Home / CPU Comparison / AMD EPYC 9996 or Intel Xeon 6990E+: What's better?

AMD EPYC 9996
vs
Intel Xeon 6990E+

AMD EPYC 9996
vs
Intel Xeon 6990E+

CPU Comparison Result

Below are the results of a comparison of AMD EPYC 9996 and Intel Xeon 6990E+ processors based on key performance characteristics, as well as power consumption and much more.

Advantages

AMD EPYC 9996
AMD EPYC 9996
AMD EPYC 9996
  • Higher Max Turbo Frequency: Up to 4.1 GHz (Up to 4.1 GHz vs 3.2 GHz)
  • Newer PCI Express Version: PCIe® 6.0 x96 (PCIe® 6.0 x96 vs Gen5)
Intel Xeon 6990E+
Intel Xeon 6990E+
Intel Xeon 6990E+
  • More Total Cores: 288 (256 vs 288)

Basic

AMD
Label Name
Intel
-
Launch Date
April 2026
Server
Platform
Server
EPYC 9996
Model Name
?
The Intel processor number is just one of several factors - along with processor brand, system configurations, and system-level benchmarks - to be considered when choosing the right processor for your computing needs.
6990E+
-
Code Name
Products formerly Clearwater Forest

CPU Specifications

256
Total Cores
?
Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).
288
512
Total Threads
?
Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.
288
-
Efficient-cores
288
2.55 GHz
Basic Frequency
2.2 GHz
-
Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
?
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms. It offers improved manageability by limiting downtime and maintaining productivity by isolating computing activities into separate partitions.
Yes
-
Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
?
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) continues from the existing support for IA-32 (VT-x) and Itanium® processor (VT-i) virtualization adding new support for I/O-device virtualization. Intel VT-d can help end users improve security and reliability of the systems and also improve performance of I/O devices in virtualized environments.
Yes
Up to 4.1 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency
?
Max Turbo Frequency is the maximum single-core frequency at which the processor is capable of operating using Intel® Turbo Boost Technology and, if present, Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 and Intel® Thermal Velocity Boost. Frequency is typically measured in gigahertz (GHz), or billion cycles per second.
3.2 GHz
-
Instruction Set Extensions
Intel® AVX2
1024 MB
L3 Cache
-
-
Cache
?
CPU Cache is an area of fast memory located on the processor. Intel® Smart Cache refers to the architecture that allows all cores to dynamically share access to the last level cache.
576 MB
-
CPU Socket
?
The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.
FCLGA7529
-
Intel AES New Instructions
?
Intel® AES New Instructions (Intel® AES-NI) are a set of instructions that enable fast and secure data encryption and decryption. AES-NI are valuable for a wide range of cryptographic applications, for example: applications that perform bulk encryption/decryption, authentication, random number generation, and authenticated encryption.
Yes
-
Technology
?
Lithography refers to the semiconductor technology used to manufacture an integrated circuit, and is reported in nanometer (nm), indicative of the size of features built on the semiconductor.
Intel 18A
-
TDP
450 W
PCIe® 6.0 x96
PCI Express Version
?
PCI Express Revision is the supported version of the PCI Express standard. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (or PCIe) is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard for attaching hardware devices to a computer. The different PCI Express versions support different data rates.
Gen5
-
Max Number of PCI Express Lanes
?
A PCI Express (PCIe) lane consists of two differential signaling pairs, one for receiving data, one for transmitting data, and is the basic unit of the PCIe bus. Max # of PCI Express Lanes is the total number of supported lanes.
96
-
Intel 64
?
Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software.¹ Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 GB of both virtual and physical memory.
Yes

Memory Specifications

DDR5 RDIMM MRDIMM
Memory Type
?
Intel® processors come in four different types: Single Channel, Dual Channel, Triple Channel, and Flex Mode. Maximum supported memory speed may be lower when populating multiple DIMMs per channel on products that support multiple memory channels.
DDR5-RDIMM-8000MT/s-1DPC
-
Max Memory Size
?
Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.
1.5 TB
16
Memory Channels
?
The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.
12
8000 MT/s / 12800 MT/s
Bus Speed
-
-
Maximum Memory Speed
8000 MHz

AI Specifications

-
Intel Deep Learning Boost (Intel DL Boost) on CPU
?
A new set of embedded processor technologies designed to accelerate AI deep learning use cases. It extends Intel AVX-512 with a new Vector Neural Network Instruction (VNNI) that significantly increases deep learning inference performance over previous generations.
Yes

Miscellaneous

AMD EPYC 9996
Official Website
Intel Xeon 6990E+
-
Execute Disable Bit
?
Execute Disable Bit is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.
Yes
-
Intel Boot Guard
?
Intel® Device Protection Technology with Boot Guard helps protect the system’s pre-OS environment from viruses and malicious software attacks.
Yes
-
Intel QuickAssist Software Acceleration
Yes
-
Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology
?
CET - Intel Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) helps protect against the misuse of legitimate code snippets through return-oriented programming (ROP) control-flow hijacking attacks.
Yes
-
Intel OS Guard
Yes