Core Differences Between AMD and Intel

How do AMD and Intel Approach Core Methodologies Differently?

AMD Opteron™ 6100 Series processors have up to 12 cores so threads can be dedicated to core registers. This allows them to be scheduled and
processed in a smooth, predictable manner despite the level of server utilization. In contrast, Intel Xeon 5600 Series processors only offer up to s
ix cores, so Intel tries to accelerate processing using Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT) to squeeze two threads into one core – Intel has branded
this Hyper-Threading (HT). While Intel will claim that HT can increase performance, competition for shared core register resources may actually hurt
performance, especially in highly utilized server environments.

AMD’s Approach Intel’s Approach

12 cores with 12 dedicated threads 12 cores with 6 shared cores Six cores with Hyper-
Threading is analogous to
the Intel blue cars forced to
merge into six lanes to pass
through the toll booth, while
the AMD green cars are able
to pass through the toll booth
without merging.

Examples of Hyper-Threading Issues1:

• Microsoft ® recommends turning off Hyper-Threading when running PeopleSoft applications because “our lab testing has shown little or
no improvement.”
•  Microsoft TechNet article recommends disabling Hyper-Threading for production exchange servers and “only enabled if absolutely necessary
A
as a temporary measure to increase CPU capacity until additional hardware can be obtained.”
• A consultant who deals with Cognos, a leading BI software by IBM, recommends disabling Hyper-Threading because it “frequently degrades
performance and proves unstable.”
So, if SMT (“core sharing”) yields both positive and negative results, what is the better answer? How about more cores? When you add more cores,
you add more throughput. Period.

Why Choose AMD?

AMD is an innovator that continually leads the way in developing processors with more cores to keep up with customer demand. Customers are
transitioning faster and faster to processors with higher core counts to get the most out of their investments.

Year 1985
History of CPU Core Count Innovation

2005 2007 2009 2010 2011 B52:

Month April September June March Q3
Better manageability
Event
Single Core
processing
First Dual
Core
First Quad
Core on
Single Die
First Six
Core
processor
First Twelve
Core
processor
First Sixteen
Core
processor
50% less cost per VM
Company Intel AMD AMD AMD AMD AMD 2x the VMs
In addition to having more cores, another key reason to choose AMD is value. Simply put, you get more for less. This means you have more
room in your budget for a higher performing processor, additional features or more services. Notice the price differences below for equivalent
servers, especially for 4P configurations.

Processor Model
Processors supported
Cores per processor
Pricing range for high-end and
entry-level base configurations
Pricing Sources
AMD Opteron™ 6100 Series Intel Xeon 5600 Series AMD Opteron™ 6100 Series Intel Xeon 7500 Series
2P and 4P 1P and 2P 2P or 4P 4P
8 or 12 Cores 4 or 6 Cores 8 or 12 Cores 4, 6, or 8 Cores
HP 385: $4,969 - $7,791 Dell R710: $6,010 - $9,170 HP DL585 G7: $9,294 - $14,914 HP DL580 G7: $12,816 - $25,896
Entry-level: (2) AMD Opteron 6128 Entry-level: (2) Intel Xeon E5 620 Entry-level: (4) AMD Opteron 6128 Entry-level: (4) Intel Xeon E7520
High-end: (2) AMD Opteron 6180 SE High-end: (2) Intel Xeon X5690 High-end: (4) AMD Opteron 6180 SE High-end: (4) Intel Xeon X7560
Pricing based on Larger Enterprise at www.dell.com and www.hp.com as of May 2011 using 146GB HDD 10K 64GB Dual Rank RAM, basic configuration, and basic 3 year NBD warranty applied.
 Why Do More Cores Matter for Key Workloads?
More cores benefit multi-threaded environments, either by having applications that can process many tasks at the same time (e.g., database
or certain HPC applications) or by having several applications running at the same time on a server (e.g., running multiple VMs or databases
on a server). In either case, a wealth of tasks or threads can be run simultaneously on many cores.

Virtualization • Typically, customers choose to run one virtual machine (VM) per core for easy manageability
and optimum performance. Highly robust VMs may require multiple cores as two cores per
VM will give better performance than one core per VM.
• In terms of virtualization consolidation, more cores allow you to run more VMs per core or more
robust VMs, which can translate into lower server acquisition costs, operational costs, power
costs and data center floor space.
•A
 MD Opteron™ 6100 Series processors support more VMs per processor and ultimately
more VMs per server for greater consolidation.

Database HPC / Infrastructure

Web / Cloud
Technical

• You can also input, process,
analyze and report data on the
same platform because you have
the computational power to run the
tasks simultaneously.
• More cores allow for consolidating
multiple databases on one server.
• More cores help databases scale
during peak periods.
• HPC enables complex technical
computations to be broken into several
elements. Each core can then solve
a piece of the computation. Having a
larger number of cores increases the
number of parallel computations that
can be done at any given time.
• By driving more performance with
more cores, data centermanagers
are able to achieve high performance
levels while using fewer servers,
saving data center space and
reducing operational costs.
• Web and cloud are transaction-heavy • With the growing popularity of
environments that often have need for virtualized infrastructure servers, it is
“elastic” computing resources, or rapidly important to have core resources for
scaling up the number of cores for peak each VM.
environments, yet still maintaining low
power environments in times • More cores help the server to run
of low volume. more VMs simultaneously, which
enables the consolidation of more
• More cores help these environments file, print or email servers, saving
keep response times low because server cost, operational cost and
the server can more efficiently data center floor space.
handle a large number of
transactions simultaneously.
• At the same time, the power efficiency
of AMD processors means that even
though AMD can deliver twice as many
cores, we can do so without doubling
the power rating.*
• Better core density per server allows
for scaling during peak workloads,
while generating the maximum
amount of processing power per foot
of data center floor space.

* TDP for the Intel Xeon X5690 is 130W and per core it is 130W/6=21.7W/core (see http://www.intc.com/priceList.cfm for TDP values). TDP for the AMD Opteron™ 6180 SE is 140W and per core
it is 140W/12=11.7W/core (see pg 4 at http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/43761D-ACP_PowerConsumption.pdf).

Is Clock Speed the Only Indicator of Performance?

Many times customers equate core frequency, or clock speed, to processor and server performance. Core frequency is only one of the factors that
contribute to overall system performance, which is what performance-conscious customers really care about. Core count, core frequency, memory
channels and memory speed, I/O speeds, cache sizes, and overall core architecture all contribute to system performance.

Try before you buy. Don’t rely solely on benchmarks.

You often hear server vendors and processor companies talk about and publish benchmark scores. While AMD Opteron™ processor-based servers lead
and perform very well in many benchmarks, we encourage customers to trial their applications on a server before making a purchase rather than making
a decision based on benchmarks. Often times, benchmarks don’t represent real-world customer applications (e.g. VMmark scores are based on running
numerous lightly loaded virtual machines when most customers run virtual machines at high utilization levels).

For information on why more cores and memory channels matter, plus learn which
software applications love lots of cores, visit http://www.amd.com/morecores

1 For examples of hyperthreading, please visit:

http://blogs.amd.com/work/2010/01/21/it%E2%80%99s-all-about-the-cores/
http://www.cognos-install.co.uk/articles/tips/contributor_server_performance_tips.asp
http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/C/5/EC567749-20C0-4DC5-99B7-FA7C77A097EA/PeopleSoft on SQL 2008.docx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd346699.aspx
http://www.advancedclustering.com/company-blog/high-performance-linpack-on-xeon-5500-v-opteron-2400.html

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