Xeon E5420 vs E5540

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	2036	2298
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.64	no data
Market segment	Server	Server
Power efficiency	2.07	1.50
Architecture codename	Gainestown (2009−2010)	no data
Release date	30 March 2009 (15 years ago)	1 October 2007 (17 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$30	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420 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)	no data
Threads	8	no data
Base clock speed	2.53 GHz	2.5 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.8 GHz	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	no data
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	no data
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	12 MB L2 Cache
Chip lithography	45 nm	45 nm
Die size	263 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	76 °C	67 °C
Number of transistors	731 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V-1.35V

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420 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	no data
Socket	FCLGA1366	LGA771
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	80 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Demand Based Switching	+	+
PAE	40 Bit	no data
FSB parity	no data	+

Security technologies

Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	no data
Maximum memory size	144 GB	no data
Max memory channels	3	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

N/A

no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420.

PCIe version

2.0

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.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	1.75	1.27
Recency	30 March 2009	1 October 2007

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5540 and Xeon E5420, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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