Xeon Platinum 8280L vs Gold 6242

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	337	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.63	no data
Market segment	Server	Server
Series	Intel Xeon Gold	Intel Xeon Platinum
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
Release date	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$2,529	$17,906
Current price	$3314 (1.3x MSRP)	$4985 (0.3x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L 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)	28 (Octacosa-Core)
Threads	32	56
Base clock speed	2.8 GHz	2.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.9 GHz	4 GHz
Bus support	4 × 8 GT/s	no data
L1 cache	1 MB	1.75 MB
L2 cache	16 MB	28 MB
L3 cache	22 MB	38.5 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Maximum core temperature	85 °C	84 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L 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)	150 Watt	205 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L. 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	Launched

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L 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 Platinum 8280L 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 Platinum 8280L. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2933
Maximum memory size	1 TB	4.5 TB
Max memory channels	6	6
Maximum memory bandwidth	140.8 GB/s	140.8 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	48	48

Pros & cons summary

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Physical cores	16	28
Threads	32	56
Cost	$2529	$17906
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	205 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 6242 and Xeon Platinum 8280L, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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