Ultra 5 125H vs i9-9980XE

VS

Aggregate performance score

Core i9-9980XE
2018
18 cores / 36 threads, 165 Watt
18.34
+30.8%
Core Ultra 5 125H
2023
14 cores / 18 threads, 28 Watt
14.02

Core i9-9980XE outperforms Core Ultra 5 125H by a substantial 31% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking329528
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation3.95no data
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesIntel Core i9Intel Meteor Lake-H
Power efficiency10.5247.39
Architecture codenameSkylake (server) (2017−2018)Meteor Lake-H (2023)
Release date19 October 2018 (6 years ago)14 December 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$1,979$375

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H 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 cores18 (Octadeca-Core)14 (Tetradeca-Core)
Threads3618
Base clock speed3 GHz3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed4.5 GHz4.5 GHz
Bus typeDMI 3.0no data
Bus rate4 × 8 GT/sno data
Multiplier30no data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)112 KB (per core)
L2 cache1 MB (per core)2 MB (per core)
L3 cache24.75 MB (shared)18 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nmIntel 4 nm
Die size484 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature84 °C110 °C
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility+no data
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1
SocketFCLGA2066FCBGA2049
Power consumption (TDP)165 Watt28 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology++
TSX++
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0+-
Deep Learning Boost-+
Supported AI Software Frameworks-OpenVINO™, WindowsML, ONNX RT

Security technologies

Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H are enumerated here.

AMD-V+-
VT-d++
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4DDR5
Maximum memory size128 GB96 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth85.33 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardN/AIntel® Arc™ graphics
Quick Sync Video-+
Graphics max frequencyno data2.2 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data4

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

Max resolution over HDMI 1.4no data4096 x 2304 @ 60Hz (HDMI 2.1 TMDS) 7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz (HDMI2.1 FRL)
Max resolution over eDPno data3840x2400 @ 120Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPortno data7680 x 4320 @ 60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno data12.2
OpenGLno data4.6

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H.

PCIe version3.05.0
PCI Express lanes4428
PCI supportno data5.0 and 4.0

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.

i9-9980XE 18.34
+30.8%
Ultra 5 125H 14.02

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.

i9-9980XE 29127
+30.8%
Ultra 5 125H 22266

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i9-9980XE 7323
Ultra 5 125H 9335
+27.5%

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i9-9980XE 58001
+12.7%
Ultra 5 125H 51478

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i9-9980XE 13495
Ultra 5 125H 13866
+2.7%

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i9-9980XE 2.74
+63.5%
Ultra 5 125H 4.48

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i9-9980XE 39
+44.7%
Ultra 5 125H 27

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i9-9980XE 3736
+81.9%
Ultra 5 125H 2054

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i9-9980XE 198
Ultra 5 125H 247
+24.8%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

i9-9980XE 2.22
Ultra 5 125H 2.94
+32.4%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i9-9980XE 18.1
+102%
Ultra 5 125H 9

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i9-9980XE 6879
+10.8%
Ultra 5 125H 6209

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i9-9980XE 156
+17.9%
Ultra 5 125H 132

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i9-9980XE 207
Ultra 5 125H 305
+47.8%

Geekbench 5.5 Multi-Core

i9-9980XE 15780
+49.7%
Ultra 5 125H 10542

Blender(-)

i9-9980XE 137
Ultra 5 125H 267
+95.2%

Geekbench 5.5 Single-Core

i9-9980XE 1200
Ultra 5 125H 1676
+39.7%

7-Zip Single

i9-9980XE 5110
+1.3%
Ultra 5 125H 5043

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 18.34 14.02
Recency 19 October 2018 14 December 2023
Physical cores 18 14
Threads 36 18
Power consumption (TDP) 165 Watt 28 Watt

i9-9980XE has a 30.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 28.6% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

Ultra 5 125H, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 5 years, and 489.3% lower power consumption.

The Core i9-9980XE is our recommended choice as it beats the Core Ultra 5 125H in performance tests.

Note that Core i9-9980XE is a desktop processor while Core Ultra 5 125H is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i9-9980XE and Core Ultra 5 125H, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core i9-9980XE
Core i9-9980XE
Intel Core Ultra 5 125H
Core Ultra 5 125H

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.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


2.6 102 votes

Rate Core i9-9980XE on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.7 377 votes

Rate Core Ultra 5 125H on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core i9-9980XE or Core Ultra 5 125H, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.