Xeon Gold 6538N vs E5-2696 v4

VS

Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5-2696 v4
2016
22 cores / 44 threads, 150 Watt
15.65
Xeon Gold 6538N
2023
32 cores / 64 threads, 205 Watt
28.26
+80.6%

Xeon Gold 6538N outperforms Xeon E5-2696 v4 by an impressive 81% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking439165
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data21.85
Market segmentServerServer
SeriesIntel Xeon E5no data
Power efficiency9.8713.05
Architecture codenameBroadwell (2015−2019)Emerald Rapids (2023)
Release date20 June 2016 (8 years ago)14 December 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$3,351

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N 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 cores22 (Docosa-Core)32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads4464
Base clock speed2.2 GHz2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed3.6 GHz4.1 GHz
Bus typeQPIno data
Bus rate2 × 9.6 GT/sno data
Multiplier22no data
L1 cacheno data80 KB (per core)
L2 cache5.5 MB2 MB (per core)
L3 cache55 MB60 MB (shared)
Chip lithography14 nmIntel 7 nm
Die size456.12 mm22x 763 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data85 °C
Number of transistors7200 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility-no data

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N 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 configuration2 (Multiprocessor)2
Socketno dataFCLGA4677
Power consumption (TDP)150 Watt205 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI++
AVX++
vPro++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Speed Shiftno data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
TSX++
Deep Learning Boost-+

Security technologies

Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDBno data+
SGXno dataYes with Intel® SPS
OS Guardno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N are enumerated here.

VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR5-5200
Maximum memory size1,536 GB4 TB
Max memory channelsno data8
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 E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N.

PCIe version3.05.0
PCI Express lanes4080

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 E5-2696 v4 15.65
Xeon Gold 6538N 28.26
+80.6%

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 E5-2696 v4 24862
Xeon Gold 6538N 44895
+80.6%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 15.65 28.26
Recency 20 June 2016 14 December 2023
Physical cores 22 32
Threads 44 64
Power consumption (TDP) 150 Watt 205 Watt

Xeon E5-2696 v4 has 36.7% lower power consumption.

Xeon Gold 6538N, on the other hand, has a 80.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, and 45.5% more physical cores and 45.5% more threads.

The Xeon Gold 6538N is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E5-2696 v4 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-2696 v4 and Xeon Gold 6538N, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4
Xeon E5-2696 v4
Intel Xeon Gold 6538N
Xeon Gold 6538N

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