EPYC 7642 vs i7-980
Aggregate performance score
EPYC 7642 outperforms Core i7-980 by a whopping 767% 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 | 1640 | 141 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.21 | 5.05 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Series | no data | AMD EPYC |
| Power efficiency | 1.28 | 6.42 |
| Designer | Intel | AMD |
| Manufacturer | Intel | TSMC |
| Architecture codename | Gulftown (2010−2011) | Zen 2 (2019−2020) |
| Release date | 26 June 2011 (14 years ago) | 7 August 2019 (6 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,109 | $4,775 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
EPYC 7642 has 2305% better value for money than i7-980.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of Core i7-980 and EPYC 7642: 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) | 48 (Octatetraconta-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 96 |
| Base clock speed | 3.33 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 3.4 GHz |
| Bus rate | 4.8 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | no data | 23 |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 96K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 512K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 12 MB (shared) | 256 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 7 nm, 14 nm |
| Die size | 239 mm2 | 192 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 69 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,170 million | 4,800 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-980 and EPYC 7642 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 | FCLGA1366,LGA1366 | TR4 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 225 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-980 and EPYC 7642. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | no data |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| Precision Boost 2 | no data | + |
Security technologies
Core i7-980 and EPYC 7642 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 i7-980 and EPYC 7642 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-980 and EPYC 7642. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR4 Eight-channel |
| Maximum memory size | 24 GB | 4 TiB |
| Max memory channels | 3 | 8 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 204.763 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-980 and EPYC 7642.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | no data |
Synthetic benchmarks
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 3.95 | 34.24 |
| Recency | 26 June 2011 | 7 August 2019 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 48 |
| Threads | 12 | 96 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 7 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 225 Watt |
i7-980 has 73% lower power consumption.
EPYC 7642, on the other hand, has a 767% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 8 years, 700% more physical cores and 700% more threads, and a 357% more advanced lithography process.
The AMD EPYC 7642 is our recommended choice as it beats the Intel Core i7-980 in performance tests.
Note that Core i7-980 is a desktop processor while EPYC 7642 is a server/workstation one.
Other comparisons
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