i7-8700 vs Xeon Gold 5120

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	684	927
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.06	5.49
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Xeon Gold	Intel Core i7
Power efficiency	10.27	11.76
Architecture codename	Skylake (server) (2017−2018)	Coffee Lake-S (2017−2018)
Release date	11 July 2017 (7 years ago)	1 January 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,555	$303

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-8700 has 8% better value for money than Xeon Gold 5120.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 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	14 (Tetradeca-Core)	6 (Hexa-Core)
Threads	28	12
Base clock speed	2.2 GHz	3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	4.6 GHz
Bus type	no data	DMI 3.0
Bus rate	no data	4 × 8 GT/s
Multiplier	22	32
L1 cache	896 KB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	14 MB	256K (per core)
L3 cache	19.25 MB	12288 KB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Die size	no data	149 mm2
Maximum core temperature	81 °C	100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 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	4 (Multiprocessor)	1 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	FCLGA3647	FCLGA1151
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Idle States	no data	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
SIPP	-	+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	no data	+
MPX	-	+
Identity Protection	-	+
SGX	no data	Yes with Intel® ME
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 are enumerated here.

AMD-V	-	+
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR3, DDR4
Maximum memory size	768 GB	128 GB
Max memory channels	6	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	115.212 GB/s	41.6 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	no data	Intel UHD Graphics 630
Max video memory	no data	64 GB
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Clear Video	no data	+
Clear Video HD	no data	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.2 GHz
InTru 3D	no data	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported

no data

3

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	no data	+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	no data	4096 x 2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDP	no data	4096 x 2304@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort	no data	4096 x 2304@60Hz

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700 integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	no data	12
OpenGL	no data	4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	48	16

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	11.40	8.08
Recency	11 July 2017	1 January 2018
Physical cores	14	6
Threads	28	12
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5120 and Core i7-8700, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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