Intel Xeon 3.6 2MB vs AMD Opteron 252 Database Test
by Jason Clark & Ross Whitehead on February 14, 2005 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- IT Computing
Price comparison & Final Words
In previous articles, we've taken a look at the cost of the processor itself. Since servers aren't just about the processor, we've taken our pricing to an entire platform. We've attempted to spec out Intel and AMD servers from 2 different vendors and have them as close as possible in terms of features. There are obviously a few differences here and there, but as illustrated below, the price difference is negligible between either platform when taking into account the features missing on either platform. Note that we are comparing Dual Intel 3.6 1MB L2 based servers against Dual Opteron 250 servers, since the newer products that we have discussed in this article are not yet in the retail channel.
| HP ProLiant DL360 SCSI | HP ProLiant DL145 SCSI | IBM xSeries 336 | IBM eServer 326 | |
| Platform | Intel | AMD | Intel | AMD |
| CPU | Dual 3.6 GHz 1MB L2 | Dual Opteron 250 (2.4GHz) | Dual 3.6 Ghz 1MB L2 | Dual Opteron 250 (2.4 GHz) |
| Memory | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| Hard Drive | 36.4 Pluggable Ultra320 (15,000 RPM) | 36.4 Non Pluggable Ultra320 (15,000 RPM) | IBM 36GB 2.5" 10K SCSI HDD HS | 36GB 10K U320 SCSI HS Option |
| SCSI Controller | Smart Array 6i Plus controller (onboard) | Dual Channel Ultra 320 SCSI HBA | Integrated Single-Channel Ultra320 SCSI Controller (Standard) | Integrated Single-Channel Ultra320 SCSI Controller (Standard) |
| Bays | Two Ultra 320 SCSI Hot Plug Drive Bays | Two non-hot plug hard drive bays | 4 hot swap bays | 2 hot swap bays |
| Network | NC7782 PCI-X Gigabit NICs (embedded) | Broadcom 5704 Gigabit Nics (embedded) | Dual integrated 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet (Standard) | Dual integrated 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet (Standard) |
| Power | 460W hot pluggable power supply | 500W non hot plug power supply | 585W power supply | 411W Power Supply (Standard) |
| Server Management | SmartStart & Insight Manager | None | System Management Processor (Standard) | System Management Processor (Standard) |
| OS | None | None | None | None |
| Cost | $5,946 | $5,009 | $5,476 | $5,226 |
Final words
We've illustrated how workload has a significant effect on platform decision when it comes to database servers. Obviously, for a small to medium business, where there are multiple different workloads being run on the same server, the decision to go with a platform architecture best suited for Data warehousing alone doesn't make sense. But for larger organizations where multiple database servers are used, each having a specific purpose, the decision to go with one platform or another could have a significant impact on performance. For dual-processor applications, Intel leads the way in everyday small to heavy transactional applications, whereas AMD shines in the analytical side of database applications "Data Warehousing".
These results do raise some questions as to what is going on exactly during each test at an architectural level. Is the processor waiting for data from the L2 cache? Is the processor branch prediction units not suited for this particular workload? Is there a bottleneck with memory latency? We want these questions answered, and are going to investigate ways to provide concrete answers to these tough questions in the future.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
97 Comments
View All Comments
Carfax - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
Sheesh, the workstation benches still aren't up? :(More people are interested in the workstation benchmarks than database I'd wager because it's a better showcase for the new enhancements.
How long will we have to wait?
Jason Clark - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
snorre, proper? It is proper in terms of the Windows world since 64 bit DOES NOT EXIST :). If you want to see 64bit linux coverage as said in these comments and in the article view the linux section or Johans work in the IT section.snorre - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
I'd like to see a proper Xeon DP 2M vs Opteron 252 review, since MS SQL 32-bit benchmarks are only of limited interest. When will we see this?Are there any proper Opteron 252 reviews out there?
semo - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
#70, you said it. it's the cost. cost is my killer.sure ddr2 costs more than ddr but i hate upgrading my whole setup just to get new momory. right now i'm running a pc133 setup and cannot upgrade even if i wanted to (and believe me... i want to). i know that low latency is what the hammer architecture wants but doesn't regitered memory increase latencies... and what is registered memory anyway?
Jason Clark - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
There was a few questions about single or dual in here, I had answered that but to clarify all testing was DUAL processor.Jason Clark - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
One thing to remember with the Tyan bios is it is pre-production. We'll post info as soon as we have it.Jason Clark - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
We're working with Tyan on the 1GHz HT issue, if we get a new bios that supports it we will re-test and post our results..Cheers.
Viditor - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
"i'm interested in number cruncing and games and rendering, i.e. a workstation not a server"Why would you not want registered memory then? Contrary to popular opinion, it does not affect the speed...only the cost.
For gaming, dual systems are no help at all (unless you're running a game server) with todays software. For professional rendering, you absolutely WANT registered memory!
DDR2 would actually be no speed increase at all for AMD64 systems, and none yet for Intel systems. Not until the memory speeds get much higher will we see any benefit from DDR2...
XDR is also not a good match for the AMD chips because of the high latency. AMD chips are NOT bandwidth constrained but ARE latency sensitive (meaning that increasing memory speeds does very little, while increasing latency makes them much worse).
The only real issue of registered memory is the cost, and if that is the problem I would suggest a high end A64 939 SLI board (e.g. Asus A8N-SLI), and upgrade to dual core in September or so...
semo - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
i'm interested in number cruncing and games and rendering, i.e. a workstation not a server. unforutnately the integrated memory controller of the amd hammers are both their strengths and weaknesses.it's only upto amd whether we can have unregistered, ddr2 or maybe even xdr memory i guess
Viditor - Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - link
"is it possible to have a dual proc setup without using registered memory?"Technically yes...but registered memory is what's preferred for servers because it is more securely accurate. All Opterons use registered memory...
Platforms for the Athlon MP use non-registered memory, and a very few of the Xeon platforms do as well...