Phenom II X4 B97 vs Xeon E5520

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Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5520
2009
4 cores / 8 threads, 80 Watt
1.65
Phenom II X4 B97
2010
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.66
+0.6%

Phenom II X4 B97 outperforms Xeon E5520 by a minimal 1% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking20712067
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.582.36
Market segmentServerDesktop processor
Power efficiency1.881.59
Architecture codenameGainestown (2009−2010)Deneb (2009−2011)
Release date30 March 2009 (15 years ago)11 May 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$19$100

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E5520 has 9% better value for money than Phenom II X4 B97.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97 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)
Threads84
Base clock speed2.26 GHz3.2 GHz
Boost clock speed2.53 GHz3.2 GHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)128 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)512 KB (per core)
L3 cache8 MB (shared)6 MB (shared)
Chip lithography45 nm45 nm
Die size263 mm2258 mm2
Maximum core temperature72 °Cno data
Number of transistors731 million758 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97 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 configuration21
SocketFCLGA1366AM3
Power consumption (TDP)80 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology1.0no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Demand Based Switching+no data
PAE40 Bitno data
StatusDiscontinuedno data

Security technologies

Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size144 GBno data
Max memory channels3no data
Maximum memory bandwidth25.6 GB/sno data
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardN/Ano data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97.

PCIe version2.02.0

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 E5520 1.65
Phenom II X4 B97 1.66
+0.6%

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 E5520 2524
Phenom II X4 B97 2539
+0.6%

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 E5520 348
Phenom II X4 B97 423
+21.6%

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 E5520 1454
+4.6%
Phenom II X4 B97 1390

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.65 1.66
Recency 30 March 2009 11 May 2010
Threads 8 4
Power consumption (TDP) 80 Watt 95 Watt

Xeon E5520 has 100% more threads, and 18.8% lower power consumption.

Phenom II X4 B97, on the other hand, has a 0.6% higher aggregate performance score, and an age advantage of 1 year.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97.

Be aware that Xeon E5520 is a server/workstation processor while Phenom II X4 B97 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5520 and Phenom II X4 B97, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5520
Xeon E5520
AMD Phenom II X4 B97
Phenom II X4 B97

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Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.3 28 votes

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4.2 89 votes

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon E5520 or Phenom II X4 B97, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.