Xeon E5-1620 vs W3690

Aggregate performance score

Xeon W3690
2011
6 cores / 12 threads, 130 Watt
4.55
+23.3%
Xeon E5-1620
2012
4 cores / 8 threads, 130 Watt
3.69

Xeon W3690 outperforms Xeon E5-1620 by a significant 23% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking13031483
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation1.881.76
Market segmentServerServer
Power efficiency3.312.69
Architecture codenameGulftown (2010−2011)Sandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)
Release date14 February 2011 (13 years ago)6 March 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$450$313

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon W3690 has 7% better value for money than Xeon E5-1620.

Detailed specifications

Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620 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 cores6 (Hexa-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads128
Base clock speed3.46 GHz3.6 GHz
Boost clock speed3.73 GHz3.8 GHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache12 MB (shared)10240 KB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm32 nm
Die size239 mm2294 mm2
Maximum core temperature68 °C64 °C
Number of transistors1,170 million1,270 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620 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 configuration11
SocketFCLGA1366,LGA1366FCLGA2011
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt130 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.2Intel® AVX
AES-NI++
AVX-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology1.02.0
Hyper-Threading Technology++
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data-
Demand Based Switching++
PAE40 Bitno data

Security technologies

Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620 are enumerated here.

VT-dno data+
VT-x++
EPT++

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3
Maximum memory size24 GB375 GB
Max memory channels34
Maximum memory bandwidth32 GB/s51.2 GB/s
ECC memory support++

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataN/A

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanesno data40

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 W3690 4.55
+23.3%
Xeon E5-1620 3.69

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 W3690 7228
+23.3%
Xeon E5-1620 5862

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 W3690 558
Xeon E5-1620 611
+9.5%

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 W3690 2601
+15.4%
Xeon E5-1620 2254

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 4.55 3.69
Recency 14 February 2011 6 March 2012
Physical cores 6 4
Threads 12 8

Xeon W3690 has a 23.3% higher aggregate performance score, and 50% more physical cores and 50% more threads.

Xeon E5-1620, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year.

The Xeon W3690 is our recommended choice as it beats the Xeon E5-1620 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon W3690 and Xeon E5-1620, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Xeon W3690
Xeon W3690
Intel Xeon E5-1620
Xeon E5-1620

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.

Community ratings

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


4 296 votes

Rate Xeon W3690 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.3 169 votes

Rate Xeon E5-1620 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Xeon W3690 or Xeon E5-1620, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.