Intel Xeon Silver 4208 vs Intel Xeon E5-2420

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon Silver 4208 and Intel Xeon E5-2420 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.

Intel Xeon Silver 4208

Intel Xeon E5-2420

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon Silver 4208

CPU is newer: launch date 6 year(s) 11 month(s) later
2 more cores, run more applications at once: 8 vs 6
4 more threads: 16 vs 12
Around 33% higher clock speed: 3.20 GHz vs 2.40 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 14 nm vs 32 nm
Around 33% more L1 cache; more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
5.3x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
2.7x more maximum memory size: 1 TB vs 384 GB
Around 12% lower typical power consumption: 85 Watt vs 95 Watt
Around 57% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1739 vs 1108
5.9x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 18200 vs 3065

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	2 April 2019 vs May 2012
Number of cores	8 vs 6
Number of threads	16 vs 12
Maximum frequency	3.20 GHz vs 2.40 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm vs 32 nm
L1 cache	512 KB vs 64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	8 MB vs 256 KB (per core)
Maximum memory size	1 TB vs 384 GB
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	85 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1739 vs 1108
PassMark - CPU mark	18200 vs 3065

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon E5-2420

Around 36% more L3 cache; more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later

L3 cache	15360 KB (shared) vs 11 MB

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Xeon Silver 4208
CPU 2: Intel Xeon E5-2420

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1739

1108

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

18200

3065

Name	Intel Xeon Silver 4208	Intel Xeon E5-2420
PassMark - Single thread mark	1739	1108
PassMark - CPU mark	18200	3065
Geekbench 4 - Single Core		454
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core		2647

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Xeon Silver 4208	Intel Xeon E5-2420
Essentials
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake	Sandy Bridge EN
Family	Xeon Silver
Launch date	2 April 2019	May 2012
Launch price (MSRP)	$417	$390
Place in performance rating	1213	2356
Processor Number	4208	E5-2420
Series	4200	Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Price now		$390.02
Status		Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)		5.32
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.10 GHz	1.90 GHz
L1 cache	512 KB	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	8 MB	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	11 MB	15360 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	32 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	78 °C
Maximum frequency	3.20 GHz	2.40 GHz
Number of cores	8	6
Number of threads	16	12
Number of Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) Links	2
Unlocked
Bus Speed		7.2 GT/s QPI
Die size		294 mm
Number of QPI Links		1
Transistor count		1270 million
VID voltage range		0.6V-1.35V
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	6	3
Maximum memory bandwidth	107.3 GB/s	32 GB/s
Maximum memory size	1 TB	384 GB
Supported memory frequency	2400 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR3 800/1066/1333
Compatibility
Sockets supported	FCLGA3647	FCLGA1356
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	85 Watt	95 Watt
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		2
Package Size		45mm x 42.5mm
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	48	24
PCI Express revision	3.0	3.0
Scalability	2S	2S Only
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Mode-based Execute Control (MBE)
Intel® Identity Protection technology
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Intel 64
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX)
Intel® Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2)
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Optane™ Memory Supported
Intel® TSX-NI
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® Volume Management Device (VMD)
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Speed Shift technology
Turbo Boost Max 3.0
Idle States
Instruction set extensions		Intel® AVX
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Flex Memory Access
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)