i7-990X Extreme Edition vs Xeon E5520

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2106	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	2.58	no data
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	no data	Intel Core i7EE
Power efficiency	1.87	no data
Architecture codename	Gainestown (2009−2010)	Westmere (2010−2011)
Release date	30 March 2009 (15 years ago)	13 February 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$19	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition 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	4 (Quad-Core)	6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads	8	12
Base clock speed	2.26 GHz	no data
Boost clock speed	2.53 GHz	3.46 GHz
Bus type	no data	QPI
Bus rate	no data	6.4 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	26
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	1.5 MB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	12 MB
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Die size	263 mm2	239 mm2
Maximum core temperature	72 °C	no data
Number of transistors	731 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition 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	2	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA1366	no data
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

AES-NI	-	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	+	no data
PAE	40 Bit	no data

Security technologies

Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	no data
EDB	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	no data
Maximum memory size	144 GB	24 GB
Max memory channels	3	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data
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 Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition.

PCIe version

2.0

no data

Pros & cons summary

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Recency	30 March 2009	13 February 2011
Physical cores	4	6
Threads	8	12
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	130 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5520 and Core i7-990X Extreme Edition, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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