Xeon Gold 6421N vs Gold 5220

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	455	90
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	14.09	44.73
Market segment	Server	Server
Series	Intel Xeon Gold	no data
Power efficiency	11.52	18.94
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)	Sapphire Rapids (2023−2024)
Release date	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)	10 January 2023 (1 year ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,555	$2,368

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon Gold 6421N has 217% better value for money than Xeon Gold 5220.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N 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	18 (Octadeca-Core)	32 (Dotriaconta-Core)
Threads	36	64
Base clock speed	2.2 GHz	1.8 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.9 GHz	3.6 GHz
Bus type	DMI 3.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 8 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	22	no data
L1 cache	1.125 MB	80K (per core)
L2 cache	18 MB	2 MB (per core)
L3 cache	24.75 MB	60 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	Intel 7 nm
Maximum core temperature	87 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	85 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	no data

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N 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	FCLGA4677
Power consumption (TDP)	125 Watt	185 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N. 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® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
AES-NI	+	+
AVX	+	+
vPro	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
TSX	+	+
Turbo Boost Max 3.0	-	no data
Deep Learning Boost	+	+

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
SGX	no data	Yes with Intel® SPS
OS Guard	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2667	DDR5-4400
Maximum memory size	1 TB	4 TB
Max memory channels	6	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	128.001 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N.

PCIe version	3.0	5
PCI Express lanes	48	80

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.

---

Pros & cons summary

---

Performance score	15.21	37.02
Recency	2 April 2019	10 January 2023
Physical cores	18	32
Threads	36	64
Power consumption (TDP)	125 Watt	185 Watt

---

Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 5220 and Xeon Gold 6421N, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.

---