Intel Xeon Gold 5218 vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Xeon Gold 5218 CPU1 vs CPU2 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X

CPU comparison

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 or AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X - which processor is faster? In this comparison we look at the differences and analyze which of these two CPUs is better. We compare the technical data and benchmark results.

The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 has 16 cores with 32 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 3.90 GHz. Up to 1024 GB of memory is supported in 6 memory channels. The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 was released in Q2/2019.

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X has 32 cores with 64 threads and clocks with a maximum frequency of 4.50 GHz. The CPU supports up to 2048 GB of memory in 4 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X was released in Q4/2019.
Intel Xeon Gold (148) Family AMD Ryzen Threadripper (13)
Intel Xeon Gold 5200/6200 (55) CPU group AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 (3)
2 Generation 3
Cascade Lake Architecture Castle Peak (Zen 2)
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 is a 16 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.30 GHz (3.90 GHz). The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X has 32 CPU cores with a clock frequency of 3.70 GHz (4.50 GHz).

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Characteristic AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
16 Cores 32
32 Threads 64
normal Core architecture normal
Yes Hyperthreading Yes
No Overclocking ? Yes
2.30 GHz Frequency 3.70 GHz
3.90 GHz Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 4.50 GHz
2.70 GHz Turbo Frequency (All Cores) 3.80 GHz

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Characteristic AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

The integrated graphics unit of a processor is not only responsible for the pure image output on the system, but can also significantly increase the efficiency of the system with the support of modern video codecs.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
GPU frequency --
-- GPU (Turbo) --
-- GPU Generation --
Technology
Max. displays
-- Compute units --
-- Shader --
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory --
-- DirectX Version --

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

no iGPU GPU no iGPU
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 No
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC No
No Codec VC-1 No
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 supports a maximum of 1024 GB of memory in 6 memory channels. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X can connect up to 2048 GB of memory in 4 memory channels.

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Characteristic AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
DDR4-2666 Memory DDR4-3200
1024 GB Max. Memory 2048 GB
6 (Hexa Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
128.1 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 51.2 GB/s
Yes ECC Yes
-- L2 Cache 16.00 MB
22.00 MB L3 Cache 128.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 4.0
48 PCIe lanes 64
47.3 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 126.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The TDP (Thermal Design Power) of a processor specifies the required cooling solution. The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 has a TDP of 125 W, that of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is 280 W.

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Characteristic AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
125 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 280 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. 95 °C

Technical details

The Intel Xeon Gold 5218 has a 22.00 MB cache, while the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X cache has a total of 144.00 MB.

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Characteristic AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
14 nm Technology 7 nm
Monolithic Chip design Chiplet
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512 ISA extensions SSE4a, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, FMA3
LGA 3647 Socket TRX4 (sTRX4)
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization AMD-V, SVM
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux
Q2/2019 Release date Q4/2019
1275 $ Release price 1969 $
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 3 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 3.90 GHz
1041 (82%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 4.50 GHz
1274 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
12543 (55%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
22727 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 3.90 GHz
1308 (76%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 4.50 GHz
1724 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
8856 (61%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
14637 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
22369 (35%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
63440 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 4.50 GHz
1324 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
44502 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 4.50 GHz
509 (100%)

Cinebench R20 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R20 is the successor of Cinebench R15 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
17105 (100%)

Blender 3.1 Benchmark

In the Blender Benchmark 3.1, the scenes "monster", "junkshop" and "classroom" are rendered and the time required by the system is measured. In our benchmark we test the CPU and not the graphics card. Blender 3.1 was presented as a standalone version in March 2022.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
710 (100%)

Blender 2.81 (bmw27)

Blender is a free 3D graphics software for rendering (creating) 3D bodies, which can also be textured and animated in the software. The Blender benchmark creates predefined scenes and measures the time (s) required for the entire scene. The shorter the time required, the better. We selected bmw27 as the benchmark scene.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
44.5 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.30 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.70 GHz
21066 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 3.90 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 4.50 GHz
209 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Intel Xeon Gold 5218
16C 32T @ 2.70 GHz
0 (0%)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
32C 64T @ 3.80 GHz
7398 (100%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Xeon Gold 5218 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Unknown Unknown

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