Xeon E5-2603 v3 vs Athlon 300U
Xeon E5-2603 v3
Athlon 300U
Performance Spectrum - CPU
About PassMark
PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.
Value Upgrade Path
This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Xeon E5-2603 v3 is positioned at rank 635 and the Athlon 300U is on rank 624, so the Athlon 300U offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.
Performance Per Dollar Xeon E5-2603 v3
Performance Per Dollar Athlon 300U
Performance Comparison
About PassMark🏆 Chipversus Verdict
🚀 Performance Leadership
| Insight | Xeon E5-2603 v3 | Athlon 300U |
|---|---|---|
| Gaming | ❌ Lower gaming performance | ✅ Superior gaming performance |
| Workstation | ❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks | ✅ Better multi-core power |
| Price | Equivalent pricing | Equivalent pricing |
| Longevity | 🛑 Legacy (Haswell-EP (2014−2015) / 22 nm) | ✨ Modern (Raven Ridge 2 (2019) / 14 nm) |
💎 Value Proposition
| Insight | Xeon E5-2603 v3 | Athlon 300U |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Efficiency | ❌ Lower cost efficiency | ❌ Lower cost efficiency |
| Upfront Cost | Equivalent pricing | Equivalent pricing |
Performance Check
To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.
Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.
Technical Specifications
Side-by-side comparison of Xeon E5-2603 v3 and Athlon 300U
Xeon E5-2603 v3
The Xeon E5-2603 v3 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Haswell-EP (2014−2015) architecture. It features 6 cores and 6 threads. Base frequency is 1.6 GHz, with boost up to 1.6 GHz. L3 cache: 15 MB (total). L2 cache: 256K (per core). Built on 22 nm process technology. Socket: LGA2011. Thermal design power (TDP): 85 Watt. Memory support: DDR4-1600. Passmark benchmark score: 3,825 points. Launch price was $800.
Athlon 300U
The Athlon 300U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2009-01-01. It is based on the Raven Ridge 2 (2019) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 3.3 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 512K (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: FP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4 Dual-channel. Passmark benchmark score: 3,861 points. Launch price was $149.
Processing Power
The Xeon E5-2603 v3 packs 6 cores / 6 threads, while the Athlon 300U offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the Xeon E5-2603 v3 has 4 more cores. Boost clocks reach 1.6 GHz on the Xeon E5-2603 v3 versus 3.3 GHz on the Athlon 300U — a 69.4% clock advantage for the Athlon 300U (base: 1.6 GHz vs 2.4 GHz). The Xeon E5-2603 v3 uses the Haswell-EP (2014−2015) architecture (22 nm), while the Athlon 300U uses Raven Ridge 2 (2019) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon E5-2603 v3 scores 3,825 against the Athlon 300U's 3,861 — a 0.9% lead for the Athlon 300U. L3 cache: 15 MB (total) on the Xeon E5-2603 v3 vs 4 MB (total) on the Athlon 300U.
| Feature | Xeon E5-2603 v3 | Athlon 300U |
|---|---|---|
| Cores / Threads | 6 / 6+200% | 2 / 4 |
| Boost Clock | 1.6 GHz | 3.3 GHz+106% |
| Base Clock | 1.6 GHz | 2.4 GHz+50% |
| L3 Cache | 15 MB (total)+275% | 4 MB (total) |
| L2 Cache | 256K (per core) | 512K (per core)+100% |
| Process | 22 nm | 14 nm-36% |
| Architecture | Haswell-EP (2014−2015) | Raven Ridge 2 (2019) |
| PassMark | 3,825 | 3,861 |
| Geekbench 6 Single | — | 900 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | — | 1,800 |
Memory & Platform
The Xeon E5-2603 v3 uses the LGA2011 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Athlon 300U uses FP5 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.
| Feature | Xeon E5-2603 v3 | Athlon 300U |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | LGA2011 | FP5 |
| PCIe Generation | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 |
| Max RAM Speed | — | DDR4-2400 |
| Max RAM Capacity | — | 32 GB |
| RAM Channels | — | 2 |
| ECC Support | — | ❌ |
| PCIe Lanes | — | 12 |
Advanced Features
Virtualization: not specified (Xeon E5-2603 v3) / AMD-V (Athlon 300U). The Athlon 300U includes integrated graphics (Radeon RX Vega 3), while the Xeon E5-2603 v3 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Athlon 300U targets Budget Laptop.
| Feature | Xeon E5-2603 v3 | Athlon 300U |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated GPU | — | Yes |
| IGPU Model | — | Radeon RX Vega 3 |
| Unlocked | — | No |
| AVX-512 | — | No |
| Virtualization | — | AMD-V |
| Target Use | — | Budget Laptop |
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