i5-520M vs Xeon E5-1620

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5-1620
2012
4 cores / 8 threads, 130 Watt
3.79
+241%

Xeon E5-1620 outperforms i5-520M by a whopping 241% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking14522367
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.40no data
Market segmentServerLaptop
Seriesno dataIntel Core i5
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)Arrandale (2010−2011)
Release date6 March 2012 (12 years ago)7 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$313$225

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M 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)2 (Dual-core)
Threads84
Base clock speed3.6 GHz2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz2.93 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 1.0
Bus rateno data1 × 2.5 GT/s
Multiplierno data18
L1 cache64 KB (per core)128 KB
L2 cache256 KB (per core)512 KB
L3 cache10240 KB (shared)3 MB
Chip lithography32 nm32 nm
Die size294 mm281+114 mm2
Maximum core temperature64 °C105 °C
Number of transistors1,270 million382+177 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketFCLGA2011BGA1288,PGA988
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI++
FMA-+
AVX+-
vProno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.0+
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access-+
Demand Based Switching+no data
PAEno data36 Bit
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+
StatusDiscontinuedDiscontinued

Security technologies

Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3-800, DDR3-1066
Maximum memory size375 GB8.3 GB
Max memory channels42
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/s17.051 GB/s
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardN/AIntel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors
Clear Videono data+
Clear Video HDno data+
Graphics max frequencyno data766 MHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M.

PCIe version3.02.0
PCI Express lanes4016

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 E5-1620 3.79
+241%
i5-520M 1.11

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 E5-1620 5860
+240%
i5-520M 1723

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Xeon E5-1620 609
+68.7%
i5-520M 361

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Xeon E5-1620 2236
+221%
i5-520M 696

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.79 1.11
Recency 6 March 2012 7 January 2010
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 8 4
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 35 Watt

Xeon E5-1620 has a 241.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

i5-520M, on the other hand, has 271.4% lower power consumption.

The Xeon E5-1620 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core i5-520M in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E5-1620 is a server/workstation processor while Core i5-520M is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-1620 and Core i5-520M, 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 E5-1620
Xeon E5-1620
Intel Core i5-520M
Core i5-520M

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.


4.4 162 votes

Rate Xeon E5-1620 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.6 367 votes

Rate Core i5-520M on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon E5-1620 or Core i5-520M, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.