Xeon E7-2870 vs i7-4960X

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1057	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.46	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	Intel Core i7 (Desktop)	Intel Xeon E7
Power efficiency	4.60	no data
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge-E (2013)	Westmere (2010−2011)
Release date	3 September 2013 (11 years ago)	5 April 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$999	$4,227

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870 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)	10 (Deca-Core)
Threads	12	20
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	2.8 GHz
Bus type	no data	QPI
Bus rate	5 GT/s	6.4 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	18
L1 cache	64K (per core)	640 KB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	2.56 MB
L3 cache	15 MB (shared)	30 MB
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm
Die size	257 mm2	513 mm2
Maximum core temperature	67 °C	69 °C
Number of transistors	1,860 million	2600 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870 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 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA2011	LGA1567
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Smart Response	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	+
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3-800, DDR3-978, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333, Speed-1066
Maximum memory size	64 GB	1 TB
Max memory channels	4	4
Maximum memory bandwidth	59.7 GB/s	34.113 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870.

PCIe version	3.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	40	no data

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	3 September 2013	5 April 2011
Physical cores	6	10
Threads	12	20
Chip lithography	22 nm	32 nm

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-4960X and Xeon E7-2870, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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