Intel has updated its Xeon series adding new quad-core models. All the new chips are based on the Kaby Lake microarchitecture, and compared to the previous generation, which was based on Skylake, we find slightly higher clock speeds and increased energy efficiency.


If you look at the specifications, they are pretty close to the consumer desktop parts. The main difference between the Xeon and the Core models the support for ECC memory as well as Intel's vPro management platform. Having a look at the clock speeds, the Intel Core i7-7700 features a base clock frequency of 3.60 GHz and a Turbo of 4.20 GHz with a 8MB L3 Cache. The Xeon E3-1280 v6 has similar clock speeds, with the same amount of cache. Furthermore both CPUs pack four cores and eight threads. In addition the Xeon E3-1230 v6 is pretty similar to the Core i5-7600.

Overall most models have been clocked 200 MHz higher compared to the previous Skylake-based parts architecture. The TDP has decreased from 80 Watts to 73 or 72 Watts (IGP difference). Since the socket is the same, on Z170 or Z270 based motherboards you can use these CPUs by just updating the firmware of your motherboard.

Processor Name	Frequency (GHz)	Cache	C/T	Turbo (GHz)	IGP	TDP	USD
E3-1280 v6	3.90 GHz	8 MB	4/8	4.20	-	72 W	612 $
E3-1275 v6	3.80 GHz	8 MB	4/8	4.20	P630	73 W	339 $
E3-1270 v6	3.80 GHz	8 MB	4/8	4.20	-	72 W	328 $
E3-1245 v6	3.70 GHz	8 MB	4/8	4.10	P630	73 W	284 $
E3-1240 v6	3.70 GHz	8 MB	4/8	4.10	-	72 W	272 $
E3-1230 v6	3.50 GHz	8 MB	4/8	3.90	-	72 W	250 $
E3-1225 v6	3.30 GHz	6 MB	4/4	3.70	P630	73 W	213 $
E3-1220 v6	3.00 GHz	6 MB	4/4	3.50	-	72 W	192 $

Source: Guru3D