A9-9420 vs Xeon E5-2420

Primary Details

Comparing Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1488	2365
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation	0.52	no data
Market segment	Server	Laptop
Series	no data	AMD Bristol Ridge
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge-EN (2012)	Stoney Ridge (2016−2019)
Release date	14 May 2012 (11 years ago)	31 May 2016 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$390	no data
Current price	$39 (0.1x MSRP)	$440

Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed Specifications

Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420 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	6 (Hexa-Core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	12	2
Base clock speed	1.9 GHz	3 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.4 GHz	3.6 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128K (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	1 MB (per core)
L3 cache	15360 KB (shared)	no data
Chip lithography	32 nm	28 nm
Die size	294 mm2	124.5 mm2
Maximum core temperature	no data	90 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	74 °C
Number of transistors	1,270 million	1,200 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420 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	2	1
Socket	FCLGA1356	FT4
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	Single-Channel DDR4-2133, Virtualization,
AES-NI	+	+
FMA	no data	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	no data
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	no data
Idle States	+	no data
Thermal Monitoring	+	no data
Flex Memory Access	-	no data
Demand Based Switching	+	no data
Status	Discontinued	no data

Security technologies

Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR4
Maximum memory size	384 GB	no data
Max memory channels	3	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	32 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

Radeon R5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420.

PCIe version	3.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	24	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.

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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 E5-2420 outperforms A9-9420 by 235% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Pros & Cons Summary

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Performance score	3.25	0.97
Recency	14 May 2012	31 May 2016
Physical cores	6	2
Threads	12	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	15 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-2420 and A9-9420, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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