Intel Xeon 658X Processor vs Intel Xeon 698X

Pros

• 24 high‑performance Redwood Cove P‑cores with SMT for strong multi‑threaded throughput.
• 8‑channel DDR5‑6400 with support for up to 4 TB RAM and RDIMMs/MRDIMMs.
• 128 PCIe 5.0 lanes plus CXL 2.0 for dense GPU and NVMe configurations.
• Large 144 MB L3 cache improves performance for memory‑bound professional applications.
• AMX with FP16 and AVX‑512 accelerates AI and math‑heavy workloads.
• Unlocked multiplier and X‑series tuning for overclocking on W890 motherboards.

Cons

• High 250 W base and up to 300 W turbo power draw, requiring robust cooling and PSU.
• Premium price compared to mainstream desktop CPUs with similar core counts.
• No integrated graphics; a discrete GPU is required for display output.
• Single‑socket only; no dual‑socket upgrade path like some server platforms.
• Overkill for gaming and light productivity; value is hard to realize without professional workloads.

Pros

• 86 cores and 172 threads for highly parallel workloads.
• 336 MB L3 cache improves performance on large data sets.
• Eight-channel DDR5/MRDIMM memory with up to 4 TB capacity.
• 128 PCIe 5.0 lanes for multi-GPU and storage-heavy configurations.
• Intel 3 process and Redwood Cove+ cores improve performance and efficiency over Sapphire Rapids.
• AMX with native FP16 acceleration for AI inference.
• Unlocked multiplier for overclocking, supported by Intel and partners.

Cons

• Very high power consumption (350 W base, up to 420 W turbo) requiring robust cooling and power supply.
• Expensive, with street prices around $8,300–$8,500 for the CPU alone.
• New platform (W890 chipset, LGA4710) with early-adoer considerations and limited long-term platform history.
• No integrated graphics, requiring a discrete GPU for display output.
• Gaming and lightly threaded workloads see little benefit relative to cheaper, lower-core-count CPUs.