Intel Xeon 5063 vs AMD Opteron 856

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon 5063 and AMD Opteron 856 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization.

Intel Xeon 5063

AMD Opteron 856

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon 5063

CPU is newer: launch date 0 month(s) later
1 more cores, run more applications at once: 2 vs 1
Around 7% higher clock speed: 3.2 GHz vs 3 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 65 nm vs 90 nm
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later

Launch date	May 2006 vs April 2006
Number of cores	2 vs 1
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz vs 3 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	65 nm vs 90 nm
L2 cache	2048 KB vs 1024 KB

Reasons to consider the AMD Opteron 856

Around 3% lower typical power consumption: 92 Watt vs 95 Watt

Max number of CPUs in a configuration	8 vs 1
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	92 Watt vs 95 Watt

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Xeon 5063	AMD Opteron 856
Essentials
Architecture codename	Dempsey	Athens
Launch date	May 2006	April 2006
Place in performance rating	not rated	not rated
Processor Number	5063
Series	Legacy Intel® Xeon® Processors
Status	Discontinued
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.20 GHz
Bus Speed	1066 MHz FSB
Die size	162 mm2
L2 cache	2048 KB	1024 KB
Manufacturing process technology	65 nm	90 nm
Maximum core temperature	67°C
Maximum frequency	3.2 GHz	3 GHz
Number of cores	2	1
Transistor count	376 million	106 million
VID voltage range	1.075V-1.350V
L1 cache		128 KB
Memory
Supported memory types	DDR2
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	8
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Scenario Design Power (SDP)	0 W
Sockets supported	PLGA771	940
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	92 Watt
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
FSB parity
Idle States
Intel 64
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	32-bit
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)