Core i7-12700KF vs Xeon Gold 6238R

Core i7-12700KF

12 Cores20 Thrd125 WWMax: 5 GHz2021

Xeon Gold 6238R

28 Cores56 Thrd165 WWMax: 4 GHz2020

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core i7-12700KF

12 / 20

34,056

0.0%

34,751

+2.0%

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core i7-12700KF

#71

Core i5-14490F

MSRP: $209|Avg: $190

107%

#72

Core i5-12600KF

MSRP: $264|Avg: $190

107%

#73

Core i5-13600KF

MSRP: $249|Avg: $258

107%

#74

Ryzen 5 5500GT

MSRP: $125|Avg: $130

106%

#75

Ryzen 7 1700

MSRP: $140|Avg: $185

77%

#75

Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G

MSRP: $309|Avg: $140

106%

#76

Ryzen 7 7700X

MSRP: $399|Avg: $249

105%

#77

Ryzen 9 5900XT

MSRP: $349|Avg: $311

104%

#78

Core i5-12500

MSRP: $212|Avg: $140

104%

#79

Core i5-14600K

MSRP: $329|Avg: $275

103%

#80

Ryzen 7 7700

MSRP: $329|Avg: $246

103%

#81

Core i5-13400F

MSRP: $196|Avg: $180

102%

#82

Core i3-12100T

MSRP: $125|Avg: $90

102%

#83

Core i7-11700F

MSRP: $298|Avg: $150

102%

#84

Core i3-10105F

MSRP: $97|Avg: $65

101%

#85

Core i5-9400T

MSRP: $182|Avg: $60

100%

#86

Core i7-12700KF

MSRP: $384|Avg: $250

100%

#87

Core i5-12490F

MSRP: $250|Avg: $150

100%

#88

Ryzen 5 5600GT

MSRP: $140|Avg: $150

99%

#89

Ryzen 5 PRO 5655G

MSRP: $146|Avg: $146

99%

#90

Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G

MSRP: $300|Avg: $180

99%

#91

Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G

MSRP: $209|Avg: $120

98%

#92

Ryzen 5 8600G

MSRP: $229|Avg: $190

98%

#93

Core i7-13700KF

MSRP: $384|Avg: $350

96%

#94

Ryzen 7 9700X

MSRP: $359|Avg: $285

96%

#95

Ryzen 9 7900

MSRP: $429|Avg: $370

96%

#96

Core Ultra 5 235T

MSRP: $247|Avg: $247

95%

#97

Ryzen 9 5950X

MSRP: $799|Avg: $350

95%

#98

Ryzen 9 7900X3D

MSRP: $599|Avg: $389

95%

#99

Core i5-14400F

MSRP: $196|Avg: $199

95%

#100

Core i5-14400

MSRP: $221|Avg: $197

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon Gold 6238R

#41

Xeon W-2195

MSRP: $150|Avg: $5

128%

#50

Xeon Gold 6238R

MSRP: $2612|Avg: N/A

100%

#54

EPYC 4465P

MSRP: $399|Avg: $399

86%

#55

Ryzen 5 PRO 7645

MSRP: $229|Avg: $192

82%

#56

Xeon E5-4667 v3

MSRP: $128|Avg: $128

82%

#59

Ryzen 9 PRO 7945

MSRP: $409|Avg: $450

78%

#60

Xeon Platinum 8571N

MSRP: $599|Avg: $418

78%

#61

Xeon Platinum 8270

MSRP: $7405|Avg: N/A

78%

#62

EPYC 4464P

MSRP: $429|Avg: $450

75%

#63

EPYC 4345P

MSRP: $329|Avg: $329

75%

#64

EPYC 4344P

MSRP: $329|Avg: $314

74%

#65

EPYC 4364P

MSRP: $399|Avg: $334

70%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($2,612) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon Gold 6238R is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Core i7-12700KF	Xeon Gold 6238R
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	✅ More affordable ($250)	⚠️ Higher cost ($2,612)
Longevity	✨ Modern (Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021) / Intel 7 nm)	✨ Modern (Cascade Lake (2019−2020) / 14 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core i7-12700KF ($250), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($2,362 less, 90% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Core i7-12700KF	Xeon Gold 6238R
Cost Efficiency	✅ Better overall value (+924%)	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	✅ More affordable ($250)	⚠️ Higher cost ($2,612)

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core i7-12700KF Benchmark Check

Xeon Gold 6238R Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core i7-12700KF and Xeon Gold 6238R

Core i7-12700KF

The Core i7-12700KF is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 4 November 2021 (4 years ago). It is based on the Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021) architecture. It features 12 cores and 20 threads. Base frequency is 3.6 GHz, with boost up to 5 GHz. L3 cache: 25 MB (total). L2 cache: 1.25 MB (per core). Built on Intel 7 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1700. Thermal design power (TDP): 125 Watt. Memory support: DDR5-4800, DDR4-3200. Passmark benchmark score: 34,056 points. Launch price was $384.

Xeon Gold 6238R

The Xeon Gold 6238R is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 24 February 2020 (5 years ago). It is based on the Cascade Lake (2019−2020) architecture. It features 28 cores and 56 threads. Base frequency is 2.2 GHz, with boost up to 4 GHz. L3 cache: 38.5 MB. L2 cache: 28 MB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: LGA3647. Thermal design power (TDP): 165 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2933. Passmark benchmark score: 34,751 points. Launch price was $2,612.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core i7-12700KF packs 12 cores / 20 threads, while the Xeon Gold 6238R offers 28 cores / 56 threads — the Xeon Gold 6238R has 16 more cores. Boost clocks reach 5 GHz on the Core i7-12700KF versus 4 GHz on the Xeon Gold 6238R — a 22.2% clock advantage for the Core i7-12700KF (base: 3.6 GHz vs 2.2 GHz). The Core i7-12700KF uses the Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Xeon Gold 6238R uses Cascade Lake (2019−2020) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Core i7-12700KF scores 34,056 against the Xeon Gold 6238R's 34,751 — a 2% lead for the Xeon Gold 6238R. L3 cache: 25 MB (total) on the Core i7-12700KF vs 38.5 MB on the Xeon Gold 6238R.

Feature	Core i7-12700KF	Xeon Gold 6238R
Cores / Threads	12 / 20	28 / 56+133%
Boost Clock	5 GHz+25%	4 GHz
Base Clock	3.6 GHz+64%	2.2 GHz
L3 Cache	25 MB (total)	38.5 MB+54%
L2 Cache	1.25 MB (per core)	28 MB+2140%
Process	Intel 7 nm-50%	14 nm
Architecture	Alder Lake, Golden Cove, Gracemont (2021)	Cascade Lake (2019−2020)
PassMark	34,056	34,751+2%
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	21,433

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core i7-12700KF uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Xeon Gold 6238R uses LGA3647 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches 4800 on the Core i7-12700KF versus DDR4-2933 on the Xeon Gold 6238R — the Core i7-12700KF supports 199.7% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Core i7-12700KF supports up to 128 of RAM compared to 1 TB — 196.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 2 (Core i7-12700KF) vs 6 (Xeon Gold 6238R). PCIe lanes: 20 (Core i7-12700KF) vs 48 (Xeon Gold 6238R) — the Xeon Gold 6238R offers 28 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: Z690,B660 (Core i7-12700KF) and C621,C622,C624,C627,C628 (Xeon Gold 6238R).

Feature	Core i7-12700KF	Xeon Gold 6238R
Socket	LGA1700	LGA3647
PCIe Generation	PCIe 5.0+67%	PCIe 3.0
Max RAM Speed	4800+119900%	DDR4-2933
Max RAM Capacity	128	1 TB+838860700%
RAM Channels	2	6+200%
ECC Support	✅	✅
PCIe Lanes	20	48+140%

🔧

Advanced Features

Only the Core i7-12700KF has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Only the Xeon Gold 6238R supports AVX-512 instructions — important for machine learning and scientific applications. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i7-12700KF) vs VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Xeon Gold 6238R). Primary use case: Xeon Gold 6238R targets Server. Direct competitor: Core i7-12700KF rivals Ryzen 7 5800X; Xeon Gold 6238R rivals Xeon Gold 6248R.