Phenom II X4 905e vs Xeon E5540
Aggregate performance score
Xeon E5540 outperforms Phenom II X4 905e by a considerable 44% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 1955 | 2251 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.64 | 2.76 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | no data | 4x Phenom II (Desktop) |
| Architecture codename | Gainestown (2009−2010) | Deneb (2009−2011) |
| Release date | 30 March 2009 (15 years ago) | 2 June 2009 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $30 | $212 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Phenom II X4 905e has 331% better value for money than Xeon E5540.
Detailed specifications
Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e 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 | 4 (Quad-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 2.533 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 2.5 GHz |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 8 MB (shared) | 6 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 263 mm2 | 258 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 76 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 731 million | 758 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | No |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e 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 | 1366 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 80 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | 45 nm, 1.25 |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | no data | + |
| VT-x | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 25.6 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | N/A | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
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 E5540 outperforms Phenom II X4 905e by 44% 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: 65%
Xeon E5540 outperforms Phenom II X4 905e by 44% 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: 40%
Xeon E5540 outperforms Phenom II X4 905e by 9% 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: 40%
Xeon E5540 outperforms Phenom II X4 905e by 35% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 1.80 | 1.25 |
| Recency | 30 March 2009 | 2 June 2009 |
| Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 80 Watt | 65 Watt |
Xeon E5540 has a 44% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more threads.
Phenom II X4 905e, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 months, and 23.1% lower power consumption.
The Xeon E5540 is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 905e in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon E5540 is a server/workstation processor while Phenom II X4 905e is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5540 and Phenom II X4 905e, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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.
