Ryzen 9 7950X vs Xeon Platinum 8256
Aggregate performance score
Ryzen 9 7950X outperforms Xeon Platinum 8256 by a whopping 274% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 699 | 61 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 4.95 | no data |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Xeon Platinum | no data |
| Architecture codename | Cascade Lake-SP (2019) | Raphael (Zen 4) (2022) |
| Release date | 2 April 2019 (5 years ago) | 26 September 2022 (1 year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $7,007 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 | 4 (Quad-Core) | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) |
| Threads | 8 | 32 |
| Base clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 4.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 5.7 GHz |
| Multiplier | 38 | no data |
| L1 cache | 256 KB | 1 MB |
| L2 cache | 4 MB | 16 MB |
| L3 cache | 16.5 MB (shared) | 64 MB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 0 nm |
| Die size | no data | CCD = 2x 70 sq. mm, I/O = 122 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 72 °C | 95 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 47 °C |
| Number of transistors | 8,000 million | 13140 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | Yes |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X 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 | 8 (Multiprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | 3647 | AM5 (LGA1718) |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 170 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | CCD = 5 nm, I/O = 6 nm, 0.650 - 1.475 V |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| TSX | + | no data |
| Precision Boost 2 | no data | + |
Security technologies
Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | no data | + |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 | DDR5-5200 |
| Maximum memory size | 1 TiB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 6 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 140.8 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | AMD Radeon Graphics (Ryzen 7000) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X.
| PCIe version | no data | 5.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 48 | 24 |
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 10.85 | 40.58 |
| Recency | 2 April 2019 | 26 September 2022 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 16 |
| Threads | 8 | 32 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 105 Watt | 170 Watt |
Xeon Platinum 8256 has 61.9% lower power consumption.
Ryzen 9 7950X, on the other hand, has a 274% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, and 300% more physical cores and 300% more threads.
The Ryzen 9 7950X is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon Platinum 8256 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon Platinum 8256 is a server/workstation processor while Ryzen 9 7950X is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Platinum 8256 and Ryzen 9 7950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
