CPU Comparison

The Intel Xeon D-2799 and AMD EPYC 7302 are both active server/workstation processors, but the benchmark data shows a consistent, though narrow, edge for the Intel part across every tested workload. The Xeon D-2799 wins all six head-to-head Cinebench comparisons, with deltas ranging from 2.0% to 2.1%. However, neither chip dominates its broader market tier; both sit at the 64th percentile among all CPUs, and their average benchmark scores (8308 for Intel, 8139 for AMD) place them within a fraction of a percent of rivals like the Intel Xeon Platinum 8268 and Xeon Gold 5318Y. The real story is not a knockout but a pattern of small, repeatable advantages for Intel in single-threaded and multi-threaded rendering tasks, set against architectural trade-offs in core count, memory bandwidth, and PCIe capacity that may matter more in specific server deployments.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Intel Xeon D-2799 leads in every single benchmark recorded. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, it scores 2895 against 2836 for the EPYC 7302, a 2.1% advantage. The single-core R15 result is nearly identical in margin: 408 versus 400, a 2% lead. Moving to Cinebench R20, the pattern holds exactly: Intel’s multi-core score of 12063 beats AMD’s 11818 by 2.1%, and the single-core score of 1703 beats 1668 by 2.1%. Cinebench R23 repeats the 2.1% delta in both tests, with Intel at 28723 multi-core and 4055 single-core against AMD’s 28140 and 3972. The consistency is striking, a 2% to 2.1% gap in every test, regardless of whether the workload scales across all cores or stresses a single thread.

This uniformity suggests a fundamental per-clock efficiency advantage for the Intel architecture in Cinebench, rather than a core-count effect. The EPYC 7302 has fewer cores (16 versus 20) but a higher base clock (3.00 GHz versus 2.40 GHz) and a slightly lower boost clock (3.30 GHz versus 3.40 GHz). Despite the Intel part’s lower base frequency, it still outpaces AMD in multi-core tests, meaning the 20-core Intel chip’s additional four cores more than compensate for its lower base clock. In single-core tests, the Intel part’s 0.10 GHz boost advantage and architectural efficiency yield a narrower but still positive margin. The data leaves no ambiguity: in this specific benchmark suite, the Xeon D-2799 is the faster processor in every scenario.

Where Each One Wins

The Xeon D-2799 wins all six benchmark comparisons, so the use-case split is driven entirely by its performance lead. In multi-threaded rendering and compute workloads, as represented by Cinebench R15, R20, and R23 multi-core, the Intel part is consistently 2.1% ahead. That margin is small, but it scales with longer runtimes and larger datasets. For single-threaded tasks, such as legacy application performance or lightly-threaded server processes, the Intel part again leads, with a 2.0% to 2.1% edge across all three Cinebench versions. If a workload is purely Cinebench-like, the Intel Xeon D-2799 is the correct choice.

The AMD EPYC 7302, despite losing every benchmark, still has clear advantages in other measurable dimensions. It offers 128 MB of total L3 cache (32 MB per die) compared to Intel’s 30 MB shared L3, which can benefit workloads with large, repeatedly accessed datasets. Its eight-channel memory bus delivers 204.8 GB/s of bandwidth, exactly double the Intel part’s 102.4 GB/s quad-channel figure. It also provides 128 PCIe Gen 4 lanes versus Intel’s 32 Gen 4 lanes. These are not benchmark wins in Cinebench, but they are spec-level wins for memory-bound or I/O-heavy server roles. The EPYC 7302 also draws more power (155 W TDP versus 129 W) and uses a more advanced 7 nm process from TSMC versus Intel’s 10 nm. For a database or virtualization host that needs massive memory bandwidth and PCIe expansion, the AMD part’s losses in Cinebench may be irrelevant.

The Verdict

From the benchmark data alone, the Intel Xeon D-2799 is the faster CPU. It wins all six Cinebench tests, with every multi-core and single-core margin between 2.0% and 2.1%. If the decision hinges purely on rendering or compute scores, the Intel part is the pick. Its 20 cores and 40 threads outmuscle the EPYC 7302’s 16 cores and 32 threads in multi-core tests, while its higher boost clock (3.40 GHz versus 3.30 GHz) carries single-core tests. The Xeon D-2799 also has a lower TDP at 129 W versus 155 W, meaning it achieves better benchmark scores while consuming less rated power.

However, the EPYC 7302 is not without a case. It has double the memory bandwidth (204.8 GB/s versus 102.4 GB/s) and four times the PCIe lanes (128 versus 32) of the Intel part, both on Gen 4. It also has 128 MB of total L3 cache versus 30 MB. For a server workload that saturates memory channels or requires many NVMe drives or GPUs, the EPYC 7302’s platform capabilities could outweigh a 2.1% Cinebench deficit. The data shows the Intel part wins benchmarks; it does not show the Intel part wins every server workload. Choose the Xeon D-2799 for raw compute, choose the EPYC 7302 for memory bandwidth and I/O expansion.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has the higher multi-core Cinebench R23 score?

A: The Intel Xeon D-2799 scores 28723, which is 2.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 7302’s 28140.

Q: How big is the single-core performance gap in Cinebench R20?

A: Intel leads with 1703 against AMD’s 1668, a 2.1% advantage.

Q: Does the AMD EPYC 7302 win any benchmark in this comparison?

A: No. The Intel Xeon D-2799 wins all six head-to-head tests, with winsA equal to 6 and winsB equal to 0.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference between the two?

A: The AMD EPYC 7302 provides 204.8 GB/s over an eight-channel bus, while the Intel Xeon D-2799 provides 102.4 GB/s over a quad-channel bus.

Q: How do their core and thread counts differ?

A: The Intel Xeon D-2799 has 20 cores and 40 threads; the AMD EPYC 7302 has 16 cores and 32 threads.

Q: What are their percentile scores among all CPUs?

A: Both processors are at the 64th percentile, indicating they rank similarly in the overall database.

Architecture Differences

The two chips come from fundamentally different design philosophies. The Intel Xeon D-2799 uses the Ice Lake-D architecture on a 10 nm process, built by Intel. It has 20 cores and 40 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.40 GHz. Its cache hierarchy is per-core: 80 KB of L1 per core and 1.25 MB of L2 per core, with 30 MB of shared L3. Memory is DDR4 over a quad-channel bus, delivering 102.4 GB/s. PCIe support is Gen 4 with 32 CPU-only lanes. The chip is soldered to an Intel BGA 2579 socket and was released in February 2022.

The AMD EPYC 7302 is a Zen 2 part from the EPYC 7002 series, built on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It has 16 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 3.30 GHz. It features 15,200 million transistors across four 74 mm² dies. Its cache is also per-core for L1 (64 KB per core) and L2 (512 KB per core), but L3 is 32 MB per die, totaling 128 MB. Memory is DDR4 over an eight-channel bus, delivering 204.8 GB/s. PCIe support is Gen 4 with 128 CPU-only lanes. It uses an AMD Socket SP3 and was released in August 2019. The EPYC 7302 also has a higher TDP at 155 W versus Intel’s 129 W.

Specification Differences

The two processors differ in nearly every major specification. The Intel Xeon D-2799 has 20 cores and 40 threads; the AMD EPYC 7302 has 16 cores and 32 threads. Intel’s base clock is 2.40 GHz versus AMD’s 3.00 GHz, but Intel’s boost clock is 3.40 GHz versus AMD’s 3.30 GHz. TDP differs: 129 W for Intel, 155 W for AMD. Sockets are incompatible: Intel BGA 2579 versus AMD Socket SP3. Process node is 10 nm for Intel and 7 nm for AMD, with Intel as the foundry for the former and TSMC for the latter. Transistor count and die size are only listed for AMD: 15,200 million transistors across 4x 74 mm² dies. L1 and L2 cache sizes are per-core and larger on Intel (80 KB and 1.25 MB) versus AMD (64 KB and 512 KB), but total L3 is far larger on AMD at 128 MB versus Intel’s 30 MB. Memory bus width differs: quad-channel for Intel, eight-channel for AMD, leading to memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s versus 204.8 GB/s. PCIe lanes are 32 for Intel and 128 for AMD, both Gen 4. Release dates are February 2022 for Intel and August 2019 for AMD. Launch MSRP is $1972 for Intel and $978 for AMD. Both support DDR4 and ECC memory, and both are active server/workstation parts with no integrated graphics and locked multipliers.