Intel Xeon Silver 4210 vs AMD EPYC 7281

Comparative analysis of Intel Xeon Silver 4210 and AMD EPYC 7281 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.

Intel Xeon Silver 4210

AMD EPYC 7281

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Xeon Silver 4210

CPU is newer: launch date 1 year(s) 10 month(s) later
Around 19% higher clock speed: 3.20 GHz vs 2.7 GHz
Around 25% more L2 cache; more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
2x lower typical power consumption: 85 Watt vs 155/170 Watt
Around 11% better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1808 vs 1626
Around 9% better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 23671 vs 21621

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	2 Apr 2019 vs June 2017
Maximum frequency	3.20 GHz vs 2.7 GHz
L2 cache	10 MB vs 512 KB (per core)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	85 Watt vs 155/170 Watt
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1808 vs 1626
PassMark - CPU mark	23671 vs 21621

Reasons to consider the AMD EPYC 7281

Processor is unlocked, an unlocked multiplier allows for easier overclocking
6 more cores, run more applications at once: 16 vs 10
12 more threads: 32 vs 20
2.4x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
2.3x more L3 cache, more data can be stored in the L3 cache for quick access later

Unlocked	Unlocked vs Locked
Number of cores	16 vs 10
Number of threads	32 vs 20
L1 cache	96 KB (per core) vs 640 KB
L3 cache	32 MB vs 13.75 MB

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Xeon Silver 4210
CPU 2: AMD EPYC 7281

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1808

1626

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

23671

21621

Name	Intel Xeon Silver 4210	AMD EPYC 7281
PassMark - Single thread mark	1808	1626
PassMark - CPU mark	23671	21621

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Xeon Silver 4210	AMD EPYC 7281
Essentials
Architecture codename	Cascade Lake	Zen
Launch date	2 Apr 2019	June 2017
Launch price (MSRP)	$501-511
Place in performance rating	976	1096
Processor Number	4210
Vertical segment	Server	Server
Family		AMD EPYC
Series		AMD EPYC 7000 Series
Performance
Base frequency	2.20 GHz	2.1 GHz
L1 cache	640 KB	96 KB (per core)
L2 cache	10 MB	512 KB (per core)
L3 cache	13.75 MB	32 MB
Manufacturing process technology	14 nm	14 nm
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	78 °C
Maximum frequency	3.20 GHz	2.7 GHz
Number of cores	10	16
Number of threads	20	32
Number of Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) Links	2
64 bit support
Die size		192 mm
Transistor count		4800 million
Unlocked
Memory
ECC memory support
Max memory channels	6	8
Maximum memory bandwidth	107.3 GB/s	307/341 GB/s
Maximum memory size	1 TB
Supported memory frequency	2400 MHz	2400/2666 MHz
Supported memory types	DDR4-2400	DDR4
Compatibility
Sockets supported	FCLGA3647	TR4
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	85 Watt	155/170 Watt
Max number of CPUs in a configuration		2
Socket Count		1P/2P
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	48
PCI Express revision	3.0	x128
Scalability	2S
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Run Sure Technology
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Mode-based Execute Control (MBE)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Instruction set extensions	Intel SSE4.2, Intel AVX, Intel AVX2, Intel AVX-512
Intel 64
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
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)
AMD Virtualization (AMD-V™)