Processor N97 vs Xeon W3550
Aggregate performance score
Processor N97 outperforms Xeon W3550 by an impressive 71% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon W3550 and Processor N97 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1914 | 1543 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 0.68 | no data |
| Market segment | Server | Laptop |
| Power efficiency | 1.49 | 27.52 |
| Architecture codename | Bloomfield (2008−2010) | Alder Lake-N (2023) |
| Release date | 9 August 2009 (15 years ago) | 3 January 2023 (1 year ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $235 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Xeon W3550 and Processor N97 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 | 3.06 GHz | 2 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.33 GHz | 3.6 GHz |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 96 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 2 MB (shared) |
| L3 cache | 8 MB (shared) | 6 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 10 nm |
| Die size | 263 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 68 °C | 105 °C |
| Number of transistors | 731 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | + |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon W3550 and Processor N97 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | FCLGA1366 | Intel BGA 1264 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 12 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon W3550 and Processor N97. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | no data |
| AES-NI | - | + |
| AVX | - | + |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | + | no data |
| PAE | 36 Bit | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon W3550 and Processor N97 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | + |
| EDB | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon W3550 and Processor N97 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | no data | + |
| VT-x | + | + |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon W3550 and Processor N97. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR4, DDR5 4800 MHz Single-channel |
| Maximum memory size | 24 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 | Intel UHD Graphics 24EUs (Alder Lake-N) ( - 1200 MHz) |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon W3550 and Processor N97.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | no data | 9 |
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.04 | 3.49 |
| Recency | 9 August 2009 | 3 January 2023 |
| Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 10 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 12 Watt |
Xeon W3550 has 100% more threads.
Processor N97, on the other hand, has a 71.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 13 years, a 350% more advanced lithography process, and 983.3% lower power consumption.
The Processor N97 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon W3550 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon W3550 is a server/workstation processor while Processor N97 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon W3550 and Processor N97, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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