Intel Xeon E5-2698V4 20-core LGA 2011-3

The Intel Xeon E5-2698V4 is a 20-core, 40-thread server chip that's now dirt cheap on the used market, with listings from $50 to $427. Its PassMark multi-thread score of 22,523 is well above average, making it great for rendering and virtualization. But the 2.2GHz base clock means single-threaded tasks feel slow, and gaming is a weak spot. Buy it for a homelab or budget server, not for a daily driver desktop.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 22,523 puts this chip at the 78th percentile in our database. That's well above average, and it translates to real capability for things like video encoding, 3D rendering, and running multiple virtual machines simultaneously. The 20 cores and 40 threads are the star here. When you fire up a workload that can actually use all of them, this old Xeon still gets the job done.

Single-thread performance is a different story. The 2,061 single-thread score lands at the 57th percentile, which is solidly middle of the pack. The 2.2GHz base clock is the culprit. For everyday desktop tasks, web browsing, or anything that leans on one or two cores, this chip feels sluggish compared to even a budget modern CPU. The 3.6GHz boost helps, but it's not going to save you in single-threaded workloads. If your software can't spread across all 20 cores, you'll feel the age of this platform.

Compared to something like the AMD Ryzen 5 7600, this Xeon is a completely different animal. The Ryzen 5 has 6 cores and 12 threads but absolutely destroys the Xeon in single-threaded performance and gaming. The 7600 is a modern desktop chip with modern platform features. The Xeon wins on raw core count and multi-threaded throughput per dollar, but loses on everything else. If you're gaming or doing mixed workloads, the Ryzen is the obvious choice.

The Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 and the PC Server and Parts E5-2697 v2 are closer competitors in the used server space. The E5-2697 v2 is a 12-core Ivy Bridge part, so the E5-2698V4 has a clear core count advantage and a newer architecture. The E5-2637 V2 is a 4-core chip, so it's not really in the same conversation for multi-threaded work. Among old Xeons, the E5-2698V4 is one of the better options if you need cores above all else.

Here's where things get wild. Prices in our database range from $50 to $427 across two US listings. That's a $377 spread for the same chip, which tells you this is a used market free-for-all. The $50 listing is an absolute steal if it's legit and in working condition. Even at the higher end, you're getting 20 cores for less than the price of a mid-range modern CPU.

But value isn't just the chip price. You need an LGA 2011-3 motherboard, DDR4 ECC memory, and a cooler that can handle 135W. Those costs add up, and they're all for a platform that's essentially dead. No upgrade path, no modern features. If you can source the supporting parts cheaply, the total cost of entry is still compelling. Just don't pretend you're building something future-proof.

The Intel Xeon E5-2698V4 is a server chip from a different era, and that's exactly why it's interesting. This is a 20-core, 40-thread Broadwell-EP part that originally sold for thousands of dollars when it launched back in 2016. Now you can find it on the used market for pocket change, relatively speaking. If you're building a home lab, a budget rendering box, or a virtualization playground, this thing is a legitimate option.

Who is this for? Tinkerers, homelabbers, and anyone who wants a ton of cores without spending modern CPU money. The 2.2GHz base clock and 3.6GHz boost won't impress anyone coming from a Ryzen 7000 series, but 20 physical cores with 50MB of L3 cache is still a serious amount of parallel horsepower. It slots into LGA 2011-3 motherboards, which are also cheap on the used market these days.

What makes it interesting is the value proposition. A 20-core chip for under $100 in some listings is absurd when you think about it. The catch is that you're buying into an old platform with old memory standards, no modern instruction sets, and a 135W TDP that will show up on your power bill. But for the right workload, it's a lot of compute for very little cash.

Skip this if you're building a gaming PC or a general-purpose desktop. The single-thread performance will make everyday tasks feel sluggish, and the gaming score of 29.4 out of 100 speaks for itself. You'd be much happier with a modern Ryzen 5 or Core i5, which will run circles around this Xeon in anything that isn't heavily multi-threaded.

Also skip it if you want a platform with any kind of future. LGA 2011-3 is a dead end. No new CPUs, no modern features like PCIe 4.0 or USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, and no upgrade path. If you're not comfortable hunting for used motherboards and dealing with older BIOS quirks, this isn't the project for you. Look at a modern budget platform instead, something like an AM4 or LGA 1700 setup will be far less hassle.

If you're building a dedicated rendering box, a virtualization server, or a homelab where you'll run lots of containers and VMs, this chip is a fantastic budget pick. The 20 cores and 40 threads will chew through parallel workloads, and the price is hard to argue with. Pair it with a cheap used motherboard and some ECC DDR4, and you've got a serious little server for a few hundred bucks total.

If you're building a desktop for gaming, content creation with mixed workloads, or anything where responsiveness matters, look elsewhere. The single-thread performance will frustrate you, and the platform limitations will annoy you. A modern Ryzen or Core i5 will feel dramatically faster in day-to-day use, even with fewer cores. This Xeon is a specialist, not a generalist.