Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4 vs AMD EPYC 7401

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4 and AMD EPYC 7401 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: 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), Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark.

Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4

AMD EPYC 7401

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4

Around 23% higher clock speed: 3.7 GHz vs 3 GHz
Around 13% lower typical power consumption: 150 Watt vs 155/170 Watt

Maximum frequency	3.7 GHz vs 3 GHz
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	150 Watt vs 155/170 Watt

Reasons to consider the AMD EPYC 7401

CPU is newer: launch date 11 month(s) later
Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 24 vs 22
4 more threads: 48 vs 44
Around 64% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
2.2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
Around 16% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later

Launch date	June 2017 vs 20 June 2016
Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of cores	24 vs 22
Number of threads	48 vs 44
L1 cache	96 KB (per core) vs 1408 KB
L2 cache	512 KB (per core) vs 5.5 MB
L3 cache	64 MB vs 55 MB

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4
CPU 2: AMD EPYC 7401

Name	Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4	AMD EPYC 7401
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	45.233
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	238.37
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	2.53
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		3541
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		24681
PassMark - Single thread mark		1850
PassMark - CPU mark		55280

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Xeon E5-2696 v4	AMD EPYC 7401
Essentials
Architecture codename	Broadwell EP	Zen
Family	Xeon E5	AMD EPYC
Launch date	20 June 2016	June 2017
Place in performance rating	274	125
Processor Number	E5-2696 v4
Series	E5-2000	AMD EPYC 7000 Series
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.2 GHz	2 GHz
Bus Speed	9.6 GT/s QPI 4800 MHz
L1 cache	1408 KB	96 KB (per core)
L2 cache	5.5 MB	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	55 MB	64 MB
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	14 nm
Maximum frequency	3.7 GHz	3 GHz
Number of cores	22	24
Number of threads	44	48
Operating Temperature Range	-25 °C - 125 °C
Transistor count	7.2 billion	4800 million
Unlocked
Die size		192 mm
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	4	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	71.53 GB/s	307/341 GB/s
Maximum memory size	1536 GB
Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR4
Supported memory frequency		2400/2666 MHz
Compatibility
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	2	2
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	150 Watt	155/170 Watt
Socket Count		1P/2P
Sockets supported		TR4
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	40
Number of USB ports	3.0
PCIe configurations	1x4, 1x16
PCI Express revision		x128
Security & Reliability
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Fused Multiply-Add 3 (FMA3)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Virtualization
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)