Xeon Gold 5217 vs EPYC 7281
Aggregate performance score
EPYC 7281 outperforms Xeon Gold 5217 by a considerable 40% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 542 | 784 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 4.62 | 7.70 |
| Market segment | Server | Server |
| Series | AMD EPYC | Intel Xeon Gold |
| Power efficiency | 7.58 | 7.99 |
| Architecture codename | Naples (2017−2018) | Cascade Lake (2019−2020) |
| Release date | 29 June 2017 (7 years ago) | 2 April 2019 (5 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $650 | $1,522 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Xeon Gold 5217 has 67% better value for money than EPYC 7281.
Detailed specifications
EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217 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 | 16 (Hexadeca-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 32 | 16 |
| Base clock speed | 2.1 GHz | 3 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.7 GHz | 3.7 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | DMI 3.0 |
| Bus rate | no data | 4 × 8 GT/s |
| Multiplier | 21 | 30 |
| L1 cache | 96K (per core) | 512 KB |
| L2 cache | 512K (per core) | 8 MB |
| L3 cache | 32 MB (shared) | 11 MB |
| Chip lithography | 14 nm | 14 nm |
| Die size | 192 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 79 °C |
| Number of transistors | 4,800 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | - |
Compatibility
Information on EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217 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) | 4 (Multiprocessor) |
| Socket | TR4 | FCLGA3647 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 170 Watt | 115 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX, Intel® AVX2, Intel® AVX-512 |
| AES-NI | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| vPro | no data | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | no data | + |
| Speed Shift | no data | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | no data | 2.0 |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | no data | + |
| TSX | - | + |
| Turbo Boost Max 3.0 | no data | - |
| Deep Learning Boost | - | + |
Security technologies
EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217 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 EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | no data | + |
| EPT | no data | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR4 Eight-channel | DDR4-2667 |
| Maximum memory size | 2 TiB | 1 TB |
| Max memory channels | 8 | 6 |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 170.671 GB/s | 128.001 GB/s |
| ECC memory support | + | + |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 128 | 48 |
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 13.61 | 9.71 |
| Recency | 29 June 2017 | 2 April 2019 |
| Physical cores | 16 | 8 |
| Threads | 32 | 16 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 170 Watt | 115 Watt |
EPYC 7281 has a 40.2% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.
Xeon Gold 5217, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, and 47.8% lower power consumption.
The EPYC 7281 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon Gold 5217 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between EPYC 7281 and Xeon Gold 5217, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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