Intel Xeon E5-1660 vs Intel Xeon W5590

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon E5-1660 and Intel Xeon W5590 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

Intel Xeon E5-1660

Intel Xeon W5590

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon E5-1660

CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 6 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 6 vs 4
4 more threads: 12 vs 8
Around 8% higher clock speed: 3.90 GHz vs 3.60 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 45 nm
Around 50% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
Around 50% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 88% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Around 78% higher maximum memory size: 256 GB vs 144 GB
Around 12% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1802 vs 1612
Around 27% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 8407 vs 6640

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	March 2012 vs August 2009
Number of cores	6 vs 4
Number of threads	12 vs 8
Maximum frequency	3.90 GHz vs 3.60 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core) vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core) vs 256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	15360 KB (shared) vs 8192 KB (shared)
Maximum memory size	256 GB vs 144 GB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1802 vs 1612
PassMark - CPU mark	8407 vs 6640

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon W5590

Around 5% higher maximum core temperature: 67°C vs 64°C
3.6x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 2806 vs 777
2.1x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 10032 vs 4774

Specifications (specs)
Maximum core temperature	67°C vs 64°C
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	2 vs 1
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	2806 vs 777
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	10032 vs 4774

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Xeon E5-1660
CPU 2: Intel Xeon W5590

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1802

1612

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

8407

6640

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

777

2806

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

4774

10032

Name	Intel Xeon E5-1660	Intel Xeon W5590
PassMark - Single thread mark	1802	1612
PassMark - CPU mark	8407	6640
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	777	2806
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	4774	10032
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		2.073
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		83.554
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.602
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		3.434
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		10.152

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Xeon E5-1660	Intel Xeon W5590
Essentials
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge EP	Nehalem EP
Launch date	March 2012	August 2009
Launch price (MSRP)	$290	$270
Place in performance rating	1602	1620
Price now	$1,226.66	$2,508.95
Processor Number	E5-1660	W5590
Series	Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family	Legacy Intel® Xeon® Processors
Status	Discontinued	Launched
Value for money (0-100)	2.97	0.73
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	3.30 GHz	3.33 GHz
Bus Speed	0 QPI	6.4 GT/s QPI
Die size	435 mm	263 mm2
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	15360 KB (shared)	8192 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	45 nm
Maximum core temperature	64°C	67°C
Maximum frequency	3.90 GHz	3.60 GHz
Number of cores	6	4
Number of QPI Links	0	2
Number of threads	12	8
Transistor count	2270 million	731 million
VID voltage range	0.60V - 1.35V	0.75V -1.35V
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	4	3
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.2 GB/s	32 GB/s
Maximum memory size	256 GB	144 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600	DDR3 800/1066/1333
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	2
Package Size	52.5mm x 45.0 mm	42.5mm x 45mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA2011	FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	130 Watt	130 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	40
PCI Express revision	3.0
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Flex Memory Access
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Thermal Monitoring
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)		40-bit
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)