Xeon Gold 6438N vs i5-2500S

Primary details

Comparing Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1851	116
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	4.87	25.41
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Power efficiency	3.10	15.34
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024)
Release date	9 January 2011 (13 years ago)	10 January 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$75	$3,351

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Gold 6438N has 422% better value for money than i5-2500S.

Detailed specifications

Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N 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)	32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads	4	64
Base clock speed	2.7 GHz	2 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.7 GHz	3.6 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	80K (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB (per core)
L3 cache	6144 KB (shared)	60 MB
Chip lithography	32 nm	Intel 7 nm
Die size	216 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	69 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	85 °C
Number of transistors	1,160 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N 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	2
Socket	LGA1155	FCLGA4677
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	205 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	+
TSX	-	+
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
Deep Learning Boost	-	+

Security technologies

Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-
SGX	no data	Yes with Intel® SPS
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR5-4800, DDR5-4400
Maximum memory size	32 GB	4 TB
Max memory channels	2	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	-	+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 2000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

2

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N.

PCIe version	2.0	5
PCI Express lanes	16	80

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	2.21	34.49
Recency	9 January 2011	10 January 2023
Physical cores	4	32
Threads	4	64
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	205 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2500S and Xeon Gold 6438N, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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