Xeon Gold 6538Y vs Gold 5420

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	not rated	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Server	Server
Release date	1 January 2023 (1 year ago)	1 October 2023 (1 year ago)

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y 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	28 (Octacosa-Core)	32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads	56	64
Base clock speed	2 GHz	2.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.1 GHz	4 GHz
L3 cache	52.5 MB	60 MB
Chip lithography	Intel 7 nm	Intel 7 nm
Maximum core temperature	84 °C	79 °C
64 bit support	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y 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.

Socket	FCLGA4677	FCLGA4677
Power consumption (TDP)	205 Watt	225 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512	Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI	+	+
Speed Shift	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Deep Learning Boost	+	+

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
SGX	Yes with Intel® SPS	Yes with Intel® SPS
OS Guard	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR5-4400	DDR5-5200
Maximum memory size	4 TB	4 TB
Max memory channels	8	8
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y.

PCIe version	5	5.0
PCI Express lanes	80	80

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	1 January 2023	1 October 2023
Physical cores	28	32
Threads	56	64
Power consumption (TDP)	205 Watt	225 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5420 and Xeon Gold 6538Y, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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