Xeon E5520 vs Gold 5120

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	639	1997
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	15.83	2.58
Market segment	Server	Server
Series	Intel Xeon Gold	no data
Architecture codename	Skylake (server) (2017−2019)	Gainestown (2009−2010)
Release date	11 July 2017 (6 years ago)	March 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,555	$19
Current price	$394 (0.3x MSRP)	$81 (4.3x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Gold 5120 has 514% better value for money than Xeon E5520.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520 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	2.26 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	2.53 GHz
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	45 nm
Die size	no data	263 mm2
Maximum core temperature	81 °C	72 °C
Number of transistors	no data	731 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520 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)	2
Socket	FCLGA3647	FCLGA1366
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	80 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520. 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	no data
AES-NI	+	no data
AVX	+	no data
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	no data
Idle States	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	no data	+
PAE	no data	40 Bit
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR3
Maximum memory size	768 GB	144 GB
Max memory channels	6	3
Maximum memory bandwidth	115.212 GB/s	25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520.

PCIe version	3.0	no data
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.

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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 5120 outperforms E5520 by 601% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	11.43	1.63
Physical cores	14	4
Threads	28	8
Cost	$1555	$19
Chip lithography	14 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	80 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5120 and Xeon E5520, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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