Core i9-7980XE
18 cores · 36 threads · up to 4.4 GHz on FCLGA2066.
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Performance breakdown
Lab scores
Estimated gaming FPS
Paired with a high-end GPU. CPU impact is largest at 1080p.
Full specifications
- Architecture
- Skylake (server)
- Process node
- 14 nm
- Socket
- FCLGA2066
- Release year
- 2017
- Total cores
- 18
- Threads
- 36
- Base clock
- 2.6 GHz
- Boost clock
- 4.4 GHz
- L1 cache
- 1.125 KB
- L2 cache
- 18 MB
- L3 cache
- 24.75 MB
- Memory support
- DDR4-2666
- Max capacity
- 128 GB
- Channels
- 4
- Max bandwidth
- 85.33 GB/s
- Base power (TDP)
- 165W
- Max temperature
- 94°C
- PCIe
- PCIe 3.0
- Launch price
- $1999
- Instruction sets
- SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2, AVX-512
- Extensions
- AES-NI, AVX, VT-x, VT-d, Turbo Boost Max 3.0, TSX
What Owners Say
People love the raw multi-core grunt for heavy workloads, but they hate the insane heat output and the bank-breaking price tag for the whole platform.
- Crushes multi-threaded workloads with ease
- Runs hot but handles sustained loads
- Excellent for heavy content creation tasks
- Gives old workstations a new life
- Needs a very expensive motherboard
- Runs extremely hot under load
- Poor single-core performance for gaming
Our verdict on the Core i9-7980XE
Intel's i9-7980XE is a 2017 server-derived desktop chip with an absurd number of cores, but it demands a monstrous power budget and a premium motherboard.
Get it if you need extreme multi-threaded power for heavy workstation tasks like 3D rendering or video encoding on older professional software. Skip it if you're gaming or building a modern system—it's outdated, runs hot, and newer CPUs offer better single-core performance.
Buy it if…
- You want maximum multi-core power for video rendering or 3D work.
- You need a high core count for heavy virtual machine loads.
- You have a workstation that demands extreme parallel processing speed.
Its place in the overall top
34 votes