Database Server CPU Comparison: Athlon MP vs. Hyper Threading Xeon

AnandTech Ad Database Performance

AnandTech Ad Database Performance Transactions per Second

Athlon MP 2000+ (1.6GHz) x 2 Xeon 2.2GHz x 2 Xeon 2.2GHz x 2 (HT Enabled) Athlon MP 1.2GHz x 2 Intel Xeon 2.2GHz (HT Enabled) Intel Xeon 2.2GHz AMD Athlon MP 2000+ (1.67GHz) Xeon 1.7GHz x 2 AMD Athlon MP 1.2GHz Intel Xeon 1.7GHz 643.6 641.1 606.1 597.1 543.9 536.0 528.7 510.9 456.8 401.2 | 0 | 129 | 257 | 386 | 515 | 644 | 772

While we started off the analysis on the previous page by talking about the single CPUs and moving on to the dual configurations, we can't do the same here. If you look at the results of the older 1.7GHz Xeons you'll quickly realize that a single Athlon MP 2000+ can outperform the pair in this test. Once again, the newer Xeons manage to perform just about on par with the Athlon MP 2000+. The 2.2GHz part is 1.3% faster and enabling Hyper Threading gives it a 1.5% improvement, both not enough to truly separate the two.

Looking at the faster dual CPU solutions, the dual Athlon MP 2000+ is running on par with the dual 2.2GHz Xeon platform. What's interesting is that there is actually a 5% reduction in performance when Hyper Threading is enabled with two physical CPUs installed in the system. Although this isn't as huge of a hit as is possible when enabling Hyper Threading in desktop situations, the fact that it did occur makes it clear that although Intel recommends turning it on for servers you really have to look at the type of transactions your server is handling before making the final call on the feature. Luckily a 5% penalty is small enough that if accidentally enabled, it won't cause too much harm but it's something to be aware of nevertheless.

What's also interesting to point out here is that this DB test isn't as nearly demanding on the CPUs after a certain level. The dual Athlon MP 2000+ setup manages to outperform the dual Athlon MP 1.2GHz platform by just over 7%, indicating that other bottlenecks are at play here.