Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 vs Intel Core i5-2500

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 CPU1 vs CPU2 Intel Core i5-2500
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Core i5-2500

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 and the Intel Core i5-2500 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 6 core processor released in Q3/2014 with the Intel Core i5-2500 which has 4 CPU cores and was introduced in Q1/2011.
Intel Xeon E5 (71) Family Intel Core i5 (331)
Intel Xeon E5 v3 (32) CPU group Intel Core i 2000 (28)
5 Generation 2
Haswell E Architecture Sandy Bridge S
Desktop / Server Segment Desktop / Server
-- Predecessor --
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v4 Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 is a 6 core processor with a clock frequency of 1.60 GHz. The processor can compute 6 threads at the same time. The Intel Core i5-2500 clocks with 3.30 GHz (3.70 GHz), has 4 CPU cores and can calculate 4 threads in parallel.

Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
6 Cores 4
6 Threads 4
normal Core architecture normal
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
1.60 GHz Frequency 3.30 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (1 Core) 3.70 GHz
-- Turbo Frequency (All Cores) --

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
-- AI hardware --
-- AI specifications --

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

no iGPU GPU Intel HD Graphics 2000
GPU frequency 0.85 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 1.10 GHz
-- GPU Generation 6
Technology 32 nm
Max. displays 2
-- Compute units 6
-- Shader 48
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
-- Max. GPU Memory 2 GB
-- DirectX Version 10.1

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

no iGPU GPU Intel HD Graphics 2000
No Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) No
No Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) No
No Codec h264 Decode / Encode
No Codec VP9 No
No Codec VP8 No
No Codec AV1 No
No Codec AVC Decode / Encode
No Codec VC-1 Decode
No Codec JPEG No

Memory & PCIe

Up to 768 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3, while the Intel Core i5-2500 supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 21.3 GB/s enabled.

Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
DDR4-2133 Memory DDR3-1333
768 GB Max. Memory 32 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 2 (Dual Channel)
68.2 GB/s Max. Bandwidth 21.3 GB/s
Yes ECC No
-- L2 Cache --
15.00 MB L3 Cache 6.00 MB
3.0 PCIe version 2.0
40 PCIe lanes 16
39.4 GB/s PCIe Bandwidth 8.0 GB/s

Thermal Management

The Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 has a TDP of 85 W. The TDP of the Intel Core i5-2500 is 95 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
85 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 95 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 has 15.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 22 nm. The cache of Intel Core i5-2500 is at 6.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 32 nm.

Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Characteristic Intel Core i5-2500
22 nm Technology 32 nm
Monolithic Chip design Monolithic
x86-64 (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) x86-64 (64 bit)
SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX2 ISA extensions SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
LGA 2011-3 Socket LGA 1155
VT-x, VT-x EPT, VT-d Virtualization VT-x, VT-x EPT
Yes AES-NI Yes
Windows 10, Linux Operating systems Windows 10, Linux
Q3/2014 Release date Q1/2011
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


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Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 1 CPU benchmarks
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 (59%)
Intel Core i5-2500 (100%)
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 (93%)
Intel Core i5-2500 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
434 (59%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
737 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
2268 (94%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2425 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
3781 (91%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
4150 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
697 (100%)

Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R23 is the successor of Cinebench R20 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
2531 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
633 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1845 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
@ 0.00 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
Intel HD Graphics 2000 @ 1.10 GHz
106 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Single-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
340 (100%)

CPU-Z Benchmark 17 (Multi-Core)

The CPU-Z benchmark measures a processor's performance by measuring the time it takes the system to complete all benchmark calculations. The faster the benchmark is completed, the higher the score.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
1313 (100%)

Cinebench R15 (Single-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
62 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.70 GHz
0 (0%)

Cinebench R15 (Multi-Core)

Cinebench R15 is the successor of Cinebench 11.5 and is also based on the Cinema 4 Suite. Cinema 4 is a worldwide used software to create 3D forms. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3
6C 6T @ 1.60 GHz
511 (100%)
Intel Core i5-2500 Intel Core i5-2500
4C 4T @ 3.30 GHz
0 (0%)

Devices using this processor

Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 Intel Core i5-2500
Unknown Unknown

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