Ryzen 9 5950X vs Xeon E5-1660 v3

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	954	158
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	27.84
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	no data	AMD Ryzen 9
Power efficiency	5.29	25.74
Architecture codename	Haswell-EP (2014−2015)	Vermeer (Zen 3) (2020−2022)
Release date	8 September 2014 (10 years ago)	5 November 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$799

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X 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)
Threads	16	32
Base clock speed	3 GHz	3.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.5 GHz	4.9 GHz
Bus rate	0 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	no data	34
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	512K (per core)
L3 cache	20 MB (shared)	64 MB
Chip lithography	22 nm	7 nm, 12 nm
Die size	356 mm2	CPU cores: 2x 80.7 sq. mm., I/O: 125 mm2
Maximum core temperature	66 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	95 °C
Number of transistors	2,600 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+
Unlocked multiplier	+	+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X 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	1
Socket	FCLGA2011	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	105 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX2	MMX (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Flex Memory Access	-	no data
Demand Based Switching	+	no data
PAE	46 Bit	no data
Precision Boost 2	no data	+

Security technologies

Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data
Secure Key	+	no data
Identity Protection	+	-
OS Guard	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-1333, DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866, DDR4-2133	DDR4
Maximum memory size	768 GB	128 GB
Max memory channels	4	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	68 GB/s	51.196 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X.

PCIe version	3.0	4.0
PCI Express lanes	40	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.

---

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.

---

Pros & cons summary

---

Performance score	7.86	28.71
Recency	8 September 2014	5 November 2020
Physical cores	8	16
Threads	16	32
Chip lithography	22 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	105 Watt

---

Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-1660 v3 and Ryzen 9 5950X, 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.

---