Xeon Gold 5218R vs EPYC 7281
Aggregate performance score
Xeon Gold 5218R outperforms EPYC 7281 by a moderate 14% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 542 | 440 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 4.66 | 21.61 |
| Market segment | Server | Server |
| Series | AMD EPYC | Intel Xeon Gold |
| Power efficiency | 7.58 | 11.80 |
| Architecture codename | Naples (2017−2018) | Cascade Lake (2019−2020) |
| Release date | 29 June 2017 (7 years ago) | 24 February 2020 (4 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $650 | $1,273 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon Gold 5218R has 364% better value for money than EPYC 7281.
Detailed specifications
EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R 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 | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 20 (Icosa-Core) |
| Threads | 32 | 40 |
| Base clock speed | 2.1 GHz | 2.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.7 GHz | 4 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 21 | 21 |
| L1 cache | 96K (per core) | 1.25 MB |
| L2 cache | 512K (per core) | 20 MB |
| L3 cache | 32 MB (shared) | 27.5 MB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 192 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 87 °C |
| Number of transistors | 4,800 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R 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 (Multiprocessor) | no data |
| Socket | TR4 | FCLGA3647 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 170 Watt | 125 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | 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 | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | no data | + |
| EDB | no data | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R 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 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Eight-channel | DDR4-2667 |
| Maximum memory size | 2 TiB | 1 TB |
| Max memory channels | 8 | 6 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 170.671 GB/s | 128.001 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 128 | 48 |
Synthetic benchmark performance
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 13.61 | 15.58 |
| Recency | 29 June 2017 | 24 February 2020 |
| Physical cores | 16 | 20 |
| Threads | 32 | 40 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 170 Watt | 125 Watt |
Xeon Gold 5218R has a 14.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 25% more physical cores and 25% more threads, and 36% lower power consumption.
The Xeon Gold 5218R is our recommended choice as it beats the EPYC 7281 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5218R, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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