Xeon Gold 6342

The Xeon Gold 6342 is a 24-core / 48-thread processor based on the Ice Lake-SP (2021) architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process node. It reaches a maximum boost clock of 3.5 GHz from a base frequency of 2.8 GHz— higher boost clocks directly translate to better single-threaded performance and responsiveness in gaming. It carries 36 MB (total) of L3 cache, plus 1 MB (per core) of L2 cache and 64K (per core) of L1 cache per core. In the PassMark benchmark (a comprehensive multi-threaded test), it scores 47,076, placing it in the Enthusiast performance tier as a Aging generation product.

The Xeon Gold 6342 fits into the LGA4189 socket and supports PCIe 4.0 with 64 total PCIe lanes for expansion cards and storage. It supports DDR4-3200 memory at speeds up to 3200 (faster RAM improves bandwidth-sensitive workloads), with a maximum capacity of 6144 across 8 channels (dual-channel doubles bandwidth). It supports ECC memory, providing error-correcting capabilities — essential for mission-critical workloads and servers. Integrated graphics: None — allows display output without a dedicated GPU, useful for troubleshooting and light tasks.

It supports AVX-512 instructions — specialized SIMD operations that significantly accelerate AI inference, scientific computing, and video encoding workloads. Virtualization: VT-x, VT-d — enables running virtual machines efficiently (important for development and server workloads). Its primary market competitor is the EPYC 7443.

The Xeon Gold 6342 has a rated TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 230 Watt — this indicates the amount of heat generated under sustained load and determines what cooling solution is needed. No stock cooler is included — you will need to purchase an aftermarket cooler separately. Recommended cooling: LGA4189 Server Grade.

At an average price of $3,000 (MSRP: $2977), the Xeon Gold 6342 delivers 16 PassMark points per dollar. Performance ranking position: #226 out of all indexed processors.