AMD EPYC 7542 vs Intel Xeon Gold 5120

Comparative analysis of AMD EPYC 7542 and Intel Xeon Gold 5120 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, Security & Reliability. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD EPYC 7542

Intel Xeon Gold 5120

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD EPYC 7542

18 more cores, run more applications at once: 32 vs 14
36 more threads: 64 vs 28
Around 6% higher clock speed: 3.4 GHz vs 3.20 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 7 nm, 14 nm vs 14 nm
5.3x more maximum memory size: 4 TB vs 768 GB
Around 20% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 2073 vs 1730
2.5x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 73885 vs 29566

Specifications (specs)
Number of cores	32 vs 14
Number of threads	64 vs 28
Maximum frequency	3.4 GHz vs 3.20 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm, 14 nm vs 14 nm
Maximum memory size	4 TB vs 768 GB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	2073 vs 1730
PassMark - CPU mark	73885 vs 29566

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon Gold 5120

2.1x lower typical power consumption: 105 Watt vs 225 Watt

Thermal Design Power (TDP)	105 Watt vs 225 Watt

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD EPYC 7542
CPU 2: Intel Xeon Gold 5120

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

2073

1730

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

73885

29566

Name	AMD EPYC 7542	Intel Xeon Gold 5120
PassMark - Single thread mark	2073	1730
PassMark - CPU mark	73885	29566
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		3452
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		24230

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD EPYC 7542	Intel Xeon Gold 5120
Essentials
Architecture codename	Zen 2	Skylake
Launch date	7 Aug 2019	Q3'17
Launch price (MSRP)	$3400
OPN PIB	100-100000075WOF
OPN Tray	100-000000075
Place in performance rating	238	218
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Processor Number		5120
Series		Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors
Status		Launched
Performance
Base frequency	2.9 GHz	2.20 GHz
L1 cache	2 MB
L2 cache	16 MB
L3 cache	128 MB
Manufacturing process technology	7 nm, 14 nm	14 nm
Maximum frequency	3.4 GHz	3.20 GHz
Number of cores	32	14
Number of threads	64	28
Unlocked
Maximum core temperature		81°C
Number of Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) Links		2
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	8	6
Maximum memory bandwidth	190.7 GB/s
Maximum memory size	4 TB	768 GB
Supported memory types	DDR4-3200	DDR4-2400
Supported memory frequency		2400 MHz
Compatibility
Socket Count	1P/2P
Sockets supported	SP3	FCLGA3647
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	225 Watt	105 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		76.0mm x 56.5mm
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	128	48
PCI Express revision	4.0	3.0
Scalability		S4S
Advanced Technologies
AMD SenseMI
Fused Multiply-Add 3 (FMA3)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Instruction set extensions		Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512
Intel 64
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Optane™ Memory Supported
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD)
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Number of AVX-512 FMA Units		1
Speed Shift technology
Virtualization
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Run Sure Technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Mode-based Execute Control (MBE)