Intel Xeon E5-2603 vs Intel Xeon W5590

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon E5-2603 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 E5-2603

Intel Xeon W5590

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon E5-2603

CPU is newer: launch date 2 year(s) 6 month(s) later
Around 4% higher maximum core temperature: 70.0°C vs 67°C
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 45 nm
Around 25% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
2.7x more maximum memory size: 384 GB vs 144 GB
Around 63% lower typical power consumption: 80 Watt vs 130 Watt

Launch date	March 2012 vs August 2009
Maximum core temperature	70.0°C vs 67°C
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
L3 cache	10240 KB (shared) vs 8192 KB (shared)
Maximum memory size	384 GB vs 144 GB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt vs 130 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon W5590

4 more threads: 8 vs 4
Around 100% higher clock speed: 3.60 GHz vs 1.8 GHz
Around 85% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1612 vs 871
Around 54% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 6640 vs 4323
Around 58% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 2806 vs 1771
Around 90% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 10032 vs 5271

Specifications (specs)
Number of threads	8 vs 4
Maximum frequency	3.60 GHz vs 1.8 GHz
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1612 vs 871
PassMark - CPU mark	6640 vs 4323
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	2806 vs 1771
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	10032 vs 5271

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Xeon E5-2603
CPU 2: Intel Xeon W5590

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

871

1612

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

4323

6640

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

1771

2806

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

5271

10032

Name	Intel Xeon E5-2603	Intel Xeon W5590
PassMark - Single thread mark	871	1612
PassMark - CPU mark	4323	6640
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	1771	2806
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	5271	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 E5-2603	Intel Xeon W5590
Essentials
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge EP	Nehalem EP
Launch date	March 2012	August 2009
Launch price (MSRP)	$207	$270
Place in performance rating	1634	1623
Price now	$27.84	$2,508.95
Processor Number	E5-2603	W5590
Series	Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family	Legacy Intel® Xeon® Processors
Status	Discontinued	Launched
Value for money (0-100)	37.88	0.73
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	1.80 GHz	3.33 GHz
Bus Speed	6.4 GT/s QPI	6.4 GT/s QPI
Die size	294 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	10240 KB (shared)	8192 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	45 nm
Maximum core temperature	70.0°C	67°C
Maximum frequency	1.8 GHz	3.60 GHz
Number of cores	4	4
Number of QPI Links	2	2
Number of threads	4	8
Transistor count	1270 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	34.1 GB/s	32 GB/s
Maximum memory size	384 GB	144 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 800/1066	DDR3 800/1066/1333
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	2	2
Package Size	52.5mm x 45.0mm	42.5mm x 45mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA2011	FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt	130 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	40
PCI Express revision	3.0
Scalability	2S Only
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)