AMD Opteron 6281 vs Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2

Comparative analysis of AMD Opteron 6281 and Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization, Peripherals, Security & Reliability. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core.

AMD Opteron 6281

Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2

Differences

Reasons to consider the AMD Opteron 6281

10 more cores, run more applications at once: 16 vs 6
4 more threads: 16 vs 12
Around 19% higher clock speed: 3.2 GHz vs 2.70 GHz
2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
10.7x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Number of cores	16 vs 6
Number of threads	16 vs 12
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz vs 2.70 GHz
L1 cache	768 KB vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	16 MB vs 256 KB (per core)
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	4 vs 2

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2

A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 22 nm vs 32 nm
Around 88% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Around 63% lower typical power consumption: 80 Watt vs 130 Watt
Around 22% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1381 vs 1129
Around 62% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 11796 vs 7279

Specifications (specs)
Manufacturing process technology	22 nm vs 32 nm
L3 cache	15360 KB (shared) vs 8 MB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt vs 130 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1381 vs 1129
PassMark - CPU mark	11796 vs 7279

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: AMD Opteron 6281
CPU 2: Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1129

1381

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

7279

11796

Name	AMD Opteron 6281	Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2
PassMark - Single thread mark	1129	1381
PassMark - CPU mark	7279	11796
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		561
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		3249

Compare specifications (specs)

	AMD Opteron 6281	Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2
Essentials
Architecture codename	Bulldozer	Ivy Bridge EN
Family	AMD Opteron
OPN Tray	OS6281YJTGGGU
Place in performance rating	1939	1944
Series	AMD Opteron 6200 Series Processor	Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v2 Family
Value for money (0-100)	33.18	4.38
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Launch date		September 2013
Launch price (MSRP)		$480
Price now		$579.95
Processor Number		E5-2420V2
Status		Launched
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.5 GHz	2.20 GHz
L1 cache	768 KB	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	16 MB	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	8 MB	15360 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	22 nm
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz	2.70 GHz
Number of cores	16	6
Number of threads	16	12
Unlocked
Bus Speed		7.2 GT/s QPI
Die size		160 mm
Maximum core temperature		76°C
Number of QPI Links		1
Transistor count		1400 million
VID voltage range		0.65-1.30V
Memory
Max memory channels	2	3
Supported memory frequency	2000 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600
ECC memory support
Maximum memory bandwidth		38.4 GB/s
Maximum memory size		384 GB
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	4	2
Sockets supported	G34	FCLGA1356
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	130 Watt	80 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Package Size		45mm x 42.5mm
Advanced Technologies
Fused Multiply-Add (FMA)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		46-bit
Thermal Monitoring
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)
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes		24
PCI Express revision		3.0
PCIe configurations		x4, x8, x16
Scalability		2S Only
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® OS Guard
Intel® Secure Key technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)