Xeon Gold 5120 vs Core i9-9900KF

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	614	639
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	15.49	15.82
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	Intel Core i9	Intel Xeon Gold
Architecture codename	Coffee Lake-R (2018−2019)	Skylake (server) (2017−2019)
Release date	8 January 2019 (5 years ago)	11 July 2017 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$488	$1,555
Current price	$343 (0.7x MSRP)	$379 (0.2x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Gold 5120 has 2% better value for money than i9-9900KF.

Detailed specifications

Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 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	8 (Octa-Core)	14 (Tetradeca-Core)
Threads	16	28
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	5 GHz	3.2 GHz
Bus support	4 × 8 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	896 KB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	14 MB
L3 cache	16 MB (shared)	19.25 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	81 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	No

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 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	4 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA1151	FCLGA3647
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	105 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	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	+	+
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	no data
SIPP	-	no data
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	no data	-
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	no data
MPX	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	no data
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120 are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2400
Maximum memory size	128 GB	768 GB
Max memory channels	2	6
Maximum memory bandwidth	41.6 GB/s	115.212 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	16	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 i9-9900KF outperforms Xeon Gold 5120 by 4% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	11.84	11.43
Recency	8 January 2019	11 July 2017
Physical cores	8	14
Threads	16	28
Cost	$488	$1555
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	105 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-9900KF and Xeon Gold 5120, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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