Xeon E3-1280 v5 vs i7-6850K

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	994	1185
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	1.40	1.88
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	no data	Intel Xeon E3
Power efficiency	4.87	6.25
Architecture codename	Broadwell-E (2016)	Skylake-S (2015)
Release date	31 May 2016 (8 years ago)	19 October 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$475	$612

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E3-1280 v5 has 34% better value for money than i7-6850K.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 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)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	12	8
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	4 GHz
Bus type	no data	DMI 3.0
Bus rate	no data	4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	37
L1 cache	32 KB (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	256K (per core)
L3 cache	15 MB (shared)	8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Die size	no data	160 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	no data
Number of transistors	no data	1,400 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 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	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA2011	FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	80 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	-	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Smart Response	+	no data
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	no data	+
MPX	-	+
SGX	no data	Yes with both Intel® SPS and Intel® ME
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	-	+
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory size	128 GB	64 GB
Max memory channels	4	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	no data	34.134 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	no data	N/A
Max resolution over eDP	no data	N/A
Max resolution over DisplayPort	no data	N/A
Max resolution over VGA	no data	N/A

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	no data	N/A
OpenGL	no data	N/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	40	16

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	7.21	5.29
Recency	31 May 2016	19 October 2015
Physical cores	6	4
Threads	12	8
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	80 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-6850K and Xeon E3-1280 v5, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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