Xeon Gold 6242 vs Core i9-7980XE

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	269	349
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	7.93	7.53
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	Intel Core i9	Intel Xeon Gold
Architecture codename	Skylake (server) (2017−2019)	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
Release date	1 September 2017 (6 years ago)	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,999	$2,529
Current price	$993 (0.5x MSRP)	$2473 (1x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i9-7980XE has 5% better value for money than Xeon Gold 6242.

Detailed specifications

Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242 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	18 (Octadeca-Core)	16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads	36	32
Base clock speed	2.6 GHz	2.8 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.4 GHz	3.9 GHz
Bus support	4 × 8 GT/s	4 × 8 GT/s
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	1 MB
L2 cache	1 MB (per core)	16 MB
L3 cache	24.75 MB (shared)	22 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Die size	484 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	94 °C	85 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242 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	4 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA2066	FCLGA3647
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	150 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	+	-
Status	Discontinued	Launched

Security technologies

Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	no data	+
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2933
Maximum memory size	128 GB	1 TB
Max memory channels	4	6
Maximum memory bandwidth	85 GB/s	140.8 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

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 i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	44	48

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.

Core i9-7980XE outperforms Xeon Gold 6242 by 15% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	19.48	17.00
Recency	1 September 2017	2 April 2019
Physical cores	18	16
Threads	36	32
Cost	$1999	$2529
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	150 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-7980XE and Xeon Gold 6242, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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