Intel Xeon Gold 6246 Review

High-end Server processor released in 2019 with 12 cores and 24 threads. With base clock at 3.3GHz, max speed at 4.2GHz, and a 165W power rating. Xeon Gold 6246 is based on the Cascade Lake 14nm family and part of the Xeon Gold series.
Price 14.3%
Speed 68%
Productivity 58%
Gaming 88%
Category Server
Target high-end
Socket Compatibility 3647
Integrated Graphics
Cooler Included
Overclock Potential 0 %
Year 2019 Model
Price 3286 USD
Number of Cores 12 Cores
Number of Threads 24 Threads
Core Frequency 3.3 GHz
Boost Frequency 4.2 GHz
Max Stable Overclock 4.2 GHz
Power Consumption 165 W
Manufacturing Process 14 nm
L3 Cache 24.75 MB
Maximum Supported Memory 1024 GB
Price-Value Score 14.3 %
Speed Score 68 %
Productivity Score 58 %
Gaming Score 88 %
Max 1080p Bottleneck 24.5 %
Max 1440p Bottleneck 12.3 %
Max 4K Bottleneck 6.1 %
Overall Score 46/100

Take a look at the Xeon Gold 6246! This Server processor from Intel's high-end range is a real game-changer. Launched in 2019, it boasts 12 cores and 24 threads. With a base clock speed of 3.3GHz, a max speed of 4.2GHz, and a power rating of 165W, it's all set to supercharge your gaming setup. The Xeon Gold 6246 is a proud member of the powerful Cascade Lake 14nm family and the legendary Xeon Gold series.

And guess what? The Xeon Gold 6246 is the ultimate successor to Intel's previous-gen gaming champion, the Xeon Gold 6146. The Xeon Gold 6146 was based on the legendary Skylake SP and 14nm process, and it made its grand entrance into the gaming scene back in 2017. But now, it's time for the Xeon Gold 6246 to take the throne and conquer the gaming world!

The Intel Xeon Gold 6246 is an absolute monster, just like its 12 cores, 24 threads, and hefty price tag suggest. This is the top dog of mainstream processors, the king you've been waiting for. Games, video editing, 3D work – the Xeon Gold 6246 handles it all with ease. Bow down to the king!

Introducing the Xeon Gold 6246, the high-performance counterpart to the award-winning Xeon Gold 6244. Both are built on the same 14nm Cascade Lake platform, but the Xeon Gold 6246 cranks the power up to a toasty 165W for those extra cores and threads. We're expecting big things from this one, just like its lower-powered sibling! 'sChoiceHype

The Xeon Gold 6246 sits just below the mighty Xeon Gold 6248 with its fancy 14nm compute die and beefy 20 cores and 40 threads. While the Xeon Gold 6248 might seem like the obvious winner, Intel has done some magic to keep the Xeon Gold 6246's single compute die design efficient. Plus, the higher TDP allows for more aggressive boost clocks. This means the Xeon Gold 6246 could actually compete with the Xeon Gold 6248 in some games – who knew?

We already went deep into the nitty-gritty details of the Cascade Lake chip design in our reviews of the Intel Xeon Gold 6248 and Xeon Gold 6244. If you want to learn more about the Xeon Gold 6246's architecture (which is identical to the Xeon Gold 6244), head over there!

The high number of threads (over 7!) in the Intel Xeon Gold 6246 makes it a monster for tasks that use all the cores at once (multi-threaded workloads), especially for the price. If you edit a lot of videos or work with giant spreadsheets, the Xeon Gold 6246 will give you a noticeable performance boost.

The gaming tests with an RTX 2080 Ti were surprising! The budget-friendly Intel Xeon Gold 6246 (only 3286)managedtooutperformthemoreexpensiveEpyc 7351(1100) in three games we tested. We know three games aren't everything, but it shows that even a 12 core CPU can still hold its own today. You can even play modern games and stream to Twitch on the Xeon Gold 6246 (playable results, not amazing). As games get more demanding, a 12 core CPU might not be ideal, but the Xeon Gold 6246 can hold its own for now in a pinch.

With Xeon Gold, Intel brings new innovation with its new architecture and a 14nm manufacturing process. Similar to Xeon Gold, Xeon Gold is built for the 3647 platform with support for all the latest features like DDR4 RAM, super-fast NVMe SSDs, and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Can you game on Intel's Xeon Gold CPU? Absolutely! We got a solid 88% score in our gaming benchmarks.

The Xeon Gold 6246 is a great choice for both gaming and content creation, thanks to its high performance (1.2%) and at least 12 threads. Live streaming, eSports, and uploading gameplay videos are becoming increasingly popular, and this CPU can handle it all.

Which GPU to Pick for Intel Xeon Gold 6246

Below is a comparison of all graphics cards average FPS performance (using an average of 80+ games at ultra quality settings), combined with the Intel Xeon Gold 6246.

Graphics Card Price Cost Per Frame Avg 1080p Avg 1440p Avg 4K
AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT 8GB $ 399 $ 3.3 121.4 FPS
105.9 FPS
66.9 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT 16GB $ 1,099 $ 4.9 222.7 FPS
194.4 FPS
120 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7600 8GB $ 269 $ 2.2 120.5 FPS
105.2 FPS
66.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB $ 899 $ 3.7 245.1 FPS
213.9 FPS
132 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB $ 999 $ 3.7 269.6 FPS
235.2 FPS
145.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB $ 1,999 $ 9.1 219 FPS
194.6 FPS
132.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 8GB $ 200 $ 1.9 105 FPS
91.8 FPS
60.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB $ 299 $ 2.5 120.5 FPS
106.4 FPS
70 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB 8GB $ 399 $ 3 134.6 FPS
118.2 FPS
77.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB $ 599 $ 3.1 195.8 FPS
169.7 FPS
113.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB $ 799 $ 3.2 248.7 FPS
220.9 FPS
149.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16GB $ 1,199 $ 4.6 258.9 FPS
230 FPS
156.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Ti 20GB $ 799 $ 2.9 278.8 FPS
247.8 FPS
168.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB $ 1,599 $ 5.4 298.7 FPS
265.5 FPS
180.2 FPS
AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB $ 149 $ 5.8 25.5 FPS
19.6 FPS
12.6 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB $ 279 $ 8.3 33.6 FPS
28.5 FPS
16.8 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 285 2GB $ 249 $ 7.2 34.6 FPS
29.1 FPS
17.5 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 295X2 4GB $ 1,499 $ 16.9 88.8 FPS
74.4 FPS
49.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB $ 149 $ 6.6 22.7 FPS
16.8 FPS
10.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK 6GB $ 999 $ 16.8 59.5 FPS
49.3 FPS
32.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB $ 149 $ 5.8 25.7 FPS
20.3 FPS
13 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 380 2GB $ 199 $ 5.8 34.4 FPS
28.8 FPS
17.5 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 380X 4GB $ 229 $ 5.9 38.6 FPS
32.4 FPS
20.7 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 390 8GB $ 329 $ 6.3 52.1 FPS
43.9 FPS
26.3 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 390X 8GB $ 429 $ 7.7 55.8 FPS
48.1 FPS
30.6 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 FURY 4GB $ 549 $ 9.5 58 FPS
50.2 FPS
31.7 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 FURY X 4GB $ 649 $ 9.6 67.4 FPS
59.6 FPS
38.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 4GB $ 649 $ 10.6 61.3 FPS
53.3 FPS
34.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB $ 159 $ 6.1 26.2 FPS
21.5 FPS
13.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB $ 199 $ 6 33.1 FPS
27.7 FPS
17.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB $ 329 $ 6.1 53.9 FPS
44.4 FPS
29 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB $ 549 $ 8.6 63.7 FPS
53.2 FPS
33.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB $ 649 $ 8.7 74.2 FPS
62.8 FPS
39.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB $ 999 $ 11.7 85.3 FPS
71.6 FPS
45 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB $ 140 $ 5.9 23.6 FPS
19.5 FPS
12.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB $ 179 $ 3.9 45.9 FPS
38.9 FPS
24.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB $ 400 $ 7.6 52.4 FPS
44.8 FPS
28.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB $ 399 $ 4.8 83 FPS
71.4 FPS
44.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB $ 499 $ 5.6 88.5 FPS
76.4 FPS
47.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB $ 79 $ 4.4 17.8 FPS
14.7 FPS
8.8 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN V 12GB $ 2,999 $ 24.9 120.6 FPS
106.8 FPS
70 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN Xp 12GB $ 1,199 $ 11 109.3 FPS
95 FPS
62.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 550 2GB $ 79 $ 4.2 18.6 FPS
15.5 FPS
9.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB 8GB $ 199 $ 3.1 63.9 FPS
52.7 FPS
32.2 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB 4GB $ 169 $ 2.9 57.3 FPS
47.4 FPS
28.9 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB $ 99 $ 3.7 26.7 FPS
22 FPS
13.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB $ 279 $ 3 92 FPS
78.7 FPS
49.2 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB $ 169 $ 3.3 51.4 FPS
43.4 FPS
26.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5700 8GB $ 349 $ 3.6 97.6 FPS
84.2 FPS
52.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB $ 399 $ 3.7 106.5 FPS
91.8 FPS
57.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB $ 229 $ 3.7 62.3 FPS
51.4 FPS
31.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 590 8GB $ 279 $ 4 70.3 FPS
58 FPS
35.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB $ 169 $ 5.8 28.9 FPS
24.1 FPS
14.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB $ 169 $ 5 33.9 FPS
28.6 FPS
17.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB $ 254 $ 4.4 57.8 FPS
48 FPS
30.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB $ 170 $ 3.1 54.9 FPS
45.7 FPS
28.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB $ 399 $ 4.9 80.8 FPS
68 FPS
42.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB $ 409 $ 4.7 87.7 FPS
74.5 FPS
46.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB $ 499 $ 5.3 94.7 FPS
80.5 FPS
50.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB $ 759 $ 6.8 111.5 FPS
98.4 FPS
62.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB $ 149 $ 3 49.2 FPS
41.4 FPS
25.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB $ 160 $ 2.5 64.5 FPS
54.7 FPS
34.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB $ 220 $ 3 74.1 FPS
62.9 FPS
39.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB $ 229 $ 2.9 78.7 FPS
66.9 FPS
42 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB $ 279 $ 3.3 83.5 FPS
70.9 FPS
44.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB $ 350 $ 3.7 93.5 FPS
76 FPS
47.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB $ 400 $ 4 99.4 FPS
82.6 FPS
52.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB $ 499 $ 4.8 105 FPS
88.8 FPS
57.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB $ 499 $ 4.5 110.8 FPS
95 FPS
60.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB $ 699 $ 5.9 119 FPS
103.2 FPS
65.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB $ 699 $ 5.6 125.8 FPS
110.3 FPS
70.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB $ 1,299 $ 9.4 138.7 FPS
122.8 FPS
78.9 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN RTX 24GB $ 2,499 $ 17.5 142.4 FPS
126.1 FPS
81.1 FPS
AMD Radeon VII 16GB $ 699 $ 6.4 109.3 FPS
94.3 FPS
59.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB $ 379 $ 3.3 113.9 FPS
98.9 FPS
62.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB $ 479 $ 3.5 136.9 FPS
118.9 FPS
73.7 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB $ 579 $ 3.6 162.7 FPS
140.2 FPS
88.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB $ 649 $ 3.2 205.4 FPS
177.1 FPS
111.2 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB $ 999 $ 4.6 218.1 FPS
188.1 FPS
118.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 6GB $ 249 $ 2.9 85.8 FPS
72.4 FPS
46.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB $ 329 $ 3.2 104.3 FPS
89.6 FPS
57.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB $ 399 $ 3.1 127.1 FPS
111.9 FPS
72.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB $ 499 $ 3.2 155.1 FPS
133 FPS
84.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 10GB $ 599 $ 3.4 174 FPS
150.4 FPS
97.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB $ 699 $ 3.4 202.8 FPS
173.8 FPS
111 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 20GB $ 799 $ 3.9 202.8 FPS
177.3 FPS
117.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB $ 1,499 $ 6.4 232.7 FPS
199.5 FPS
127.4 FPS
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