Intel Xeon Gold 6242R vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

Processor comparisons 17-03-2021

   If you can't decide which CPU to buy, you can make a decision by looking at the Intel Xeon Gold 6242R vs AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X tests and decide which is better for games or simple use for streaming, rendering, programming, machine learning, video editing. Here is all information from real streaming and video editing tests or several benchmarks. A careful review of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is made by the table.
   From the comparison video, you can get the results of joint testing in special test applications such as PCMark 10, UserBenchmark, MATLAB, Dolphin Emulator, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, VeraCrypt, Handbrake, AIDA64, Gears 5, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), PassMark, WPrime, 3DMark, Blender, Prime95, SuperPi, Furmark, RealBench, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blender, 7zip.
   Gaming performance of processors in:

Red Dead Redemption 2
Last Man Standing
DOOM: Eternal
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone
Grand Theft Auto V
Apex Legends
Fortnite
Valheim
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Valorant
Borderlands 3
Rainbow Six Siege
Watch Dogs Legion
Overwatch
Fallout 76
Death Stranding
Cyberpunk 2077
Halo Infinite
Assassin's Creed Valhalla

After looking at the data of all benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X or Intel Xeon Gold 6242R.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Xeon Gold 6242R

60%

Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

59%

The number of this parameter shows the performance of the processors in single-threaded and multi-threaded mode. In this comparison, Xeon Gold 6242R is 1% better than Ryzen Threadripper 2950X. The data source is several popular tests. More detailed information of the benchmarks is below.

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Xeon Gold 6242R

66%

Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

58%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor currently available. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a small game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the summary table below.
List of other games in which CPU comparisons were performed: Battlefield V, Ghostrunner, Half-Life: Alyx, NBA 2K20, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, Microsoft Flight Simulator, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Control, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, DOTA 2A, Monster Hunter World, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman 3, Forza Horizon 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, League of Legends (LOL).

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	117.7	103.3
Valorant	133.8	117.4
Cyberpunk 2077	74.9	65.7
Apex Legends	125.8	110.3
Call of Duty Warzone	100.4	88.0
Overwatch	108.4	95.1
Red Dead Redemption 2	92.3	81.0
DOOM Eternal	66.9	58.7
Warzone	104.4	91.6
Assassin's Creed	112.4	98.6
Valheim	111.1	97.4

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers participating in the comparisons not only were the equipped with different amounts of RAM and different video cards. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, FullHD or 4K. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you get acquainted with the benchmarks that are made with the same video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Xeon Gold 6242R

17%

Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

22%

To make a finishing choice on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. The newer the processor generation, the better its performance in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Ryzen Threadripper 2950X is more energy efficient than the Xeon Gold 6242R as it consumes less power: 205W vs. 180W. Power consumption is particularly important for laptops. And TDP should be taken into account when choosing a processor cooling system. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

Let's say you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for machine learning, video rendering or video editing, programming, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, the CPU uses all threads and cores that it has to the maximum to achieve maximum performance. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to check whether the software you are going to use on your computer supports multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode turns out to be unnecessary.

Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Xeon Gold 6242R	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X
Cinbench 15 Single-core	216	180
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	5946	3187
Cinbench 20 Single-core	497	449
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	14382	7003
Cinbench 23 Single-core	1269	1127
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	36754	21444

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Xeon Gold 6242R	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X
Single-Core	2419	2484
Multi-Core	34882	30571

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Xeon Gold 6242R	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X
Single-Core	1073	1222
Multi-Core	29161	14988

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most useful will be the the possibility of overclocking it and release date of the processor. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system in the future. The same can be said about overclocking. When the processor can be overclocked, thereby increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in the newest games. The economy are obvious! Accordingly, you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Xeon Gold 6242R	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X
Announcement date	October 01, 2020	August 31, 2018
Type	Server	Desktop
Socket	FCLGA3647	sTR4
Core name	Cascade Lake	Colfax
Architecture	x86	Zen+
Generation	2	2
Turbo Frequency	4.1 MHz	4.4 MHz
Frequency	3.1 MHz	3.5 MHz
Cores	20	16
Threads	40	32
Bus rate
Bit	64	64
Lithography	14 nm	12 nm
Transistors count	7510 millions	18800 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	205 W	180 W
Memory type	DDR4-2933	DDR4
Max. Memory	1 Gb
Memory Frequency		2933
Memory bandwidth
L1 cache		1.5MB
L2 cache		8MB
L3 cache	35.75 MB	32MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	Yes	No
Part number		YD295XA8UGAAF YD295XA8AFWOF

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Ryzen Threadripper 2950X is 11% better than Xeon Gold 6242R in terms of CPU frequency. Another difference is that Xeon Gold 6242R has 4 more core than Ryzen Threadripper 2950X. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Xeon Gold 6242R is better: 25
The number of parameters for which AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X is better: 10
All the data that you have looked at here do not mean that you should be guided entirely by them and trust a simple comparison of these numbers. Better to watch benchmarks video and read the opinion of of people who bought Intel Xeon Gold 6242R and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X before making a selection which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Xeon Gold 6242R specs and review.

• AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X specs and review.