Xeon Gold 5218 vs i7-3960X Extreme Edition
Aggregate performance score
Xeon Gold 5218 outperforms Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition by a whopping 143% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1383 | 703 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 3.41 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Series | Intel Core i7EE | Intel Xeon Gold |
| Power efficiency | 4.15 | 10.50 |
| Designer | Intel | Intel |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Cascade Lake (2019−2020) |
| Release date | 14 November 2011 (14 years ago) | 2 April 2019 (6 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $1,273 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon Gold 5218 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) | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 32 |
| Base clock speed | no data | 2.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 3.9 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 2.0 | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | 5 GT/s | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 33 | 23 |
| L1 cache | no data | 1 MB |
| L2 cache | 1,536 KB | 16 MB |
| L3 cache | 15 MB | 22 MB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 434.72 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 87 °C |
| Number of transistors | 2270 Million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon Gold 5218 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) | 4 (Multiprocessor) |
| Socket | no data | FCLGA3647 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 125 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon Gold 5218. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | 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 | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon Gold 5218 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 Gold 5218 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 Gold 5218. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR4-2667 |
| Maximum memory size | 64 GB | 1 TB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 6 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 128.001 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition and Xeon Gold 5218.
| PCIe version | 2.00 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 40 | 48 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 5.03 | 12.24 |
| Recency | 14 November 2011 | 2 April 2019 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 16 |
| Threads | 12 | 32 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 125 Watt |
Xeon Gold 5218 has a 143.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, 166.7% more physical cores and 166.7% more threads, a 128.6% more advanced lithography process, and 4% lower power consumption.
The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 is our recommended choice as it beats the Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition in performance tests.
Note that Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition is a desktop processor while Xeon Gold 5218 is a server/workstation one.
Other comparisons
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