Xeon E5-2620 vs i7-3960X Extreme Edition
Aggregate performance score
i7-3960X Extreme Edition outperforms Xeon E5-2620 by an impressive 68% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1110 | 1535 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 1.73 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Series | Intel Core i7EE | no data |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Sandy Bridge-EP (2012) |
| Release date | 14 November 2011 (12 years ago) | 6 March 2012 (12 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $36 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620 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 | 6 (Hexa-Core) | 6 (Hexa-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 12 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 2.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 7.2 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 33 | no data |
| L1 cache | no data | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 1,536 KB | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 15 MB | 15360 KB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | 434.72 mm2 | 435 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 77 °C |
| Number of transistors | 2270 Million | 2,270 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620 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) | 2 |
| Socket | no data | FCLGA2011 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® AVX |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 1.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Flex Memory Access | no data | - |
| Demand Based Switching | no data | + |
| Status | no data | Discontinued |
Security technologies
Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 64 GB | 384 GB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 4 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 42.6 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620.
| PCIe version | 2.00 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 40 | 40 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 5.75 | 3.42 |
| Recency | 14 November 2011 | 6 March 2012 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 95 Watt |
i7-3960X Extreme Edition has a 68.1% higher aggregate performance score.
Xeon E5-2620, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 months, and 36.8% lower power consumption.
The Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E5-2620 in performance tests.
Note that Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition is a desktop processor while Xeon E5-2620 is a server/workstation one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon E5-2620, 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.
