Xeon 656 vs i5-7300HQ
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1897 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.51 | no data |
| Market segment | Laptop | Server |
| Series | Intel Core i5 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 2.72 | no data |
| Designer | Intel | Intel |
| Manufacturer | Intel | Intel |
| Architecture codename | Kaby Lake-H (2017) | Granite Rapids (2024−2026) |
| Release date | 3 January 2017 (9 years ago) | 2 February 2026 (recently) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $250 | $1,399 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 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) | 20 (Icosa-Core) |
| Performance-cores | no data | 20 |
| Threads | 4 | 40 |
| Base clock speed | 2.5 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.5 GHz | 4.8 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 3.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 8 GT/s | 0 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 25 | no data |
| L1 cache | 64K (per core) | 112 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256K (per core) | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 72 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | Intel 3 nm |
| Die size | no data | 2x 598 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 74 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 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 | FCBGA1440 | FCLGA4710 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 45 Watt | 210 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | + | + |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| Smart Response | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | + |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | + |
| EDB | + | + |
| MPX | + | - |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
| SGX | Yes with Intel® ME | - |
| OS Guard | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 | DDR5(6400MT/s) |
| Maximum memory size | 64 GB | 4 TB |
| Max memory channels | 2 | 8 |
| 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 HD Graphics 630 | N/A |
| Max video memory | 64 GB | no data |
| Quick Sync Video | + | - |
| Clear Video | + | no data |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 1 GHz | no data |
| InTru 3D | + | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 3 | no data |
| eDP | + | no data |
| DisplayPort | + | - |
| HDMI | + | - |
| DVI | + | no data |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | + | no data |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | 4096x2304@30Hz | no data |
| Max resolution over eDP | 4096x2304@60Hz | no data |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | 4096x2304@60Hz | no data |
| Max resolution over VGA | N/A | no data |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | 12 | no data |
| OpenGL | 4.5 | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-7300HQ and Xeon 656.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | 128 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 3 January 2017 | 2 February 2026 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 20 |
| Threads | 4 | 40 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 45 Watt | 210 Watt |
i5-7300HQ has 366.7% lower power consumption.
Xeon 656, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 9 years, and 400% more physical cores and 900% more threads.
We couldn't decide between Intel Core i5-7300HQ and Intel Xeon 656. We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Core i5-7300HQ is a notebook processor while Xeon 656 is a server/workstation one.
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