Intel Xeon Gold 6246 vs Gold 6242

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Combined performance score

Xeon Gold 6242
17.12
+5.9%

Gold 6242 outperforms Gold 6246 by 6% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking323364
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Value for money7.677.60
Market segmentServerServer
SeriesIntel Xeon GoldIntel Xeon Gold
Architecture codenameCascade Lake (2019−2020)Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
Release date2 April 2019 (4 years old)2 April 2019 (4 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$2,529$3,286
Current price$2427 (1x MSRP)$2260 (0.7x MSRP)
Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Gold 6242 has 1% better value for money than Xeon Gold 6246.

Technical specs

Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246 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 cores16 (Hexadeca-Core)12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads3224
Base clock speed2.8 GHz3.3 GHz
Boost clock speed3.9 GHz4.2 GHz
Bus support4 × 8 GT/s4 × 8 GT/s
L1 cache1 MB768 KB
L2 cache16 MB12 MB
L3 cache22 MB24.75 MB
Chip lithography14 nm14 nm
Maximum core temperature85 °C76 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility++
Unlocked multiplierNoNo

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246 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 configuration4 (Multiprocessor)4 (Multiprocessor)
SocketFCLGA3647FCLGA3647
Power consumption (TDP)150 Watt165 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shift++
Turbo Boost Technology2.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX++
Turbo Boost Max 3.0--
StatusLaunchedLaunched

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4-2933DDR4-2933
Maximum memory size1 TB1 TB
Max memory channels66
Maximum memory bandwidth140.8 GB/s140.8 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanes4848

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.

Xeon Gold 6242 17.12
+5.9%
Xeon Gold 6246 16.17

Gold 6242 outperforms Gold 6246 by 6% in our combined 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%

Xeon Gold 6242 26288
+5.9%
Xeon Gold 6246 24829

Gold 6242 outperforms Gold 6246 by 6% in Passmark.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 17.12 16.17
Physical cores 16 12
Threads 32 24
Cost $2529 $3286
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 165 Watt

We couldn't decide between Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246. The differences in performance seem too small.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Gold 6246, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Xeon Gold 6242
Xeon Gold 6242
Intel Xeon Gold 6246
Xeon Gold 6246

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We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

User ratings: view and submit

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


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Questions and comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon Gold 6242 or Xeon Gold 6246, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.