Intel Xeon E5603 vs Intel Xeon X5550

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon E5603 and Intel Xeon X5550 processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, 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 - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s).

Intel Xeon E5603

Intel Xeon X5550

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon E5603

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 11 month(s) later
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 32 nm vs 45 nm
2x more maximum memory size: 288 GB vs 144 GB
Around 19% lower typical power consumption: 80 Watt vs 95 Watt

Launch date	February 2011 vs March 2009
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm vs 45 nm
Maximum memory size	288 GB vs 144 GB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt vs 95 Watt

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon X5550

4 more threads: 8 vs 4
Around 91% higher clock speed: 3.06 GHz vs 1.6 GHz
2x more L3 cache, more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later
Around 85% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1312 vs 710
Around 58% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 5603 vs 3548

Specifications (specs)
Number of threads	8 vs 4
Maximum frequency	3.06 GHz vs 1.6 GHz
L3 cache	8192 KB (shared) vs 4096 KB (shared)
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1312 vs 710
PassMark - CPU mark	5603 vs 3548

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Xeon E5603
CPU 2: Intel Xeon X5550

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

710

1312

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3548

5603

Name	Intel Xeon E5603	Intel Xeon X5550
PassMark - Single thread mark	710	1312
PassMark - CPU mark	3548	5603
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		491
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		2241
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)		1.775
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)		71.663
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)		2.861
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)		8.548
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)		0.531

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Xeon E5603	Intel Xeon X5550
Essentials
Architecture codename	Westmere EP	Nehalem EP
Launch date	February 2011	March 2009
Launch price (MSRP)	$286	$62
Place in performance rating	2572	2539
Price now	$129.04	$17.27
Processor Number	E5603	X5550
Series	Legacy Intel® Xeon® Processors	Legacy Intel® Xeon® Processors
Status	Discontinued	Launched
Value for money (0-100)	5.40	92.15
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	1.60 GHz	2.66 GHz
Bus Speed	4.8 GT/s QPI	6.4 GT/s QPI
Die size	239 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	4096 KB (shared)	8192 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	32 nm	45 nm
Maximum frequency	1.6 GHz	3.06 GHz
Number of cores	4	4
Number of QPI Links	2	2
Number of threads	4	8
Transistor count	1170 million	731 million
VID voltage range	0.750V-1.350V	0.75V -1.35V
Maximum core temperature		75°C
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	3	3
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	32 GB/s
Maximum memory size	288 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	42.5mm X 45mm	42.5mm x 45mm
Sockets supported	FCLGA1366	FCLGA1366
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	80 Watt	95 Watt
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	40-bit	40-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)