Xeon Platinum 8160 vs Platinum 8256

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	670	293
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.22	9.89
Market segment	Server	Server
Series	Intel Xeon Platinum	Intel Xeon Platinum
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake-SP (2019)	Skylake (server) (2017−2019)
Release date	11 December 2018 (5 years ago)	25 April 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$7,007	$4,702
Current price	$12925 (1.8x MSRP)	$900 (0.2x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Platinum 8160 has 4395% better value for money than Xeon Platinum 8256.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160 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)	24 (Tetracosa-Core)
Threads	8	48
Base clock speed	3.8 GHz	2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.9 GHz	3.7 GHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	1.5 MB
L2 cache	1 MB (per core)	24 MB
L3 cache	16.5 MB (shared)	33 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Maximum core temperature	72 °C	85 °C
Number of transistors	8,000 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160 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)	8 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA3647	FCLGA3647
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	150 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160. 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	Discontinued

Security technologies

Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2933	DDR4-2666
Maximum memory size	1 TB	768 GB
Max memory channels	6	6
Maximum memory bandwidth	140.8 GB/s	128.001 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	48	48

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.

Platinum 8160 outperforms Platinum 8256 by 72% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	10.85	18.64
Recency	11 December 2018	25 April 2017
Physical cores	4	24
Threads	8	48
Cost	$7007	$4702
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	150 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Platinum 8256 and Xeon Platinum 8160, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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