Xeon Gold 6538N vs D-1521

Primary details

Comparing Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1420	143
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.15	no data
Market segment	Server	Server
Series	Intel Xeon D	no data
Architecture codename	Broadwell (2015−2019)	Emerald Rapids
Release date	1 November 2015 (8 years ago)	14 December 2023 (less than a year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data
Current price	$2202 (11.1x MSRP)	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N 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	4 (Quad-Core)	32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads	8	64
Base clock speed	2.4 GHz	2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.7 GHz	4.1 GHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	80 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	2 MB (per core)
L3 cache	1.5 MB (per core)	60 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	Intel 7 nm
Die size	246.24 mm2	2x 763 mm2
Maximum core temperature	no data	85 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	80 °C	85 °C
Number of transistors	3,200 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	no data
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N 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
Socket	FCBGA1667	FCLGA4677
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	205 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX2	Intel® AMX, 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
GPIO	+	no data
Status	Launched	Launched

Security technologies

Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	no data
SGX	no data	Yes with Intel® SPS
OS Guard	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4, DDR3	DDR5-5200
Maximum memory size	128 GB	4 TB
Max memory channels	2	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	34.124 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

N/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N.

PCIe version	2.0/3.0	5.0
PCI Express lanes	32	80
USB revision	2.0/3.0	no data
Total number of SATA ports	6	no data
Number of USB ports	8	no data
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.

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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.

Gold 6538N outperforms D-1521 by 689% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	3.68	29.03
Recency	1 November 2015	14 December 2023
Physical cores	4	32
Threads	8	64
Power consumption (TDP)	45 Watt	205 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon D-1521 and Xeon Gold 6538N, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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