Intel Xeon 658X Review: 24 Cores, Massive Memory Bandwidth Tested

Name: Intel Xeon 658X
Brand: Intel

by Marco Chiappetta — Thursday, June 11, 2026, 03:15 PM EDT

For our next series of tests, we moved on to some graphics and game-related metrics with 3DMark, specifically the CPU Profile benchmark and the DirectX 12 Steel Nomad test, along with a handful of actual games running at a couple of resolutions with differing image quality settings.

The 3DMark CPU Profile test is multi-threaded and reports results for six different thread levels, including single-thread, 2, 4, 8, and 16 threads and maximum threads...

UL 3DMark CPU Profile Benchmark

The Intel Xeon 658X faltered a bit in this test. Note that we're sorting the graph on the maximum thread result, which laned the Intel Xeon 658X at the bottom. In the lower core count tests, however, the Intel Xeon 658X outran the Xeon w7-2595X and the Xeon w9, save for the single-thread result where the w9 also held onto a lead.

High And Low Resolution Gaming & Graphics Benchmarks

We also ran some mid and high-resolution game and graphics benchmarks on our test rigs with 3DMark, F1 2024, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail and The Talos Principle 2. We used 3DMark's default Steel Nomad preset, and the games were run in two different configurations — either 1080p with Medium/High details, or 4K with High/Extreme details. The lower resolution tests are designed to be more CPU bound to better isolate processor performance, while the higher resolution tests are more GPU bound, where the CPU should have less of an impact.

Even with a GeForce RTX 5090 in our test bed, 3DMark's Steel Nomad test is GPU bound and all of the systems are effectively tied. Nothing to see here.

A clear picture emerges in our 1080p game tests, where the Intel Xeon 658X outpaces the older Xeon w9, and trades blows with the Xeon w7. The AMD Threadrippers and especially the higher-clocked desktop chips finish well ahead, though.

With the resolution cranked up and the graphs flatten considerably again, as the GPU becomes a larger portion of the bottleneck, but the Intel Xeon 658X ultimately lands in about the middle of the pack.

Tags: Intel, workstation, CPU, processor, (NASDAQ:INTC), xeon 6

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com