Pentium Silver N5030 vs i7-990X
Aggregate performance score
i7-990X outperforms Pentium Silver N5030 by a whopping 177% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1283 | 2044 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.21 | no data |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | no data | Intel Gemini Lake |
| Architecture codename | Gulftown (2010−2011) | Gemini Lake Refresh (2019) |
| Release date | 24 February 2011 (13 years ago) | 4 November 2019 (4 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,104 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 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 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3.46 GHz | 1.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.73 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| Bus rate | 6.4 GT/s | no data |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | no data |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 4 MB |
| L3 cache | 12 MB (shared) | 4 MB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 239 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 68 °C | 105 °C |
| Number of transistors | 1,170 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 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 | FCLGA1366,LGA1366 | FCBGA1090 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 6 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® SSE4.2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | - |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | - |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Smart Response | no data | - |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| PAE | 36 Bit | no data |
| GPIO | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| Status | Discontinued | Discontinued |
Security technologies
Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | - | no data |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
| Anti-Theft | no data | - |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 24 GB | 8 GB |
| Max memory channels | 3 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Intel UHD Graphics 605 |
| Max video memory | no data | 8 GB |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 750 MHz |
| Execution Units | no data | 18 |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 3 |
| eDP | no data | + |
| DisplayPort | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
| MIPI-DSI | no data | + |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096x2160@30Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 4096x2160@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 4096x2160@60Hz |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.4 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 6 |
| USB revision | no data | 2.0/3.0 |
| Total number of SATA ports | no data | 2 |
| Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Ports | no data | 2 |
| Number of USB ports | no data | 8 |
| Integrated LAN | no data | - |
| UART | 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.
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.
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.
GeekBench 5 Single-Core
GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 4.60 | 1.66 |
| Recency | 24 February 2011 | 4 November 2019 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 4 |
| Threads | 12 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 14 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 6 Watt |
i7-990X has a 177.1% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 200% more threads.
Pentium Silver N5030, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 8 years, a 128.6% more advanced lithography process, and 2066.7% lower power consumption.
The Core i7-990X is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium Silver N5030 in performance tests.
Note that Core i7-990X is a desktop processor while Pentium Silver N5030 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-990X and Pentium Silver N5030, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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