Ryzen 9 5900X vs Xeon Gold 5120
Aggregated performance score
Ryzen 9 5900X outperforms Xeon Gold 5120 by a whopping 122% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 617 | 169 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 16.31 | 63.95 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Xeon Gold | AMD Ryzen 9 |
| Architecture codename | Skylake (server) (2017−2019) | Vermeer (Zen3) (2020) |
| Release date | 11 July 2017 (6 years ago) | 5 November 2020 (3 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,555 | $549 |
| Current price | $392 (0.3x MSRP) | $351 (0.6x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Ryzen 9 5900X has 292% better value for money than Xeon Gold 5120.
Detailed specifications
Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X 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) | 12 (Dodeca-Core) |
| Threads | 28 | 24 |
| Base clock speed | 2.2 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.2 GHz | 4.8 GHz |
| L1 cache | 896 KB | 64K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 14 MB | 512K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 19.25 MB | 64 MB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 7 nm |
| Die size | no data | 2x 80.7 + 125 (I/O) mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 81 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 95 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | Yes |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X 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 |
| Socket | FCLGA3647 | AM4 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 105 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X. 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 | 86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| Speed Shift | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| TSX | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | - | no data |
| Status | Discontinued | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | no data | + |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-3200 |
| Maximum memory size | 768 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 6 | 2 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 115.212 GB/s | 51.196 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 48 | 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.
Ryzen 9 5900X outperforms Xeon Gold 5120 by 122% based on our aggregated benchmark results.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
Ryzen 9 5900X outperforms Xeon Gold 5120 by 122% in Passmark.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 11.43 | 25.34 |
| Recency | 11 July 2017 | 5 November 2020 |
| Physical cores | 14 | 12 |
| Threads | 28 | 24 |
| Cost | $1555 | $549 |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 7 nm |
The Ryzen 9 5900X is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon Gold 5120 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon Gold 5120 is a server/workstation processor while Ryzen 9 5900X is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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