Xeon 5120 vs i7-860

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1963	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.15	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Power efficiency	1.88	no data
Architecture codename	Lynnfield (2009−2010)	Woodcrest (2006)
Release date	8 September 2009 (15 years ago)	June 2006 (18 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$229	$45

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	8	2
Base clock speed	2.8 GHz	1.86 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	1.87 GHz
Bus rate	2.5 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	0 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	4 MB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	45 nm	65 nm
Die size	296 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	73 °C	65 °C
Number of transistors	774 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	no data	B2=1.0V-1.5V, G0=.85V-1.5V

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120 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
Socket	FCLGA1156,LGA1156	LGA771
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FSB parity	no data	+

Security technologies

Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120 are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	no data
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	-

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR2
Maximum memory size	16 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

N/A

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no data

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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Pros & cons summary

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Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Chip lithography	45 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-860 and Xeon 5120, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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