i9-7900X vs Xeon Gold 6138
Aggregate performance score
Xeon Gold 6138 outperforms Core i9-7900X by a moderate 15% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 454 | 560 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 4.59 | 2.90 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Xeon Gold | Core i9 (Desktop) |
| Power efficiency | 11.57 | 8.96 |
| Architecture codename | Skylake (server) (2017−2018) | Skylake (server) (2017−2018) |
| Release date | 25 April 2017 (7 years ago) | 26 June 2017 (7 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $2,612 | $999 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon Gold 6138 has 58% better value for money than i9-7900X.
Detailed specifications
Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X 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 | 20 (Icosa-Core) | 10 (Deca-Core) |
| Threads | 40 | 20 |
| Base clock speed | 2 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.7 GHz | 4.5 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 3.0 | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | 4 × 8 GT/s | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 20 | 33 |
| L1 cache | 1.25 MB | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 20 MB | 1 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 27.5 MB | 14 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Maximum core temperature | 86 °C | 95 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 72 °C |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | + | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X 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 | Socket R4 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 125 Watt | 140 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX-512 | Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Speed Shift | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | + |
| TSX | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | - | + |
Security technologies
Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| VT-d | + | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4-2666 | DDR4 |
| Maximum memory size | 768 GB | 128 GB |
| Max memory channels | 6 | 4 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 128.001 GB/s | 85.33 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 48 | 44 |
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.
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.
GeekBench 5 Single-Core
GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 15.28 | 13.25 |
| Recency | 25 April 2017 | 26 June 2017 |
| Physical cores | 20 | 10 |
| Threads | 40 | 20 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 125 Watt | 140 Watt |
Xeon Gold 6138 has a 15.3% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and 12% lower power consumption.
i9-7900X, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 months.
The Xeon Gold 6138 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i9-7900X in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon Gold 6138 is a server/workstation processor while Core i9-7900X is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 6138 and Core i9-7900X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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