Xeon Gold 6346 vs Gold 6256

Primary Details

Comparing Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	123	181
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation	13.23	14.87
Market segment	Server	Server
Architecture codename	no data	Ice Lake-SP (2021)
Release date	1 January 2020 (4 years ago)	6 April 2021 (3 years ago)
Current price	$3724	$2861

Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Gold 6346 has 12% better value for money than Xeon Gold 6256.

Detailed Specifications

Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346 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	12 (Dodeca-Core)	16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads	24	32
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	3.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.5 GHz	3.6 GHz
L1 cache	no data	64K (per core)
L2 cache	no data	1 MB (per core)
L3 cache	33 MB	36 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	10 nm
Maximum core temperature	64 °C	78 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	78 °C
64 bit support	-	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346 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	no data	2
Socket	FCLGA3647	FCLGA4189
Power consumption (TDP)	205 Watt	205 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346. 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	no data	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data
Status	Launched	Launched

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
SGX	no data	Yes with Intel® SPS

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2933	DDR4-3200
Maximum memory size	1 TB	6 TB
Max memory channels	6	8
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346.

PCIe version	3.0	4.0
PCI Express lanes	48	64

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 6256 outperforms Gold 6346 by 24% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Pros & Cons Summary

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Performance score	30.24	24.39
Recency	1 January 2020	6 April 2021
Physical cores	12	16
Threads	24	32
Chip lithography	14 nm	10 nm

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 6256 and Xeon Gold 6346, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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