Ryzen 9 5900X vs Xeon Gold 5120

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	676	206
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.04	32.25
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Xeon Gold	AMD Ryzen 9
Power efficiency	10.47	22.18
Architecture codename	Skylake (server) (2017−2018)	Vermeer (Zen3) (2020−2022)
Release date	11 July 2017 (7 years ago)	5 November 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,555	$549

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 9 5900X has 540% better value for money than Xeon Gold 5120.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X 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)	12 (Dodeca-Core)
Threads	28	24
Base clock speed	2.2 GHz	3.7 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.2 GHz	4.8 GHz
Multiplier	22	37
L1 cache	896 KB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	14 MB	512K (per core)
L3 cache	19.25 MB	64 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm, 12 nm
Die size	no data	2x 74 mm2(CCD) + 125 mm2 (IOD)
Maximum core temperature	81 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	95 °C
Number of transistors	no data	0 Million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X 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
Socket	FCLGA3647	AM4
Power consumption (TDP)	105 Watt	105 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X. 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	86x MMX(+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A,-64, AMD-V, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA, Precision Boost 2
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Speed Shift	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
TSX	+	-
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data
Precision Boost 2	no data	+

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X 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 Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X 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 Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR4-3200
Maximum memory size	768 GB	128 GB
Max memory channels	6	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	115.212 GB/s	51.196 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X.

PCIe version	3.0	4.0
PCI Express lanes	48	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.

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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	11.62	24.61
Recency	11 July 2017	5 November 2020
Physical cores	14	12
Threads	28	24
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5120 and Ryzen 9 5900X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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