i5-6500 vs i7-980X EE

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-980X EE
6 cores / 12 threads, 130 Watt
3.84
+8.5%
Core i5-6500
2015
4 cores / 4 threads, 65 Watt
3.54

Core i7-980X EE outperforms Core i5-6500 by a small 8% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking14691530
Place by popularitynot in top-10033
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.82
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesCore i7 (Desktop)Intel Core i5 (Desktop)
Power efficiency2.805.15
Architecture codenameGulftown (2010−2011)Skylake (2015−2016)
Release dateno data2 July 2015 (9 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$192

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 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 cores6 (Hexa-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads124
Base clock speedno data3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed3.6 GHz3.6 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 3.0
Bus rate6400 MHz4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplierno data32
L1 cacheno data64K (per core)
L2 cacheno data256K (per core)
L3 cacheno data6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm14 nm
Die sizeno data177 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data72 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 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 configurationno data1 (Uniprocessor)
SocketLGA-1366FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI-+
AVX-+
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data-
TSX-+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
SIPP-+

Security technologies

Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
MPX-+
Identity Protection-+
SGXno dataYes with Intel® ME
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory sizeno data64 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data34.134 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel HD Graphics 530
Max video memoryno data64 GB
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Videono data+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1.05 GHz
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+
DVIno data+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution supportno data+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDPno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data4096x2304@60Hz
Max resolution over VGAno dataN/A

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12
OpenGLno data4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500.

PCIe versionno data3.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

Synthetic benchmark performance

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. 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.

i7-980X EE 3.84
+8.5%
i5-6500 3.54

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.

i7-980X EE 6096
+8.4%
i5-6500 5624

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i7-980X EE 23150
+18.3%
i5-6500 19577

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i7-980X EE 7123
+7.1%
i5-6500 6653

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i7-980X EE 5.1
+108%
i5-6500 10.6

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i7-980X EE 9
+39.8%
i5-6500 6

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.84 3.54
Physical cores 6 4
Threads 12 4
Chip lithography 32 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 65 Watt

i7-980X EE has a 8.5% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 200% more threads.

i5-6500, on the other hand, has a 128.6% more advanced lithography process, and 100% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-980X EE and Core i5-6500, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-980X EE
Core i7-980X EE
Intel Core i5-6500
Core i5-6500

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Community ratings

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