Sizing Up Servers: Intel's Skylake-SP Xeon versus AMD's EPYC 7000 - The Server CPU Battle of the Dec

[JustReason]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11544/intel-skylake-ep-vs-amd-epyc-7000-cpu-battle-of-the-decade

The current Intel pricing draws the first line. If performance-per-dollar matters to you, AMD's EPYC pricing is very competitive for a wide range of software applications. With the exception of database software and vectorizable HPC code, AMD's EPYC 7601 ($4200) offers slightly less or slightly better performance than Intel's Xeon 8176 ($8000+). However the real competitor is probably the Xeon 8160, which has 4 (-14%) fewer cores and slightly lower turbo clocks (-100 or -200 MHz). We expect that this CPU will likely offer 15% lower performance, and yet it still costs about $500 more ($4700) than the best EPYC. Of course, everything will depend on the final server system price, but it looks like AMD's new EPYC will put some serious performance-per-dollar pressure on the Intel line.

All in all, it must be said that AMD executed very well and delivered a new server CPU that can offer competitive performance for a lower price point in some key markets. Server customers with non-scalar sparse matrix HPC and Big Data applications should especially take notice.

As for Intel, the company has delivered a very attractive and well scaling product. But some of the technological advances in Skylake-SP are overshadowed by the heavy price tags and somewhat "over the top" market segmentation.

Ok all in all looks real good, very much in some tasks and not so much in others, for now.

Kind of wish they would test the 1800X against the 7601 Epyc for bandwidth. Would love to see the EPYC bandwidth of Octo-channel completely dwarf the dual channel in a chart.

 

[lolfail9001]

I like the chart you picked, kind of shows just how much of bullshit compiler they chose for the job.

And before anyone mentions the enterprise conditions: could not care less, i am not the one purchasing servers. But sizing up CPUs by crippling both is just BS.

 

[Shintai]

Ye it´s funny how this single bandwidth benchmark ICC can suddenly be used and shows huge improvement for EPYC. Yet in all the other benches they drop back to the outdated GCC again. Advertorial

 

[JustReason]

Ye it´s funny how this single bandwidth benchmark ICC can suddenly be used and shows huge improvement for EPYC. Yet in all the other benches they drop back to the outdated GCC again. Advertorial

Prove it. Adding advertorial is a weak mans argument. My favorite part of this generation is watching the little Intel fanboys scamper about attempting to put out the very fires they created.