Question comparing servers processors

[sajad564]

hi
currently i want to rent a server for my applications , so now i have two options :
1-server one have 256gb of ram(it is far more thant what i need) but the cpu is xeon gold 5412U and as you probebly may know it is in the server proccessor class
2-server two have 128gb of ram(which is still more than what i need , i mean it should enough for the next couple years) but the cpu is ryzen 9 7950x3d wich is very powerfull cpu but in desktop class.
my main question is about performance of processors,which of them is better ?(raw performance,benchmarks related to server tasks and so on)
as i know ryzen 7950x3d is better in most cases , but i found two things weird :
1) why xeon gold 5412U price is double(actually more than double!)
2) server with xeon gold 5412U as proccessor have higher price range for renting , i sent a ticket to support and they said this server is more powerfull than ryzen one.
thanks for spending your time to read this thread

 

[jeremyj_83]

hi
currently i want to rent a server for my applications , so now i have two options :
1-server one have 256gb of ram(it is far more thant what i need) but the cpu is xeon gold 5412U and as you probebly may know it is in the server proccessor class
2-server two have 128gb of ram(which is still more than what i need , i mean it should enough for the next couple years) but the cpu is ryzen 9 7950x3d wich is very powerfull cpu but in desktop class.
my main question is about performance of processors,which of them is better ?(raw performance,benchmarks related to server tasks and so on)
as i know ryzen 7950x3d is better in most cases , but i found two things weird :
1) why xeon gold 5412U price is double(actually more than double!)
2) server with xeon gold 5412U as proccessor have higher price range for renting , i sent a ticket to support and they said this server is more powerfull than ryzen one.
thanks for spending your time to read this thread

In all honesty I'd look into an AWS c7a or m7a and use an instance savings plan.

 

[Misgar]

server with xeon gold 5412U as proccessor have higher price range for renting

The Xeon uses ECC RAM and can run up to 4TB, the Ryzen uses cheaper non-ECC memory.
The Xeon 5412U has 8 memory channels, the Ryzen has only 2 memory channels (IMC).
The Xeon 5412U has 24 cores, 48 threads, the Ryzen has 16 cores, 32 threads.
The list of differences goes on and on....
Small wonder the more poweful Xeon costs more to rent.

i know ryzen 7950x3d is better in most cases

The 5412U is a server processor, the 7950X3D is a gaming processor. They're designed for two entirely different scenarios. It's like comparing a truck with a sports car. They're not the same. Both are better in some repects.

If you want a professional AMD server CPU, consider the EPYC range (similar to Xeons).
https://vtechinsider.com/amd-epyc-processor-vs-intel-xeon/

For professional Workstations, consider the AMD ThreadRipper range. Intel alternatives exist.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-threadripper-pro-5995wx-5975wx-cpu-review

As to which processor I would recommend in a server, it would not be the 7950X3D gaming CPU. If I was ever tempted to use a Desktop CPU in a heavy duty server application, it would probably be the 7950X (non 3D version) or the 14900K/KS.

Being realistic, if you're happy with a less expensive 7950X3D "server" (probably running non error checked RAM) go ahead. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

 

[jeremyj_83]

As to which processor I would recommend in a server, it would not be the 7950X3D gaming CPU. If I was ever tempted to use a Desktop CPU in a heavy duty server application, it would probably be the 7950X (non 3D version) or the 14900K/KS.

Being realistic, if you're happy with a less expensive 7950X3D "server" (probably running non error checked RAM) go ahead. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

There are plenty of entry level servers that use desktop CPUs.

 

[COLGeek]

To better answer (the Ryzen is likely just fine) the question, what applications will be hosted? How many users? Are you talking about local or remote users?

What is the network structure?

Not just a matter of what CPU/memory/storage space.

 

[kanewolf]

There are plenty of entry level servers that use desktop CPUs.

Even though those "servers" use a desktop CPU, they probably have motherboard features, like ECC RAM that are not desktop.
Severs live without direct personal interaction. They are booted remotely, they have redundant power supplies, they have the bare minimum of graphics support. Reliability is emphasized over other attributes. Did Intel make "server" CPUs and desktop CPUs that can share the same socket? Yes. But the CPU is just one aspect, IMO.

 

[kanewolf]

hi
currently i want to rent a server for my applications , so now i have two options :
1-server one have 256gb of ram(it is far more thant what i need) but the cpu is xeon gold 5412U and as you probebly may know it is in the server proccessor class
2-server two have 128gb of ram(which is still more than what i need , i mean it should enough for the next couple years) but the cpu is ryzen 9 7950x3d wich is very powerfull cpu but in desktop class.
my main question is about performance of processors,which of them is better ?(raw performance,benchmarks related to server tasks and so on)
as i know ryzen 7950x3d is better in most cases , but i found two things weird :
1) why xeon gold 5412U price is double(actually more than double!)
2) server with xeon gold 5412U as proccessor have higher price range for renting , i sent a ticket to support and they said this server is more powerfull than ryzen one.
thanks for spending your time to read this thread

The question you should be asking is "What are the bottlenecks of my problem? How does each system address those bottlenecks?"

The Xeon MAY have much better memory bandwidth, but you have to ask more questions of the owner. Yes, the Xeon can have more memory channels populates as @Misgar said. BUT, the owner of the server may have only populated 4 channels because they are standardizing on a specific DIMM.
You did not mention storage in your original post. Is that an important factor?
Do you get bare metal access to the Xeon or are you just a VM on a shared host?

 

[jeremyj_83]

Even though those "servers" use a desktop CPU, they probably have motherboard features, like ECC RAM that are not desktop.
Severs live without direct personal interaction. They are booted remotely, they have redundant power supplies, they have the bare minimum of graphics support. Reliability is emphasized over other attributes. Did Intel make "server" CPUs and desktop CPUs that can share the same socket? Yes. But the CPU is just one aspect, IMO.

Not always. There are a lot of entry servers on AMD that didn't have ECC RAM or redundant PSUs. With Epyc 4004 now those are more likely to have ECC RAM options but redundant PSUs are still not as common. In fact a lot of entry level edge servers regardless of Intel or AMD only have 1 PSU.

 

[kanewolf]

Not always. There are a lot of entry servers on AMD that didn't have ECC RAM or redundant PSUs. With Epyc 4004 now those are more likely to have ECC RAM options but redundant PSUs are still not as common. In fact a lot of entry level edge servers regardless of Intel or AMD only have 1 PSU.

I could call a toaster a "server", but without the reliability features like ECC, redundant power, and IPMI, I wouldn't buy it. I wouldn't want to rent time on it either.

 

[jeremyj_83]

I could call a toaster a "server", but without the reliability features like ECC, redundant power, and IPMI, I wouldn't buy it. I wouldn't want to rent time on it either.

I've never seen an entry level server not have IPMI. ECC is nice but in entry level environments not critical. Redundant PSUs are also nice but again not critical in entry level environments. It all comes down to the amount of risk you are willing to take. Back in 2017 my company got a little SuperMicro ITX tower on Intel Atom cores for local AD and such. It doesn't have redundant PSUs and uses non ECC DIMMs. In 7 years the only times it has crashed has been due to the power going out in the whole building, something redundant PSUs won't fix, and yes it is connected to a UPS but 10 hours without power is too long for the UPS.

 

[kanewolf]

I've never seen an entry level server not have IPMI. ECC is nice but in entry level environments not critical. Redundant PSUs are also nice but again not critical in entry level environments. It all comes down to the amount of risk you are willing to take. Back in 2017 my company got a little SuperMicro ITX tower on Intel Atom cores for local AD and such. It doesn't have redundant PSUs and uses non ECC DIMMs. In 7 years the only times it has crashed has been due to the power going out in the whole building, something redundant PSUs won't fix, and yes it is connected to a UPS but 10 hours without power is too long for the UPS.

It shouldn't have "crashed", the UPS should have notified the device that the battery was low so the server can shutdown cleanly. Again, this is server features. Not pretend server features. You and I have very different levels of requirements.

 

[jeremyj_83]

It shouldn't have "crashed", the UPS should have notified the device that the battery was low so the server can shutdown cleanly. Again, this is server features. Not pretend server features. You and I have very different levels of requirements.

Well the UPS did gracefully shutdown ESXi on the host. I used crashed poorly. Trust me when I say that most of the time my requirements are far higher than yours. I was just pointing out that there are servers that people use that don't have ECC, redundant PSUs, or both. Those are things usually found on the entry level side.