Intel Xeon E-2234 Power Consumption
We wanted to post a few figures from our testing that show the real selling point of the chips, low power.
- Idle Power (Performance Mode): 31W
- STH 70% Load: 77W
- STH 100% Load: 98W
- Maximum Observed Power (Performance Mode): 103W
Note these results were taken using a 208V Schneider Electric / APC PDU at 17.7C and 72% RH. Our testing window shown here had a +/- 0.3C and +/- 2% RH variance. We double-checked on our 120V racks and were able to get power consumption over that common 1A threshold.
Intel Xeon E-2234 Market Positioning
The Intel Xeon E-2234 is not being released in a vacuum. Instead, there are other parts available in the socket which means that our readers need to decide on a chip in the context of a configurator. Here is what the parts look like ordered by part number:
We wanted to call attention to the Intel Xeon E-2226G. This is a 6-core/ 6-thread part with an iGPU for almost the same price. Clock speeds are fairly close. As a result, we think this could be a solid alternative for many readers. When we compare those two parts along with other Xeon E-2200 series parts, taking into account threads, clock speed, and price, this is what the above chart looks like:
Having 6 full cores at the same price, along with offering an iGPU can make the Xeon E-2226G considerably more compelling. We have not tested that part yet, however, since we have tested almost 20 SKUs in this socket between generations we have a fairly good hypothesis of its performance. If one can budget for an extra 9W TDP and $5-10 per server, that may be the option to select on your configurator instead.
Final Words
The Intel Xeon E-2234 feels like a product we have been reviewing for years. With 4 cores and 8 threads, it offers a substantial performance upgrade over the Xeon E-2224 for a relatively minimal incremental cost. The low power consumption and high clock speeds are great for many applications.
At the same time, there is a lot of pressure in this segment. The current 4C/ 8T Xeon E-22×4 series parts are flanked by lower-cost options that can light platforms if only minimal amounts of performance are needed. Likewise, with the top-end moving to 8-cores, the 6-core parts have moved into the same space making them potentially better options.
Our sense is that the Intel Xeon E-2234 will appeal to a specific buyer that has been conditioned to purchase 4 core and 8 thread parts with a modest budget. Still, we want to see Intel pick up the pace of innovation in this space with future generations.
“There are going to be folks who want to point to AMD alternatives. As of this writing, there are really no alternatives in this space because while AMD may have competitive CPU parts, vendors have a vibrant Intel Xeon E-2100/ E-2200/ Core i3 ecosystem.”
ASRock Rack:
X570D4I-2T
Supports AMD Ryzen™ 3rd Generation Series Processors(Max 105W))
Supports 4x DDR4 ECC and non-ECC SO DIMM, max. 64 GB
Supports up 8 x SATA3 by OCulink and 1x M.2 ports
Integrated IPMI 2.0 with KVM and Dedicated LAN (RTL8211E)
Supports 1x PCIe Gen4x16 link (Matisse)
Supports 2x 10GLAN Intel X550-AT2
X470D4U2-2T
Supports AMD AM4 Socket Ryzen™ Series CPUs
Supports 4x DDR4 ECC and non-ECC UDIMM, max. 128 GB
Supports up to 6 x SATA3 6.0Gb/s (inculded 1 SATA DOM), 2 x M.2
Integrated IPMI 2.0 with KVM and Dedicated LAN (RTL8211E)
Supports2 x RJ45 10G base-T by Intel X550-AT2
Supports 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 x PCIE 2.0 x1
X470D4U
Supports AMD AM4 Socket Ryzen™ PRO/ Ryzen™ 2nd and 3rd generation series processors
Supports 4x DDR4 ECC and non-ECC UDIMM, max. 128 GB
Supports up to 8x SATA3 6.0Gb/s(6x SATA3 6.0Gb/s from X470, 2x SATA3 6.0Gb/s from Asmedia)
Integrated IPMI 2.0 with KVM and Dedicated LAN (RTL8211E)
Supports 2x GLAN by Intel I210AT
Good enough for me.
>X570D4I-2T
Want that so bad. Will be great for my workstation after I move everything to 10Gbps and SAS SSDs.
Afraid price will be crazy too
Misha – John and I are well aware of the ASRR board and Tyan efforts. It is a big difference between there being a motherboard available from a smaller vendor and having all major vendors having multiple systems spanning multiple form factors.
This is a joke of review. No AMD cpu for comparison. Well it must be only way to show that intel is still doing something good, when there is no AMD cpu’s in comparison.
It is a sad day in Mudville when we see STH shilling for a slowly declining Intel.
Patrick – major vendors started as small vendors.
Linaas/ Sleepy, once Dell, HPE, Lenovo, Cisco, or Supermicro have a competitive platform for Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, or a derivative, we will happily add their CPUs to this list. I have been asking the AMD server team to put resources into making a solution in this space.
Misha – while that is true, it will not change before this generation is over.