Atom C3538 vs Xeon D-1521

Aggregate performance score

Xeon D-1521
2015
4 cores / 8 threads, 45 Watt
3.58
+201%
Atom C3538
2017
4 cores / 4 threads, 15 Watt
1.19

Xeon D-1521 outperforms Atom C3538 by a whopping 201% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15192361
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.600.04
Market segmentServerServer
SeriesIntel Xeon DIntel Atom
Power efficiency7.527.50
Architecture codenameBroadwell (2015−2019)Goldmont (2016−2017)
Release date1 November 2015 (9 years ago)15 August 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$199$75

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon D-1521 has 6400% better value for money than Atom C3538.

Detailed specifications

Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads84
Base clock speed2.4 GHz2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed2.7 GHz2.1 GHz
Bus typeDMI 2.0no data
Multiplier2421
L1 cache64K (per core)224 KB
L2 cache256K (per core)8 MB
L3 cache1.5 MB (per core)8 MB
Chip lithography14 nm14 nm
Die size246.24 mm2no data
Maximum core temperatureno data87 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)80 °Cno data
Number of transistors3,200 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538 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 configuration1 (Uniprocessor)1 (Uniprocessor)
SocketFCBGA1667FCBGA1310
Power consumption (TDP)45 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVX2no data
AES-NI++
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
QuickAssistno data+
Turbo Boost Technology2.0-
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
TSX+-
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
GPIO+no data

Security technologies

Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB++
Secure Bootno data+
Secure Key++
SGXno data-
OS Guard++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538 are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4, DDR3DDR4: 2133
Maximum memory size128 GB256 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth34.124 GB/s29.871 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538.

PCIe version2.0/3.03
PCI Express lanes2412
USB revision2.0/3.03
Total number of SATA ports612
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Portsno data12
Number of USB ports88
Integrated LAN+2x10/2.5/1 GBE + 2x2.5/1 GBE
UART+no data

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.

Xeon D-1521 3.58
+201%
Atom C3538 1.19

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.

Xeon D-1521 5690
+201%
Atom C3538 1889

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.58 1.19
Recency 1 November 2015 15 August 2017
Threads 8 4
Power consumption (TDP) 45 Watt 15 Watt

Xeon D-1521 has a 200.8% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more threads.

Atom C3538, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, and 200% lower power consumption.

The Xeon D-1521 is our recommended choice as it beats the Atom C3538 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon D-1521 and Atom C3538, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Xeon D-1521
Xeon D-1521
Intel Atom C3538
Atom C3538

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


2.5 2 votes

Rate Xeon D-1521 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
1.5 2 votes

Rate Atom C3538 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon D-1521 or Atom C3538, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.