Xeon E5603 vs A10-4600M

Xeon E5603

4 Cores4 Thrd80 WWMax: 1.6 GHz2011

A10-4600M

4 Cores4 Thrd35 WWMax: 3.2 GHz2012

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Xeon E5603

4 / 4

1,935

0.0%

1,948

+0.7%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7955WX

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

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 E5603 is positioned at rank 863 and the A10-4600M is on rank 661, so the A10-4600M offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon E5603

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

20197%

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

3813%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

3388%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

2617%

#485

Xeon Gold 6258R

MSRP: $3950|Avg: $1400

100%

#486

EPYC 9175F

MSRP: $4256|Avg: $3703

99%

#488

EPYC 9534

MSRP: $8803|Avg: $2999

98%

#489

EPYC 9654

MSRP: $11805|Avg: $5345

98%

#490

EPYC 7H12

MSRP: $6950|Avg: $1340

97%

#491

EPYC 7742

MSRP: $6950|Avg: $800

97%

#492

Xeon Platinum 8352M

MSRP: $4471|Avg: $4471

97%

#493

Xeon Platinum 8570

MSRP: $9595|Avg: $9595

95%

#863

Xeon E5603

MSRP: $188|Avg: N/A

100%

#871

Xeon 6315P

MSRP: $1166|Avg: $160

98%

#877

Xeon X5687

MSRP: $552|Avg: $189

95%

#878

Xeon E5-2630 v4

MSRP: $1171|Avg: $130

95%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar A10-4600M

#649

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

904%

#650

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

890%

#651

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

817%

#652

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

814%

#653

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

806%

#655

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

779%

#656

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

747%

#657

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

745%

#658

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

725%

#661

A10-4600M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#662

Athlon II P360

MSRP: $60|Avg: $10

100%

#665

Athlon X2 QL-64

MSRP: $50|Avg: $15

99%

#666

Core 3 N350

MSRP: $225|Avg: $220

99%

#668

FX-7500

MSRP: $100|Avg: $25

99%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($188) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon E5603 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Xeon E5603	A10-4600M
Gaming	❌ Lower gaming performance	✅ Superior gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	⚠️ Higher cost ($188)	✅ More affordable ($0)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Westmere-EP (2010−2011) / 32 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Trinity (2012−2013) / 32 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The A10-4600M ($0), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($188 less, 100% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Xeon E5603	A10-4600M
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	⚠️ Higher cost ($188)	✅ More affordable ($0)

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

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.

Xeon E5603 Benchmark Check

A10-4600M Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Xeon E5603 and A10-4600M

Xeon E5603

The Xeon E5603 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 14 February 2011 (14 years ago). It is based on the Westmere-EP (2010−2011) architecture. It features 4 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 1.6 GHz, with boost up to 1.6 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1366. Thermal design power (TDP): 80 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,935 points. Launch price was $286.

A10-4600M

The A10-4600M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2014-01-01. It is based on the Trinity (2012−2013) architecture. It features 4 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.3 GHz, with boost up to 3.2 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB. L2 cache: 4 MB (total). Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: FS1r2. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 1,948 points. Launch price was $130.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Xeon E5603 and A10-4600M share an identical 4-core/4-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 1.6 GHz on the Xeon E5603 versus 3.2 GHz on the A10-4600M — a 66.7% clock advantage for the A10-4600M (base: 1.6 GHz vs 2.3 GHz). The Xeon E5603 uses the Westmere-EP (2010−2011) architecture (32 nm), while the A10-4600M uses Trinity (2012−2013) (32 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon E5603 scores 1,935 against the A10-4600M's 1,948 — a 0.7% lead for the A10-4600M. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Xeon E5603 vs 0 kB on the A10-4600M.

Feature	Xeon E5603	A10-4600M
Cores / Threads	4 / 4	4 / 4
Boost Clock	1.6 GHz	3.2 GHz+100%
Base Clock	1.6 GHz	2.3 GHz+44%
L3 Cache	4 MB (total)	0 kB
L2 Cache	256 kB (per core)	4 MB (total)+1500%
Process	32 nm	32 nm
Architecture	Westmere-EP (2010−2011)	Trinity (2012−2013)
PassMark	1,935	1,948
Geekbench 6 Single	—	342
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	916

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Xeon E5603 uses the LGA1366 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the A10-4600M uses FS1r2 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3-1066 memory speed. The Xeon E5603 supports up to 288 GB of RAM compared to 16 GB — 178.9% more capacity for professional workloads. Memory channels: 3 (Xeon E5603) vs 2 (A10-4600M). PCIe lanes: 32 (Xeon E5603) vs 16 (A10-4600M) — the Xeon E5603 offers 16 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Feature	Xeon E5603	A10-4600M
Socket	LGA1366	FS1r2
PCIe Generation	PCIe 2.0	PCIe 2.0
Max RAM Speed	DDR3-1066	DDR3-1600
Max RAM Capacity	288 GB+1700%	16 GB
RAM Channels	3+50%	2
ECC Support	✅	❌
PCIe Lanes	32+100%	16

🔧

Advanced Features

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Xeon E5603) vs AMD-V (A10-4600M). The A10-4600M includes integrated graphics (Radeon HD 7660G), while the Xeon E5603 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Xeon E5603 targets Server, A10-4600M targets Legacy Laptop. Direct competitor: A10-4600M rivals Core i3-2310M.