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Intel Xeon W-3175X

Intel Xeon W-3175X: An Extreme Platform for Professionals

Relevant as of April 2025

Key Features: Architecture and Performance

The Intel Xeon W-3175X processor, released in late 2018, remains a niche solution for tasks requiring extreme multi-threaded performance. Despite its age, it continues to be relevant in specific scenarios due to its unique features.

Architecture and Process Technology

- Codename: Skylake (modified version for Xeon).

- Process Technology: 14 nm (Intel 14nm++), which is considered outdated by 2025 but provides stability.

- Cores/Threads: 28 cores, 56 threads — the maximum for the desktop segment at the time of release.

- Frequencies: Base — 3.1 GHz, maximum in Turbo Boost — 4.3 GHz (single core).

- Cache: L3 — 38.5 MB (1.375 MB per core).

- TDP: 255 W — requires serious cooling.

Performance

- Geekbench 6:

- Single-Core: 1467 (comparable to Intel Core i9-10900K).

- Multi-Core: 13646 (close to AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X).

- Strengths:

- Optimization for parallel tasks (rendering, simulations).

- Support for AVX-512 — acceleration of scientific computations.

- Key Features:

- Unlocked multiplier for overclocking (a rarity among Xeon).

- Supports up to 512 GB DDR4 and 68 PCIe 3.0 lanes.

Compatible Motherboards: Socket and Chipsets

The Xeon W-3175X uses an exclusive LGA 3647 socket, limiting motherboard choices.

Recommended Models

- ASUS ROG Dominus Extreme: The only gaming-oriented board for this processor (price in 2025: ~$800–$1000 on the second-hand market).

- Gigabyte C621 AORUS XTREME: Focus on stability and VRM cooling.

- Supermicro MBD-X11SPA-T: For workstations with ECC memory support.

Selection Considerations

- Chipset: Intel C621 — optimized for server tasks.

- Requirements:

- Powerful power supply system (24-phase VRM).

- Support for 6–8 memory channels.

- Advanced cooling options (heatsinks on MOSFETs).

Supported Memory: DDR4 and Its Configurations

- Type: Only DDR4 (DDR5 not supported).

- Frequencies: Up to 2666 MHz (officially), but some boards allow overclocking to 3000–3200 MHz.

- Configurations:

- 6-channel mode (minimum 6 modules).

- Maximum capacity — 512 GB (using 64 GB modules).

- Tip: Use kits with low timings (CL14–16) to reduce latency.

Power Supplies: Power Calculation

With a TDP of 255 W and peak consumption up to 400 W (when overclocked), the choice of PSU is critical.

Recommendations

- Minimum: 850 W (for systems without multiple graphics cards).

- Optimal: 1000–1200 W with an 80+ Platinum/Titanium certification.

- Examples:

- Corsair AX1200i (digital control, efficiency 92%).

- Seasonic PRIME TX-1000 (12 years warranty).

- Nuances:

- Avoid cheap PSUs — possible voltage drops.

- Use thicker cables (16 AWG).

Pros and Cons of Xeon W-3175X

Advantages

1. Multi-threaded Power: 56 threads are relevant for rendering in Blender or compiling code.

2. Overclocking Potential: With good cooling, it can achieve 4.5 GHz on all cores.

3. ECC Memory Support: Reliability for workstations.

Disadvantages

1. Platform Cost: Motherboards and PSUs will cost between $1500 and $2000.

2. Energy Consumption: Electricity bills will increase, especially under load 24/7.

3. Outdated Standards: PCIe 3.0 and DDR4 versus PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 in modern CPUs.

Use Cases: Where W-3175X is Still Relevant

Work Tasks

- 3D Rendering: In Maya or Cinema 4D, the processor performs at the level of the Threadripper 3970X.

- Scientific Calculations: AVX-512 accelerates tasks in MATLAB or ANSYS.

- Virtualization: Running dozens of VMs without slowdowns.

Gaming

- Streaming: 56 threads handle encoding in OBS + gaming.

- Multi-threaded Projects: For example, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 at maximum settings.

Multimedia

- Video Editing: Rendering 8K in DaVinci Resolve is 1.5 times faster on 28 cores than with the Core i9-14900K.

Comparison with Competitors

AMD Threadripper 2970WX (24 cores/48 threads)

- Cheaper (~$1200 in 2025 compared to $3000 for a new W-3175X), but weaker in single-threaded tasks.

- The TRX40 platform supports PCIe 4.0.

Intel Core i9-14900KS (8P+16E cores)

- Higher IPC and frequency (up to 6.2 GHz), but the 28 Xeon cores win in parallel tasks.

Modern Alternatives (2025)

- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7970X (64 cores): 3 times more expensive, but 2.5 times more powerful.

- Intel Xeon W9-3595X (56 cores): Based on Golden Cove, with DDR5 and PCIe 5.0.

Practical Assembly Tips

1. Cooling:

- Liquid Cooling: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 or a custom water loop.

- Thermal Paste: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut.

2. Case: Full-Tower (for example, Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic XL) with 8+ fans.

3. Drives: NVMe SSD (Samsung 990 Pro 4TB) to reduce bottlenecks.

Conclusion: Who is the Xeon W-3175X Suitable For?

This processor is worth considering only in two cases:

1. Upgrading an Old System: If you already have a compatible motherboard and RAM.

2. Budget Alternative: When maximum multi-threading is needed but there is no $5000 for a modern Threadripper.

Final Verdict: The W-3175X in 2025 is a choice for enthusiasts and professionals willing to overlook platform shortcomings for unique advantages. For most users, modern CPUs will be more practical.

Basic

Label Name

Intel

Platform

Desktop

Launch Date

January 2019

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.

W-3175X

Code Name

SkyLake

CPU Specifications

Total Cores

Cores is a hardware term that describes the number of independent central processing units in a single computing component (die or chip).

Total Threads

Where applicable, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology is only available on Performance-cores.

Basic Frequency

3.10 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.

3.80 GHz

Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology) delivers two processing threads per physical core. Highly threaded applications can get more work done in parallel, completing tasks sooner.

Yes

Intel Turbo Boost Technology

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology dynamically increases the processor's frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom to give you a burst of speed when you need it, and increased energy efficiency when you don’t.

2.0

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 identifies the best performing core(s) on a processor and provides increased performance on those cores through increasing frequency as needed by taking advantage of power and thermal headroom.

L3 Cache

38.5 MB

CPU Socket

The socket is the component that provides the mechanical and electrical connections between the processor and motherboard.

FCLGA3647

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.

14 nm

TDP

255 W

Max. Operating Temperature

Junction Temperature is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.

85°C

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.

3.0

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.

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

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.

DDR4-2666

Max Memory Size

Max memory size refers to the maximum memory capacity supported by the processor.

512 GB

Memory Channels

The number of memory channels refers to the bandwidth operation for real world application.

Bus Speed

8 GT/s

Maximum Memory Speed

2666 MHz

ECC Memory Supported

ECC Memory Supported indicates processor support for Error-Correcting Code memory. ECC memory is a type of system memory that can detect and correct common kinds of internal data corruption. Note that ECC memory support requires both processor and chipset support.

Yes

Miscellaneous

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

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 Standard Manageability (ISM)

Intel® Standard Manageability is the manageability solution for Intel vPro® Essentials platforms and is a subset of Intel® AMT with out-of-band management over Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but no KVM or new life cycle management features.

Intel® SSE4.2 | Intel® AVX | Intel® AVX2 | Intel® AVX-512

Number of AVX-512 FMA Units

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology

Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology is an advanced means of enabling high performance while meeting the power-conservation needs of mobile systems. Conventional Intel SpeedStep® Technology switches both voltage and frequency in tandem between high and low levels in response to processor load. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology builds upon that architecture using design strategies such as Separation between Voltage and Frequency Changes, and Clock Partitioning and Recovery.

Yes

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

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.

38.5 MB

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

Intel Volume Management Device (VMD)

Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD) provides a common, robust method of hot plug and LED management for NVMe-based solid state drives.

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 VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)

Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT), also known as Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), provides acceleration for memory intensive virtualized applications. Extended Page Tables in Intel® Virtualization Technology platforms reduces the memory and power overhead costs and increases battery life through hardware optimization of page table management.

Yes

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6

Single Core Score

1467

Geekbench 6

Multi Core Score

13646

Geekbench 5

Single Core Score

1127

Geekbench 5

Multi Core Score

22674

Passmark CPU

Single Core Score

2148

Passmark CPU

Multi Core Score

37167

Compared to Other CPU

Geekbench 6 Single Core

Ryzen 5 4600G

1570 +7%

Ryzen 3 PRO 4350GE

1522 +3.7%

Xeon W-3175X

1467

Xeon W-3245M

1414 -3.6%

Xeon W-2195

1372 -6.5%

Geekbench 6 Multi Core

Ryzen 9 7900

16754 +22.8%

Core Ultra 5 235

14882 +9.1%

Xeon W-3175X

13646

Core i7-12800HE

12564 -7.9%

Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100

11607 -14.9%

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Xeon w3-2423

1191 +5.7%

Ryzen 3 4300GE

1159 +2.8%

Xeon W-3175X

1127

Xeon W-3225

1111 -1.4%

Ryzen 9 3900X

1087 -3.5%

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Ryzen Threadripper 7980X

58922 +159.9%

Xeon Platinum 9282

33304 +46.9%

Xeon W-3175X

22674

Xeon Platinum 8158

18900 -16.6%

Xeon E5-4660 v4

15692 -30.8%

Passmark CPU Single Core

Xeon E5-2637 v4

2203 +2.6%

Xeon Gold 6142

2177 +1.4%

Xeon W-3175X

2148

Ryzen 7 PRO 1700X

2124 -1.1%

Ryzen 7 1700X

2098 -2.3%

Passmark CPU Multi Core

Core Ultra 5 245KF

44396 +19.5%

Core i5-14600KF

39395 +6%

Xeon W-3175X

37167

Core i9-13900E

34049 -8.4%

Xeon w5-2445

32316 -13.1%