Ryzen 9 5950X vs Xeon Gold 6242

Primary details

Comparing Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	400	159
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	9.68	27.80
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Xeon Gold	AMD Ryzen 9
Power efficiency	10.39	25.74
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)	Vermeer (Zen 3) (2020−2022)
Release date	2 April 2019 (5 years ago)	5 November 2020 (4 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$2,529	$799

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Ryzen 9 5950X has 187% better value for money than Xeon Gold 6242.

Detailed specifications

Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X 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	16 (Hexadeca-Core)	16 (Hexadeca-Core)
Threads	32	32
Base clock speed	2.8 GHz	3.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.9 GHz	4.9 GHz
Bus type	DMI 3.0	no data
Bus rate	4 × 8 GT/s	no data
Multiplier	28	34
L1 cache	1 MB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	16 MB	512K (per core)
L3 cache	22 MB	64 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm, 12 nm
Die size	no data	CPU cores: 2x 80.7 sq. mm., I/O: 125 mm2
Maximum core temperature	85 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	95 °C
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	+	+
Unlocked multiplier	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X 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)	150 Watt	105 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X. 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	MMX (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, SSE4A, AES, AVX, AVX2, FMA3, SHA
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	+
Deep Learning Boost	+	-

Security technologies

Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X 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 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X 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 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4-2933	DDR4
Maximum memory size	1 TB	128 GB
Max memory channels	6	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	140.8 GB/s	51.196 GB/s
ECC memory support	+	-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X.

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	16.55	28.71
Recency	2 April 2019	5 November 2020
Chip lithography	14 nm	7 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	105 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon Gold 6242 and Ryzen 9 5950X, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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