Intel Core i7-870 vs Intel Xeon X5560 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark data presents a remarkably consistent picture: the Intel Xeon X5560 wins every single recorded test against the Intel Core i7-870, albeit by narrow margins. Across five Cinebench workloads, the Xeon holds a lead that never exceeds 2.1 percent, making this one of the tighter head-to-head matchups in the database.

In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Xeon X5560 scores 276 against the Core i7-870's 271, a 1.8 percent advantage. The gap widens slightly in Cinebench R20 multi-core, where the Xeon posts 1154 versus 1132, a 1.9 percent margin. That same 1.9 percent delta appears in Cinebench R20 single-core, with the Xeon scoring 162 and the Core i7-870 trailing at 159. The pattern holds in Cinebench R23 multi-core, where 2749 beats 2697, again by 1.9 percent. The largest spread comes in Cinebench R23 single-core: the Xeon's 388 outpaces the Core i7-870's 380 by 2.1 percent.

The consistency of these deltas is notable. Five tests, five wins for the Xeon, with margins clustering tightly between 1.8 and 2.1 percent. This suggests a systematic, small performance advantage rather than workload-specific variability. The Core i7-870's higher boost clock of 3.60 GHz does not translate into a single benchmark victory, as the Xeon's architectural configuration and platform characteristics appear to compensate for its lower 3.20 GHz boost ceiling in every measured scenario.

Average benchmark scores reinforce the trend. The Xeon X5560 carries an average score of 946, while the Core i7-870 sits at 928, a gap of roughly 1.9 percent that mirrors the head-to-head results. Both processors land in the 25th percentile of all CPUs in the database, placing them in the same performance tier despite the Xeon's consistent edge within that tier.

The nearest rival lists for each processor further contextualize their standings. The Core i7-870's closest competitors include the Intel Core i5-4288U at 927 (0.1 percent behind), the Intel Core i3-4350T at 926 (0.2 percent behind), and the Intel Celeron G6900TE at 925 (0.4 percent behind). The Intel Core i7-4600U edges it out at 931, a 0.4 percent advantage for that rival. The Xeon X5560, meanwhile, sits in a dead heat with the Intel Pentium Gold G5400T and the AMD Phenom II X6 1045T, both at 946 with a 0.0 percent delta, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 3500U at 947 holds a 0.1 percent edge. The Intel Core i3-1110G4 trails at 945, 0.1 percent behind.

Where Each One Wins

The Xeon X5560 wins across the board in raw compute, but the nature of those wins matters for practical use cases. Its advantages in single-core tests, while small, indicate that even lightly threaded workloads will favor the Xeon. Cinebench R20 single-core shows a 1.9 percent lead, and Cinebench R23 single-core shows a 2.1 percent lead. This means everyday applications that rely on one or two threads, such as legacy productivity software or lighter web workloads, will track the Xeon's favor.

Multi-threaded scenarios tell the same story with slightly more pronounced margins in absolute terms. The Cinebench R23 multi-core gap of 52 points translates to the Xeon's favor, and the R20 multi-core gap of 22 points. Rendering tasks, batch processing, compilation workloads, video encoding, and any heavily parallelized compute tasks will see the Xeon maintain its advantage consistently across the board.

The Core i7-870's case rests entirely on platform-level factors rather than benchmark victories. Its desktop-oriented design targets users who need a conventional desktop experience with a specific socket configuration. The Core i7-870 uses the dual-channel memory bus, while the Xeon uses triple-channel memory, a distinction that could matter in memory-bandwidth-sensitive workloads even though the database does not record a dedicated memory bandwidth benchmark. The Xeon also supports ECC memory, making it the only one of the pair that can operate in environments requiring error-correcting memory, such as certain server or workstation deployments.

Neither processor offers integrated graphics, so both require a discrete GPU. Both carry a 95 W TDP, meaning thermal management requirements are identical on paper. The Core i7-870's 2.93 GHz base clock and 3.60 GHz boost clock are both higher than the Xeon's 2.80 GHz base and 3.20 GHz boost, yet those clock advantages never surface as benchmark wins. The Xeon's triple-channel memory architecture appears to provide enough bandwidth headroom to offset the clock deficit in every recorded test.

The Verdict

The data points to a single conclusion: the Intel Xeon X5560 is the faster processor in this matchup, winning all five head-to-head benchmarks with deltas between 1.8 and 2.1 percent. Any user optimizing purely for Cinebench performance should choose the Xeon X5560.

The Core i7-870 is not without its own rationale, but that rationale does not come from the benchmark results. It comes from platform context. The Core i7-870 uses the desktop-oriented socket 1156, while the Xeon uses socket 1366, a platform typically associated with server and workstation motherboards. The Core i7-870 also lacks ECC memory support, which may be preferable for users who do not require error-correcting memory and want a simpler desktop configuration.

For users with existing socket 1156 desktop hardware, the Core i7-870 represents the drop-in option. For users building or maintaining a socket 1366 workstation or server platform, the Xeon X5560 delivers superior measured performance plus ECC memory support and triple-channel memory bandwidth. The Xeon's 25th percentile standing matches the Core i7-870's, but within that tier the Xeon consistently outperforms its rival.

The average benchmark score gap of 18 points, from 928 to 946, is small in absolute terms but uniform in direction. Every single recorded measurement favors the Xeon, and there is no workload category in the database where the Core i7-870 pulls ahead. The verdict from the data is unambiguous: the Xeon X5560 wins this comparison.

FAQ

Q: Which processor wins more benchmarks in this comparison?

A: The Intel Xeon X5560 wins all five recorded head-to-head benchmarks against the Intel Core i7-870, including Cinebench R15 multi-core, R20 multi-core, R20 single-core, R23 multi-core, and R23 single-core.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between the two processors?

A: The largest margin is in Cinebench R23 single-core, where the Xeon X5560 scores 388 against the Core i7-870's 380, a 2.1 percent advantage. All other deltas range between 1.8 and 1.9 percent.

Q: Do both processors support ECC memory?

A: No. The Intel Xeon X5560 supports ECC memory, while the Intel Core i7-870 does not.

Q: What are the memory bus differences between the two?

A: The Intel Core i7-870 uses a dual-channel memory bus, while the Intel Xeon X5560 uses a triple-channel memory bus. Both support DDR3 memory.

Q: How do the average benchmark scores compare?

A: The Intel Xeon X5560 has an average benchmark score of 946, while the Intel Core i7-870 has an average benchmark score of 928. Both processors sit in the 25th percentile of all CPUs in the database.

Q: Are these processors from the same architecture generation?

A: Yes, both are built on Intel's Nehalem architecture using a 45 nm process node. The Core i7-870 uses the Lynnfield codename, while the Xeon X5560 uses the Gainestown codename.

Architecture Differences

Both processors share the Nehalem architecture and the 45 nm process node, but they diverge in several meaningful ways. The Core i7-870, codenamed Lynnfield, belongs to the Core i7 generation and targets the desktop market segment. The Xeon X5560, codenamed Gainestown, belongs to the Xeon line and targets the server and workstation segment.

The core and thread counts match at 4 cores and 8 threads each. Cache hierarchies are identical in capacity: 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 8 MB of shared L3 cache. Transistor counts differ slightly, with the Core i7-870 carrying 774 million transistors on a 296 mm² die, while the Xeon X5560 carries 731 million transistors on a 263 mm² die.

Clock speeds favor the Core i7-870 on paper. Its base clock runs at 2.93 GHz and boosts to 3.60 GHz, while the Xeon X5560 runs at 2.80 GHz base and 3.20 GHz boost. Despite this clock disadvantage, the Xeon wins every benchmark, which points to platform-level advantages elsewhere.

The sockets differ completely: the Core i7-870 uses Intel Socket 1156, while the Xeon X5560 uses Intel Socket 1366. Memory support diverges in channel count, with dual-channel on the Core i7-870 and triple-channel on the Xeon X5560. ECC memory support exists only on the Xeon. PCIe capabilities also differ: the Core i7-870 offers Gen 2 with 16 lanes from the CPU only, while the Xeon X5560 offers Gen 2 without the same lane specification noted.

Both processors carry a 95 W TDP, both have locked multipliers, and neither includes integrated graphics. Both are classified as end-of-life products, with the Xeon released earlier in 2009 and the Core i7-870 later that same year. The part numbers are SLBJG for the Core i7-870 and SLBF4 for the Xeon X5560.