Xeon X6550 vs i7-960

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1866	2321
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.14	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	no data
Power efficiency	1.54	0.89
Architecture codename	Bloomfield (2008−2010)	no data
Release date	20 October 2009 (15 years ago)	1 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$316	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550 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)	8 (Octa-Core)
Threads	8	16
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	2 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	2.4 GHz
Bus rate	1333 MHz	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	no data
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	18 MB L3 Cache
Chip lithography	45 nm	45 nm
Die size	263 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	68 °C	69 °C
Number of transistors	731 million	no data
64 bit support	+	-
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550 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	1	no data
Socket	FCLGA1366	FCLGA1567
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
Idle States	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	no data
PAE	36 Bit	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550 are enumerated here.

VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	no data
Maximum memory size	24 GB	no data
Max memory channels	3	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

N/A

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550.

PCIe version

2.0

no data

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	2.15	1.24
Recency	20 October 2009	1 January 2010
Physical cores	4	8
Threads	8	16

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-960 and Xeon X6550, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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