Intel Core i7-980X vs Intel Core i7-990X

Let's find out which one of Intel Core i7-980X and Intel Core i7-990X is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Intel Core i7-980X Intel Core i7-990X
• Family
  Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition
• CPU group
  Intel Core i7 900 Intel Core i7 900
• Segment
  Desktop / Server Desktop / Server
• Generation
  1 1

In this block we are going to compare Intel Core i7-980X vs Intel Core i7-990X by main technical specifications: number of cores and threads, base and maximum frequencies, process technology and cache size. The higher these specifications are, the more powerful your CPU will be.

• CPU Cores / Threads
  6 / 12 6 / 12
• Core architecture
  normal normal
• Cores
  6x 6x
• Hyperthreading / SMT
  Yes Yes
• Overclocking
  Yes Yes
• Frequency
  3.33 GHz 3.46 GHz
• Turbo Frequency (1 Core)
  3.60 GHz 3.73 GHz

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Intel Core i7-980X and Intel Core i7-990X along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  no iGPU no iGPU
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo No turbo

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Intel Core i7-980X and Intel Core i7-990X. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  No No
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No No
• h264
  No No
• VP8
  No No
• VP9
  No No
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  No No
• VC-1
  No No
• JPEG
  No No

To choose the best model between Intel Core i7-980X and Intel Core i7-990X you need to pay special attention to memory type, clock frequency, multi-channel features, and PCIe version. The higher these numbers are, the better your CPU will be. Keep in mind that the maximum memory and frequency may also depend on the model of the motherboard.

• Memory type
  DDR3-1066 DDR3-1066
• Max. Memory
  24 GB 24 GB
• Memory channels
  3 3
• Bandwidth
  25.6 GB/s 25.6 GB/s
• ECC
  No No
• AES-NI
  No No

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Intel Core i7-980X or Intel Core i7-990X? The Thermal Design Power (TDP) indicates the maximum amount of heat that should be dissipated by the chip cooling system. However, the value of TDP gives only a rough indication of the real power consumption of the CPU.

• TDP (PL1)
  130 W 130 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Intel Core i7-980X and Intel Core i7-990X CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

• Technology
  32 nm 32 nm
• Chip design
  Monolithic Monolithic
• Socket
  LGA 1366 LGA 1366
• L2-Cache
  1.50 MB 1.50 MB
• L3-Cache
  12.00 MB 12.00 MB
• Architecture
  Gulftown Gulftown
• Operating systems
  Windows 10, Linux Windows 10, Linux
• Virtualization
  VT-x, VT-x EPT VT-x, VT-x EPT
• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• ISA extensions
  SSE4.1, SSE4.2 SSE4.1, SSE4.2
• Release date
  Q1/2010 Q1/2011
• Release price
  1059 $ 1059 $
• Documents
  -- Technical data sheet