i7-6700K vs Xeon Gold 5120
Aggregate performance score
Xeon Gold 5120 outperforms Core i7-6700K by a whopping 107% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 676 | 1149 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 5.04 | 1.19 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Xeon Gold | Intel Core i7 (Desktop) |
| Power efficiency | 10.47 | 5.84 |
| Architecture codename | Skylake (server) (2017−2018) | Skylake (2015−2016) |
| Release date | 11 July 2017 (7 years ago) | 5 August 2015 (9 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,555 | $339 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon Gold 5120 has 324% better value for money than i7-6700K.
Detailed specifications
Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K 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 | 14 (Tetradeca-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 28 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.2 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 22 | 40 |
| L1 cache | 896 KB | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 14 MB | 256 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 19.25 MB | 8 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | no data | 122 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 81 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 64 °C |
| Number of transistors | no data | 1750 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K 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 | 4 (Multiprocessor) | 1 (Uniprocessor) |
| Socket | FCLGA3647 | FCLGA1151 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 91 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| TSX | + | + |
| Idle States | no data | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | - | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | + | + |
| Secure Key | no data | + |
| MPX | - | + |
| Identity Protection | - | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® ME |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4-2400 | DDR3, DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 768 GB | 64 GB |
| Max memory channels | 6 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 115.212 GB/s | 34.134 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Intel HD Graphics 530 |
| Max video memory | no data | 64 GB |
| Quick Sync Video | - | + |
| Clear Video | no data | + |
| Clear Video HD | no data | + |
| Graphics max frequency | no data | 1.15 GHz |
| InTru 3D | no data | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | no data | 3 |
| eDP | no data | + |
| DisplayPort | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
| DVI | no data | + |
Graphics image quality
Maximum display resolutions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.
| 4K resolution support | no data | + |
| Max resolution over HDMI 1.4 | no data | 4096x2304@24Hz |
| Max resolution over eDP | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over DisplayPort | no data | 4096x2304@60Hz |
| Max resolution over VGA | no data | N/A |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | 12 |
| OpenGL | no data | 4.5 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 48 | 16 |
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 | 11.62 | 5.62 |
| Recency | 11 July 2017 | 5 August 2015 |
| Physical cores | 14 | 4 |
| Threads | 28 | 8 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 91 Watt |
Xeon Gold 5120 has a 106.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and 250% more physical cores and 250% more threads.
i7-6700K, on the other hand, has 15.4% lower power consumption.
The Xeon Gold 5120 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-6700K in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon Gold 5120 is a server/workstation processor while Core i7-6700K is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-6700K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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