Xeon Gold 6538N vs EPYC 7203
Primary details
Comparing EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | 162 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 21.61 |
| Market segment | Server | Server |
| Power efficiency | no data | 13.05 |
| Architecture codename | Milan (2021−2023) | Emerald Rapids (2023) |
| Release date | 5 September 2023 (1 year ago) | 14 December 2023 (less than a year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $338 | $3,351 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 8 (Octa-Core) | 32 (Dotriaconta-Core) |
| Threads | 16 | 64 |
| Base clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 2.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.4 GHz | 4.1 GHz |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 80 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 2 MB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 64 MB (shared) | 60 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 7 nm | Intel 7 nm |
| Die size | 2x 81 mm2 | 2x 763 mm2 |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 85 °C |
| Number of transistors | 8,300 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.
| Number of CPUs in a configuration | 2 | 2 |
| Socket | SP3 | FCLGA4677 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 205 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® AMX, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Precision Boost 2 | + | no data |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
| SGX | no data | Yes with Intel® SPS |
| OS Guard | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 | DDR5-5200 |
| Maximum memory size | no data | 4 TB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 8 |
| ECC memory support | - | + |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | N/A | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N.
| PCIe version | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 128 | 80 |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 5 September 2023 | 14 December 2023 |
| Physical cores | 8 | 32 |
| Threads | 16 | 64 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 205 Watt |
EPYC 7203 has 70.8% lower power consumption.
Xeon Gold 6538N, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 3 months, and 300% more physical cores and 300% more threads.
We couldn't decide between EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N. We've got no test results to judge.
Should you still have questions on choice between EPYC 7203 and Xeon Gold 6538N, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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