Xeon E-2478 vs i3-8120
Primary details
Comparing Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | 314 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 82.54 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Series | Intel Core i3 | no data |
| Power efficiency | no data | 22.21 |
| Architecture codename | Coffee Lake (2017−2019) | Raptor Lake-S (2023−2024) |
| Release date | 1 September 2018 (6 years ago) | 14 December 2023 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $568 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 4 (Quad-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 2.8 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 5.2 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 3.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 4 × 8 GT/s | 16 GT/s |
| L1 cache | 256 KB | 80 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 1 MB | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 24 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | 126 mm2 | 257 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 100 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 72 °C | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
Compatibility
Information on Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | 1 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | 1151 | FCLGA1700 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 51 Watt | 80 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
Security technologies
Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Dual-channel | DDR5-4800 |
| Maximum memory size | 64 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 38.397 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 5 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 16 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 1 September 2018 | 14 December 2023 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 8 |
| Threads | 4 | 16 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 51 Watt | 80 Watt |
i3-8120 has 56.9% lower power consumption.
Xeon E-2478, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 5 years, and 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads.
We couldn't decide between Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478. We've got no test results to judge.
Note that Core i3-8120 is a desktop processor while Xeon E-2478 is a server/workstation one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-8120 and Xeon E-2478, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
