Opteron 6278 vs Phenom II X2 550
Aggregate performance score
Opteron 6278 outperforms Phenom II X2 550 by a whopping 1080% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2973 | 1087 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.05 | 0.94 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Server |
| Power efficiency | 0.88 | 7.26 |
| Designer | AMD | AMD |
| Manufacturer | GlobalFoundries | GlobalFoundries |
| Architecture codename | Callisto (2009−2010) | Interlagos (2011−2012) |
| Release date | 4 November 2009 (16 years ago) | 1 May 2012 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $133 | $988 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Opteron 6278 has 1780% better value for money than Phenom II X2 550.
Performance to price scatter graph
Detailed specifications
Phenom II X2 550 and Opteron 6278 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 | 2 (Dual-core) | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) |
| Threads | 2 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 3.1 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.1 GHz | 3.3 GHz |
| L1 cache | 128 KB (per core) | 768 KB |
| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 2 MB (per module) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 8 MB (per die) |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | 258 mm2 | 2x 315 mm2 |
| Number of transistors | 758 million | 2,400 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Phenom II X2 550 and Opteron 6278 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 | 1 | 4 |
| Socket | AM3 | G34 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 80 Watt | 115 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Phenom II X2 550 and Opteron 6278. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | - | + |
| FMA | - | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Phenom II X2 550 and Opteron 6278 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Phenom II X2 550 and Opteron 6278. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) | N/A |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Phenom II X2 550 and Opteron 6278.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
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. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.66 | 7.79 |
| Recency | 4 November 2009 | 1 May 2012 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 16 |
| Threads | 2 | 16 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 32 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 80 Watt | 115 Watt |
Phenom II X2 550 has 43.8% lower power consumption.
Opteron 6278, on the other hand, has a 1080.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 700% more physical cores and 700% more threads, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.
The AMD Opteron 6278 is our recommended choice as it beats the AMD Phenom II X2 550 in performance tests.
Note that Phenom II X2 550 is a desktop processor while Opteron 6278 is a server/workstation one.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
