Xeon W3550 vs E5-1603 v3

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Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5-1603 v3
2014
4 cores / 4 threads, 140 Watt
2.79
+36.8%
Xeon W3550
2009
4 cores / 8 threads, 130 Watt
2.04

Xeon E5-1603 v3 outperforms Xeon W3550 by a substantial 37% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking16891914
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.68
Market segmentServerServer
Power efficiency1.891.49
Architecture codenameHaswell-EP (2014−2015)Bloomfield (2008−2010)
Release date8 September 2014 (10 years ago)9 August 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$235

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550 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)
Threads48
Base clock speed2.8 GHz3.06 GHz
Boost clock speed2.8 GHz3.33 GHz
Bus rate0 GT/sno data
L1 cache64K (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256K (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache10 MB (shared)8 MB (shared)
Chip lithography22 nm45 nm
Die size356 mm2263 mm2
Maximum core temperature67 °C68 °C
Number of transistors2,600 million731 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage range0.65–1.3Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550 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 configuration11
SocketFCLGA2011-3FCLGA1366
Power consumption (TDP)140 Watt130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVX2Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology-1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access-no data
Demand Based Switching++
PAE46 Bit36 Bit

Security technologies

Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++
Secure Key+no data
Identity Protection+-
OS Guard+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550 are enumerated here.

VT-d+no data
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR4-1333, DDR4-1600, DDR4-1866DDR3
Maximum memory size768 GB24 GB
Max memory channels43
Maximum memory bandwidth59 GB/s25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataN/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550.

PCIe version3.02.0
PCI Express lanes40no 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 E5-1603 v3 2.79
+36.8%
Xeon W3550 2.04

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 E5-1603 v3 4432
+37.1%
Xeon W3550 3233

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 2.79 2.04
Recency 8 September 2014 9 August 2009
Threads 4 8
Chip lithography 22 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 140 Watt 130 Watt

Xeon E5-1603 v3 has a 36.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, and a 104.5% more advanced lithography process.

Xeon W3550, on the other hand, has 100% more threads, and 7.7% lower power consumption.

The Xeon E5-1603 v3 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon W3550 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-1603 v3 and Xeon W3550, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5-1603 v3
Xeon E5-1603 v3
Intel Xeon W3550
Xeon W3550

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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