i9-12900 vs Xeon Silver 4208

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1004	251
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	17.98	35.12
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Xeon Silver	no data
Power efficiency	7.86	31.35
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)	Alder Lake-S (2022)
Release date	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)	4 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$417	$489

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i9-12900 has 95% better value for money than Xeon Silver 4208.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 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	8 (Octa-Core)	16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Performance-cores	no data	8
Efficient-cores	no data	8
Threads	16	24
Base clock speed	2.1 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	5.1 GHz
Multiplier	21	no data
L1 cache	512 KB	80K (per core)
L2 cache	8 MB	1.25 MB (per core)
L3 cache	11 MB	30 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	14 nm	Intel 7 nm
Die size	no data	215 mm2
Maximum core temperature	78 °C	100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 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	2 (Multiprocessor)	1
Socket	FCLGA3647	FCLGA1700
Power consumption (TDP)	85 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900. 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® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Idle States	no data	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
SIPP	-	+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	+
Deep Learning Boost	+	+

Security technologies

Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	no data	+
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR4, DDR5
Maximum memory size	1 TB	128 GB
Max memory channels	6	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	115.212 GB/s	76.8 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	+

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	no data	Intel UHD Graphics 770
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Clear Video HD	no data	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.55 GHz
Execution Units	no data	32

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	no data	4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Max resolution over eDP	no data	5120 x 3200 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort	no data	7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	no data	12
OpenGL	no data	4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900.

PCIe version	3.0	5.0 and 4.0
PCI Express lanes	48	20

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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	7.06	21.53
Recency	2 April 2019	4 January 2022
Physical cores	8	16
Threads	16	24
Power consumption (TDP)	85 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Silver 4208 and Core i9-12900, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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