Xeon E5-2680 v4 vs i9-7960X

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	326	691
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	3.02	3.02
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Series	Intel Core i9	Intel Xeon (Desktop)
Power efficiency	10.44	8.80
Architecture codename	Skylake (server) (2017−2019)	Broadwell-EP (2016)
Release date	30 May 2017 (7 years ago)	20 June 2016 (8 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,699	$1,745

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4 have a nearly equal value for money.

Detailed specifications

Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4 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	16 (Hexadeca-Core)	14 (Tetradeca-Core)
Threads	32	28
Base clock speed	2.8 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	4.4 GHz	3.3 GHz
Bus type	DMI 3.0	QPI
Bus rate	4 × 8 GT/s	2 × 9.6 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	24
L1 cache	1 MB	448 KB
L2 cache	16 MB	3.5 MB
L3 cache	22 MB (shared)	35 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Die size	484 mm2	306.18 mm2
Maximum core temperature	98 °C	86 °C
Number of transistors	no data	4700 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	-
Unlocked multiplier	+	-

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4 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 (Uniprocessor)	2 (Multiprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA2066	FCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	120 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512	Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Idle States	no data	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Flex Memory Access	no data	-
Demand Based Switching	no data	+
PAE	no data	46 Bit
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4 are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	no data	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2666	DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133, DDR4-2400
Maximum memory size	128 GB	1.5 TB
Max memory channels	4	4
Maximum memory bandwidth	85.33 GB/s	76.8 GB/s
ECC memory support	-	+

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 i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	44	40

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	18.90	11.58
Recency	30 May 2017	20 June 2016
Physical cores	16	14
Threads	32	28
Power consumption (TDP)	165 Watt	120 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-7960X and Xeon E5-2680 v4, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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