EPYC 7251 vs Xeon E3-1220 v2

Aggregate performance score

Xeon E3-1220 v2
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 69 Watt
2.95
EPYC 7251
2017
8 cores / 16 threads, 120 Watt
9.40
+219%

EPYC 7251 outperforms Xeon E3-1220 v2 by a whopping 219% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking1645805
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.422.79
Market segmentServerServer
Seriesno dataAMD EPYC
Power efficiency4.057.41
Architecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Naples (2017−2018)
Release date14 May 2012 (12 years ago)29 June 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$220$574

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

EPYC 7251 has 96% better value for money than Xeon E3-1220 v2.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251 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)8 (Octa-Core)
Threads416
Base clock speed3.1 GHz2.1 GHz
Boost clock speed3.5 GHz2.9 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
Multiplierno data21
L1 cache64 KB (per core)96K (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)512K (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)32 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm14 nm
Die size160 mm2192 mm2
Number of transistors1,400 million4,800 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier-+

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251 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 configuration12 (Multiprocessor)
SocketFCLGA1155TR4
Power consumption (TDP)69 Watt120 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXno data
AES-NI++
AVX++
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology2.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology-no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
Demand Based Switching+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data
Identity Protection+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251 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 Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR4 Eight-channel
Maximum memory size32.77 GB2 TiB
Max memory channels28
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/s153.652 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251.

PCIe version3.03.0
PCI Express lanesno data128

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 E3-1220 v2 2.95
EPYC 7251 9.40
+219%

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 E3-1220 v2 4678
EPYC 7251 14935
+219%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 2.95 9.40
Recency 14 May 2012 29 June 2017
Physical cores 4 8
Threads 4 16
Chip lithography 22 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 69 Watt 120 Watt

Xeon E3-1220 v2 has 73.9% lower power consumption.

EPYC 7251, on the other hand, has a 218.6% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 57.1% more advanced lithography process.

The EPYC 7251 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E3-1220 v2 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1220 v2 and EPYC 7251, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E3-1220 v2
Xeon E3-1220 v2
AMD EPYC 7251
EPYC 7251

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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