Xeon Platinum 8160 vs Gold 5218
Aggregate performance score
Platinum 8160 outperforms Gold 5218 by a substantial 31% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 478 | 290 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 10.23 | 7.16 |
| Market segment | Server | Server |
| Series | Intel Xeon Gold | Intel Xeon Platinum |
| Architecture codename | Cascade Lake (2019−2020) | Skylake (server) (2017−2019) |
| Release date | 2 April 2019 (5 years ago) | 25 April 2017 (7 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1,273 | $4,702 |
| Current price | $1412 (1.1x MSRP) | $1842 (0.4x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon Gold 5218 has 43% better value for money than Xeon Platinum 8160.
Detailed specifications
Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160 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 | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 24 (Tetracosa-Core) |
| Threads | 32 | 48 |
| Base clock speed | 2.3 GHz | 2.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.9 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
| Bus support | 4 × 8 GT/s | no data |
| L1 cache | 1 MB | 1.5 MB |
| L2 cache | 16 MB | 24 MB |
| L3 cache | 22 MB | 33 MB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Maximum core temperature | 87 °C | 85 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | No |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160 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) | 8 (Multiprocessor) |
| Socket | FCLGA3647 | FCLGA3647 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 125 Watt | 150 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160. 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® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| TSX | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | - | - |
| Status | Launched | Discontinued |
Security technologies
Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | + |
| EDB | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4-2667 | DDR4-2666 |
| Maximum memory size | 1 TB | 768 GB |
| Max memory channels | 6 | 6 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 128.001 GB/s | 128.001 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 48 | 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.
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.
Platinum 8160 outperforms Gold 5218 by 31% based on our aggregate 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%
Platinum 8160 outperforms Gold 5218 by 31% in Passmark.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 14.21 | 18.64 |
| Recency | 2 April 2019 | 25 April 2017 |
| Physical cores | 16 | 24 |
| Threads | 32 | 48 |
| Cost | $1273 | $4702 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 125 Watt | 150 Watt |
The Xeon Platinum 8160 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon Gold 5218 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5218 and Xeon Platinum 8160, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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