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Core i7-920 vs Xeon E5506


Description
The i7-920 is based on Nehalem Westmere architecture while the E5506 is based on Nehalem.

Using the multithread performance as a reference, the i7-920 gets a score of 47.2 k points while the E5506 gets 90.4 k points.

Summarizing, the E5506 is 1.9 times faster than the i7-920 . To get a proper comparison between both models, take a look to the data shown below.

Specs
CPUID
106a5
106a5
Core
Bloomfield
Gainestown
Architecture
Nehalem Westmere
Base frecuency
2.667 GHz
2.133 GHz
Boost frecuency
2.993 GHz
2.133 GHz
Socket
LGA 1366
LGA 1366
Cores/Threads
4/8
4 /4
TDP
130 W
80 W
Cache L1 (d+i)
32+32 kB
64 kB
Cache L2
256 kB
256 kB
Cache L3
8192 kB
4096 kB
Date
November 2008
March 2009
Mean monothread perf.
16.33k points
9.97k points
Mean multithread perf.
47.2k points
90.45k points

Non-optimized benchmark
The benchmark in Mode 0 (FPU) measures cpu performance with non-optimized software. It uses the basic µinstructions from the i386 architecture with the i387 floating point unit. This mode is compatible with all CPUs so it's practical to compare very different CPUs
Monothread
i7-920
E5506
Test#1 (Integers)
1.97k
1.21k (x0.61)
Test#2 (FP)
4.43k
2.75k (x0.62)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
2.75k
1.94k (x0.7)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.53k
0.78k (x0.31)
TOTAL
11.68k
6.68k (x0.57)

Multithread

i7-920

E5506
Test#1 (Integers)
7.71k
12.25k (x1.59)
Test#2 (FP)
18.81k
25.55k (x1.36)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
13.76k
17.1k (x1.24)
Test#1 (Memory)
5.07k
5.01k (x0.99)
TOTAL
45.34k
59.9k (x1.32)

SSE3 optimized benchmark
The benchmark in mode I (SSE) is optimized for the use of SIMD instructions with 128 bits register and the SSE set up to version 3. Nearly every modern CPU has support for this mode.
Monothread
i7-920
E5506
Test#1 (Integers)
6.12k
4.48k (x0.73)
Test#2 (FP)
4.76k
2.99k (x0.63)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
2.78k
1.81k (x0.65)
Test#1 (Memory)
2.67k
0.69k (x0.26)
TOTAL
16.33k
9.97k (x0.61)

Multithread

i7-920

E5506
Test#1 (Integers)
19.26k
41k (x2.13)
Test#2 (FP)
14.96k
28.17k (x1.88)
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
8.05k
17.4k (x2.16)
Test#1 (Memory)
4.92k
3.88k (x0.79)
TOTAL
47.2k
90.45k (x1.92)

Performance/W
i7-920
E5506
Test#1 (Integers)
148 points/W
513 points/W
Test#2 (FP)
115 points/W
352 points/W
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
62 points/W
217 points/W
Test#1 (Memory)
38 points/W
48 points/W
TOTAL
363 points/W
1131 points/W

Performance/GHz
i7-920
E5506
Test#1 (Integers)
2044 points/GHz
2099 points/GHz
Test#2 (FP)
1591 points/GHz
1404 points/GHz
Test#3 (Generic, ZIP)
930 points/GHz
847 points/GHz
Test#1 (Memory)
891 points/GHz
325 points/GHz
TOTAL
5457 points/GHz
4675 points/GHz

Monothread performance graph
Monothread performance graphics gives the performance vs time. They are useful to measure the time it takes to the CPU to reach the maximum performance.

Usually, CPU's performance will be steady during these tests but if it has a slow frequency strategy, the first samples will show a lower score.


Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com

Multithread performance graph
Multithread graphs measure the performance against a heavy load during certain time.

If CPU's TDP doesn't limit the frequency and the machine is properly cooled, performance should remain steady vs time. Otherwise, the performance score will oscillate or decrease over time.


Test#1 (Integers) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#2 (FP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#3 (Generic, ZIP) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com


Test#1 (Memory) [points vs time]

grafica bm.hardlimit.com

Hardlimit Benchmark Central - Ver. 3.11.4