Xeon W3520 vs Athlon Silver 3050U
Xeon W3520
Athlon Silver 3050U
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 W3520 is positioned at rank 861 and the Athlon Silver 3050U is on rank 456, so the Athlon Silver 3050U offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.
Performance Per Dollar Xeon W3520
Performance Per Dollar Athlon Silver 3050U
Performance Comparison
About PassMark🏆 Chipversus Verdict
🚀 Performance Leadership
| Insight | Xeon W3520 | Athlon Silver 3050U |
|---|---|---|
| Gaming | ❌ Lower gaming performance | ✅ Superior gaming performance |
| Workstation | ❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks | ✅ Better multi-core power |
| Price | ⚠️ Higher cost ($15) | ✅ More affordable ($0) |
| Longevity | 🛑 Legacy (Bloomfield (2008−2010) / 45 nm) | ✨ Modern (Dali (Zen) (2020) / 14 nm) |
💎 Value Proposition
| Insight | Xeon W3520 | Athlon Silver 3050U |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Efficiency | ❌ Lower cost efficiency | ❌ Lower cost efficiency |
| Upfront Cost | ⚠️ Higher cost ($15) | ✅ More affordable ($0) |
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 W3520 and Athlon Silver 3050U
Xeon W3520
The Xeon W3520 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 30 March 2009 (16 years ago). It is based on the Bloomfield (2008−2010) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2.66 GHz, with boost up to 2.93 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1366. Thermal design power (TDP): 130 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 2,940 points. Launch price was $404.
Athlon Silver 3050U
The Athlon Silver 3050U is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2009-01-01. It is based on the Dali (Zen) (2020) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.2 GHz, with boost up to 3.2 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB (total). L2 cache: 512 kB (per core). Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: FP5. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 2,950 points. Launch price was $149.
Processing Power
The Xeon W3520 packs 4 cores / 8 threads, while the Athlon Silver 3050U offers 2 cores / 2 threads — the Xeon W3520 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.93 GHz on the Xeon W3520 versus 3.2 GHz on the Athlon Silver 3050U — a 8.8% clock advantage for the Athlon Silver 3050U (base: 2.66 GHz vs 2.2 GHz). The Xeon W3520 uses the Bloomfield (2008−2010) architecture (45 nm), while the Athlon Silver 3050U uses Dali (Zen) (2020) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon W3520 scores 2,940 against the Athlon Silver 3050U's 2,950 — a 0.3% lead for the Athlon Silver 3050U. L3 cache: 8 MB (total) on the Xeon W3520 vs 4 MB (total) on the Athlon Silver 3050U.
| Feature | Xeon W3520 | Athlon Silver 3050U |
|---|---|---|
| Cores / Threads | 4 / 8+100% | 2 / 2 |
| Boost Clock | 2.93 GHz | 3.2 GHz+9% |
| Base Clock | 2.66 GHz+21% | 2.2 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 8 MB (total)+100% | 4 MB (total) |
| L2 Cache | 256 kB (per core) | 512 kB (per core)+100% |
| Process | 45 nm | 14 nm-69% |
| Architecture | Bloomfield (2008−2010) | Dali (Zen) (2020) |
| PassMark | 2,940 | 2,950 |
| Cinebench R23 Multi | — | 900 |
| Geekbench 6 Single | — | 873 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | — | 1,524 |
Memory & Platform
The Xeon W3520 uses the LGA1366 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Athlon Silver 3050U uses FP5 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.
| Feature | Xeon W3520 | Athlon Silver 3050U |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | LGA1366 | FP5 |
| PCIe Generation | PCIe 2.0 | PCIe 3.0+50% |
| Max RAM Speed | — | DDR4-2400 |
| Max RAM Capacity | — | 32 GB |
| RAM Channels | — | 2 |
| ECC Support | — | ❌ |
| PCIe Lanes | — | 8 |
Advanced Features
Virtualization: not specified (Xeon W3520) / AMD-V (Athlon Silver 3050U). The Athlon Silver 3050U includes integrated graphics (Radeon Vega 3), while the Xeon W3520 requires a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Athlon Silver 3050U targets Budget. Direct competitor: Athlon Silver 3050U rivals Pentium Gold 7505.
| Feature | Xeon W3520 | Athlon Silver 3050U |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated GPU | — | Yes |
| IGPU Model | — | Radeon Vega 3 |
| Unlocked | — | No |
| AVX-512 | — | No |
| Virtualization | — | AMD-V |
| Target Use | — | Budget |
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