Intel Xeon E-2246G Benchmarks and Review

Intel Xeon E-2246G 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): 36W
  • STH 70% Load: 97W
  • STH 100% Load: 131W
  • Maximum Observed Power (Performance Mode): 134W

  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-2246G Market Positioning

The Intel Xeon E-2246G 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:

The jump from a Xeon E-2244G to a Xeon E-2246G may seem like a simple 2 digit increase for $39 or so. For that $39 one gets a big feature, namely two more cores. For context, that is around $19.50/ core which is very inexpensive. The chip is also less expensive than the Xeon E-2274G which only has four cores and consistently did not perform as well.

Taking a look at how the Intel Xeon E-2246G stacks up against its stablemates when we take into account threads, clock speed, and price, this is what the above chart looks like:

As one can see, by this metric, there are three better performance per dollar chips out there. The Xeon E-2226G is a six-core and six thread part. The Xeon E-2236 does not have an integrated GPU just like the E-2224. If you value the iGPU, then the Intel Xeon E-2246G is still the best performance in the segment.

Still, we think the Xeon E-2246G is a strong part of the current lineup.

Final Words

Those who want maximum performance in the socket will go to 8 core parts such as the Intel Xeon E-2288G. For those who do not care as much about performance, the Intel Core i3-9100F is a really strong offering. If you are buying a CPU at the upper-middle of the stack to get the most performance from your server at the best value, the Intel Xeon E-2246G remains the SKU-level we recommend. At around a $39 premium for the Xeon E-2246G over the Intel Xeon E-2244G, it is easy to justify given the enormous performance gap. Likewise, we think for most of STH’s readers purchasing the $17 more expensive Xeon E-2274G over this part is unwise. If you are reading this review, you know why we are making such a strong recommendation here.

In the previous generation, the Xeon E-2146G was an easy top pick. It offered most of the performance of the highest-end SKU at a lower price point. In this generation, we still think the Xeon E-2246G is perhaps the best all-around value for those who are not ultra cost-sensitive. Still, the Xeon E-2288G is much faster and the E-2246G does not maintain core-count parity with the top-end SKU. Overall, we still consider this a top pick in the SKU stack on a value basis.