EPYC 7542 vs Xeon E5-2686 v4
Aggregate performance score
EPYC 7542 outperforms Xeon E5-2686 v4 by a whopping 119% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 529 | 142 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 32.09 | 19.13 |
| Market segment | Server | Server |
| Series | Intel Xeon E5 | AMD EPYC |
| Architecture codename | Broadwell (2015−2019) | Zen 2 (2019−2020) |
| Release date | 20 June 2016 (8 years ago) | 7 August 2019 (4 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $3,400 |
| Current price | $80 | $1139 (0.3x MSRP) |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon E5-2686 v4 has 68% better value for money than EPYC 7542.
Detailed specifications
Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542 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 | 18 (Octadeca-Core) | 32 (Dotriaconta-Core) |
| Threads | 36 | 64 |
| Base clock speed | 2.3 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3 GHz | 3.4 GHz |
| Bus support | 2 × 9.6 GT/s | no data |
| L1 cache | no data | 96K (per core) |
| L2 cache | 4.5 MB | 512K (per core) |
| L3 cache | 45 MB | 128 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 7 nm, 14 nm |
| Die size | 456.12 mm2 | 192 mm2 |
| Number of transistors | 7200 Million | 4,800 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | Yes |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542 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 (Multiprocessor) | 2 (Multiprocessor) |
| Socket | no data | SP3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 145 Watt | 225 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| TSX | + | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR4 Eight-channel |
| Maximum memory size | 1,536 GB | 4 TiB |
| Max memory channels | no data | 8 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | no data | 204.763 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | no data | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | no data |
| PCI Express lanes | 40 | 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.
EPYC 7542 outperforms Xeon E5-2686 v4 by 119% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
EPYC 7542 outperforms Xeon E5-2686 v4 by 119% in Passmark.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 42%
EPYC 7542 outperforms Xeon E5-2686 v4 by 50% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 42%
EPYC 7542 outperforms Xeon E5-2686 v4 by 99% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 13.31 | 29.10 |
| Recency | 20 June 2016 | 7 August 2019 |
| Physical cores | 18 | 32 |
| Threads | 36 | 64 |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 7 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 145 Watt | 225 Watt |
The EPYC 7542 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E5-2686 v4 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-2686 v4 and EPYC 7542, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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