Xeon E5-4603 vs Core i7-6498DU

CPU

GPU

Xeon E5-4603

4 Cores8 Thrd95 WWMax: 2 GHz2012

Core i7-6498DU

2 Cores4 Thrd15 WWMax: 3.1 GHz2015

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Xeon E5-4603

4 / 8

3,391

+0.6%

Pentium Dual Core T2410

3,372

0.0%

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. The Xeon E5-4603 is positioned at rank 670 and the Core i7-6498DU is on rank 377, so the Core i7-6498DU offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

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

Performance Per Dollar Xeon E5-4603

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

12378%

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

2337%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

2076%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

1604%

#395

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5945WX

MSRP: $2399|Avg: $1000

100%

#396

Xeon Platinum 8461V

MSRP: $4491|Avg: $4491

99%

#397

Xeon W-3235

MSRP: $1538|Avg: $1538

99%

#398

Xeon w9-3595X

MSRP: $5889|Avg: $6000

99%

#399

Xeon W-3365

MSRP: $3499|Avg: $3499

98%

#400

EPYC 7713P

MSRP: $5010|Avg: $2443

97%

#670

Xeon E5-4603

MSRP: $202|Avg: $80

100%

#671

Xeon X5672

MSRP: $300|Avg: $44

100%

#674

Xeon E3-1265L v4

MSRP: $417|Avg: $80

99%

#677

Xeon E5-1607 v2

MSRP: $250|Avg: $68

99%

#678

Xeon W5590

MSRP: $202|Avg: $30

99%

#683

Xeon E5-1603 v3

MSRP: $273|Avg: $40

97%

#684

Xeon E3-1270

MSRP: $330|Avg: $178

97%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Core i7-6498DU

#365

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

522%

#366

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

514%

#367

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

472%

#368

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

470%

#369

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

466%

#371

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

450%

#372

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

431%

#373

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

431%

#374

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

419%

#377

Core i7-6498DU

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#391

Core i5-1145GRE

MSRP: $362|Avg: N/A

97%

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 ($80) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon E5-4603 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Xeon E5-4603	Core i7-6498DU
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	⚠️ Higher cost ($80)	✅ More affordable ($0)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Sandy Bridge-EP (2012) / 32 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Skylake (2015−2016) / 14 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core i7-6498DU ($0), 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 ($80 less, 100% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Xeon E5-4603	Core i7-6498DU
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	⚠️ Higher cost ($80)	✅ More affordable ($0)

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.

Xeon E5-4603 Benchmark Check

Core i7-6498DU Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Xeon E5-4603 and Core i7-6498DU

Xeon E5-4603

The Xeon E5-4603 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 May 2012 (13 years ago). It is based on the Sandy Bridge-EP (2012) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2 GHz, with boost up to 2 GHz. L3 cache: 10240 kB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 95 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 3,391 points. Launch price was $712.

Core i7-6498DU

The Core i7-6498DU is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 September 2015 (10 years ago). It is based on the Skylake (2015−2016) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.5 GHz, with boost up to 3.1 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB. L2 cache: 512 kB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600. Passmark benchmark score: 3,372 points. Launch price was $393.

⚡

Processing Power

The Xeon E5-4603 packs 4 cores / 8 threads, while the Core i7-6498DU offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the Xeon E5-4603 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2 GHz on the Xeon E5-4603 versus 3.1 GHz on the Core i7-6498DU — a 43.1% clock advantage for the Core i7-6498DU (base: 2 GHz vs 2.5 GHz). The Xeon E5-4603 uses the Sandy Bridge-EP (2012) architecture (32 nm), while the Core i7-6498DU uses Skylake (2015−2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon E5-4603 scores 3,391 against the Core i7-6498DU's 3,372 — a 0.6% lead for the Xeon E5-4603. L3 cache: 10240 kB (total) on the Xeon E5-4603 vs 4 MB on the Core i7-6498DU.

Feature	Xeon E5-4603	Core i7-6498DU
Cores / Threads	4 / 8+100%	2 / 4
Boost Clock	2 GHz	3.1 GHz+55%
Base Clock	2 GHz	2.5 GHz+25%
L3 Cache	10240 kB (total)+150%	4 MB
L2 Cache	256 kB (per core)	512 kB+100%
Process	32 nm	14 nm-56%
Architecture	Sandy Bridge-EP (2012)	Skylake (2015−2016)
PassMark	3,391	3,372