i7-950 vs Xeon E5-2670

Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5-2670
2012
8 cores / 16 threads, 115 Watt
5.64
+178%
Core i7-950
2009
4 cores / 8 threads, 130 Watt
2.03

Xeon E5-2670 outperforms Core i7-950 by a whopping 178% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking11361911
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation8.640.13
Market segmentServerDesktop processor
Seriesno dataCore i7 (Desktop)
Power efficiency4.641.48
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-EP (2012)Bloomfield (2008−2010)
Release date6 March 2012 (12 years ago)2 June 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$145$290

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E5-2670 has 6546% better value for money than i7-950.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950 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 cores8 (Octa-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads168
Base clock speed2.6 GHz3.06 GHz
Boost clock speed3.3 GHz3.33 GHz
Bus rate8 GT/s1333 MHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache20480 KB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die size435 mm2263 mm2
Maximum core temperature80 °C68 °C
Number of transistors2,270 million731 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950 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 configuration21
SocketFCLGA2011FCLGA1366
Power consumption (TDP)115 Watt130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXIntel® SSE4.2
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.01.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access-no data
Demand Based Switching+-
PAEno data36 Bit

Security technologies

Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size384 GB24 GB
Max memory channels43
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/s25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataN/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950.

PCIe version3.02.0
PCI Express lanes40no 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.

Xeon E5-2670 5.64
+178%
i7-950 2.03

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.

Xeon E5-2670 8966
+179%
i7-950 3217

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Xeon E5-2670 509
+8.8%
i7-950 468

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Xeon E5-2670 3038
+95.1%
i7-950 1557

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.64 2.03
Recency 6 March 2012 2 June 2009
Physical cores 8 4
Threads 16 8
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 115 Watt 130 Watt

Xeon E5-2670 has a 177.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, a 40.6% more advanced lithography process, and 13% lower power consumption.

The Xeon E5-2670 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i7-950 in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E5-2670 is a server/workstation processor while Core i7-950 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-2670 and Core i7-950, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5-2670
Xeon E5-2670
Intel Core i7-950
Core i7-950

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Community ratings

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


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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon E5-2670 or Core i7-950, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.