastructure support the combined 300W thermal load before deploying dual 8160 processors.

Q: Is the 7XG7A04620 compatible with 2nd or 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable platforms?

A: No. The Xeon Platinum 8160 is a 1st Generation Scalable (Skylake-SP) processor. While the LGA 3647 socket is physically present on some 2nd Gen platforms, the BIOS and platform management firmware are generation-locked and will not support 1st Gen parts on later boards.

Q: What thread count does the 7XG7A04620 provide?

A: The Xeon Platinum 8160 is a 24-core, 48-thread processor with Intel Hyper-Threading enabled. In a dual-socket SN550, this yields 48 physical cores and 96 threads per blade.

Jerry Tildsen

The 7XG7A04620 gets specified when you need to maximize thread density in a ThinkSystem SN550 blade without stepping outside the 1st Gen Scalable platform. The Xeon Platinum 8160's 24-core, 48-thread profile at a 150W TDP is a workable tradeoff for dense virtualization blades — you're getting near-top-of-stack core count for this generation while staying within what a well-configured SN550 can cool and power.

Technical Highlights:

• 3.7 GHz Turbo Boost: The gap between 2.1 GHz base and 3.7 GHz boost is significant — single-threaded and lightly parallel workloads (schedulers, management VMs, monitoring agents) benefit directly without requiring all-core turbo headroom.
• 33 MB L3 Cache: For VM-dense deployments where multiple workloads share a NUMA node, 33 MB of L3 reduces cache thrash compared to lower-count Xeon Gold parts with smaller caches — relevant when you're stacking 20+ VMs per socket.
• 14nm Skylake-SP / H0 Stepping: H0 is the production-stable revision of the Skylake-SP die. If you're sourcing 1st Gen Scalable parts for a long-term spares pool, H0 stepping is the right target to specify.

Deployment Considerations:

• The 150W TDP per socket means a dual-socket SN550 blade draws up to 300W in processor TDP alone — account for this in chassis-level power budget calculations before populating both sockets with 8160s in a high-density blade chassis.
• No cooler is included — the SN550's integrated blade cooling handles thermal management, but confirm your chassis firmware is current; some early SN550 firmware builds did not fully enumerate all Platinum 8000 processor SKUs at POST.

This processor makes most sense in existing SN550 deployments being upgraded for higher VM density — particularly where the existing lower-core-count CPUs have become the scheduling bottleneck and the chassis infrastructure already supports the Platinum-tier thermal envelope.