Intel Xeon E5-2699A v4 vs Intel Xeon W-2155 Comparison

FAQ

Q: Which processor has more cores and threads?

A: The Intel Xeon E5-2699A v4 has 22 cores and 44 threads, while the Intel Xeon W-2155 has 10 cores and 20 threads. This makes the E5-2699A v4 a 120% lead in core count, though the W-2155 makes up ground with higher clock speeds.

Q: How do the two compare in single-core performance?

A: The E5-2699A v4 wins all single-core tests by 1.6% to 1.7%. In Cinebench R23 single-core, the E5-2699A v4 scores 2516 versus 2475 for the W-2155. The W-2155's higher boost clock of 4.50 GHz does not translate into a win, as the E5-2699A v4's 3.60 GHz boost still edges ahead.

Q: What are the socket requirements for each processor?

A: The E5-2699A v4 uses the Intel Socket 2011-3, while the W-2155 uses the Intel Socket 2066. They are not interchangeable, requiring different motherboards for each platform.

Q: Do both processors support ECC memory?

A: Yes, both support ECC memory. Each has a quad-channel DDR4 memory bus, with the E5-2699A v4 offering 76.8 GB/s bandwidth and the W-2155 offering 85.3 GB/s.

Q: Which processor has more PCIe lanes?

A: The W-2155 has 48 PCIe Gen 3 lanes (CPU only), while the E5-2699A v4 has 40 lanes. This gives the W-2155 more headroom for expansion cards and NVMe storage.

Q: What is the production status of these chips?

A: Both are end-of-life products. The E5-2699A v4 was released on 2016-10-24, and the W-2155 was released on 2017-08-28.

Architecture Differences

The E5-2699A v4 is built on the Broadwell-EP architecture, marketed under the Broadwell codename, while the W-2155 uses the Skylake-W architecture. Both are fabricated on Intel's 14 nm process node, but the die sizes differ: the E5-2699A v4 measures 456 mm² with 7,200 million transistors, whereas the W-2155 has a larger 484 mm² die with no transistor count recorded in the database.

The cache hierarchy marks a major distinction. The E5-2699A v4 has 64 KB of L1 cache per core and 256 KB of L2 cache per core, but its L3 cache is a large 55 MB shared pool. The W-2155 also has 64 KB L1 per core, but its L2 is 1 MB per core, and its shared L3 is only 13.75 MB. This means the E5-2699A v4 carries roughly four times the total L3 capacity, which matters for workloads with large working sets that benefit from on-die caching.

Memory bandwidth is another differentiating factor. The W-2155 has a higher rated memory bandwidth of 85.3 GB/s versus 76.8 GB/s for the E5-2699A v4, despite both using quad-channel DDR4. The W-2155's newer memory controller appears to extract more throughput per channel.

PCIe connectivity also differs. The E5-2699A v4 provides 40 PCIe Gen 3 lanes, while the W-2155 provides 48 lanes. For systems with many GPUs, controllers, or high-speed storage devices, the W-2155 offers more direct CPU-attached expansion.

The market segments diverge: the E5-2699A v4 is classified as Desktop, while the W-2155 is classified as Server/Workstation. Despite this, both are end-of-life and share similar benchmark percentiles, each sitting at the 60th percentile versus all CPUs in the database.

Where Each One Wins

The E5-2699A v4 wins every recorded benchmark in the head-to-head comparison, totaling 6 wins to 0 for the W-2155. However, the margins are tight, ranging from 1.6% to 1.7% across all tests. This suggests that the E5-2699A v4 holds a consistent but narrow advantage rather than a dominant one.

The E5-2699A v4 is the better choice for heavily threaded workloads that saturate many cores. Its 22 cores and 44 threads, combined with 55 MB of shared L3, give it an edge in rendering, simulation, and batch processing tasks where parallelism is the primary driver. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17826 versus 17538 reflects this advantage, albeit a slim 1.6% gap. The extra 12 cores over the W-2155 do not yield a proportional performance lead, which indicates that the W-2155's higher clock speeds and per-core L2 cache compensate significantly in these tests.

The W-2155, despite losing every benchmark, has qualitative strengths that favor certain use cases. Its higher base clock of 3.30 GHz versus 2.40 GHz, and boost clock of 4.50 GHz versus 3.60 GHz, make it more responsive for lightly threaded or latency-sensitive workloads, even though the recorded single-core scores show the E5-2699A v4 ahead by 1.6%. The 48 PCIe lanes and higher memory bandwidth of 85.3 GB/s position it better for workstation configurations with heavy I/O demands, such as multi-GPU compute nodes or high-throughput storage arrays.

For users constrained by platform costs, the W-2155's launch MSRP was $1440, while the E5-2699A v4 launched at $4938. Both are end-of-life, so current pricing is not recorded, but the original positioning suggests the W-2155 targeted a different segment of the market.

Specification Differences

| Specification | Intel Xeon E5-2699A v4 | Intel Xeon W-2155 |

|---|---|---|

| Cores | 22 | 10 |

| Threads | 44 | 20 |

| Base Clock | 2.40 GHz | 3.30 GHz |

| Boost Clock | 3.60 GHz | 4.50 GHz |

| TDP | 145 W | 140 W |

| Socket | Intel Socket 2011-3 | Intel Socket 2066 |

| Architecture | Broadwell | Skylake |

| Codename | Broadwell-EP | Skylake-W |

| Process Node | 14 nm | 14 nm |

| Transistors | 7,200 million | Not recorded |

| Die Size | 456 mm² | 484 mm² |

| L2 Cache | 256 KB (per core) | 1 MB (per core) |

| L3 Cache | 55 MB (shared) | 13.75 MB (shared) |

| Memory Bandwidth | 76.8 GB/s | 85.3 GB/s |

| PCIe Lanes | 40 (Gen 3, CPU only) | 48 (Gen 3, CPU only) |

| Market Segment | Desktop | Server/Workstation |

| Release Date | 2016-10-24 | 2017-08-28 |

| Launch MSRP | $4938 | $1440 |

| Part Number | SR30YQLPM | SR3LR |

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data shows a clean sweep for the Intel Xeon E5-2699A v4, but the margins are remarkably small. In Cinebench R15 multicore, the E5-2699A v4 scores 1796 versus 1767 for the W-2155, a 1.6% difference. The single-core R15 test follows the same pattern: 253 versus 249, again 1.6%. These are near-ties in practical terms, though the E5-2699A v4 takes the win.

Moving to Cinebench R20, the multicore result is 7486 for the E5-2699A v4 and 7365 for the W-2155, a 1.6% lead. The single-core R20 score is 1056 versus 1039, also 1.6%. The pattern persists into Cinebench R23: multicore 17826 versus 17538, a 1.6% gap, and single-core 2516 versus 2475, a 1.7% gap. The largest delta in the entire comparison is the R23 single-core test at 1.7%, which is still a modest margin.

The Geekbench results are only recorded for the E5-2699A v4, with a multicore score of 10118 and a single-core score of 1020. No corresponding Geekbench scores exist for the W-2155 in the database, so a direct comparison in this test is not possible.

The average benchmark score for the E5-2699A v4 is 5259, placing it at the 60th percentile versus all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-14401E (avg score 5253, delta 0.1%), Intel Core i7-11700B (5241, delta 0.4%), Intel Core i9-10850K (5240, delta 0.4%), and Intel Core i9-9900X (5301, delta -0.8%). The W-2155 has an average score of 5072, also at the 60th percentile, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5750GE (5070, delta 0%), Intel Core i9-12900TE (5050, delta 0.4%), Intel Core i7-11850HE (5095, delta -0.4%), and Intel Core i9-9820X (5049, delta 0.4%).

The data indicates that the E5-2699A v4's massive core-count advantage does not translate into a proportional performance lead in Cinebench tests. The W-2155's higher clocks and larger per-core L2 cache help it stay competitive, but the E5-2699A v4 still wins every recorded test. For workloads that scale beyond 10 cores, the E5-2699A v4 provides more headroom, though the benchmark suite here does not isolate such scaling. The consistent 1.6% delta across all Cinebench versions suggests a uniform performance relationship between the two chips, with the E5-2699A v4 holding a slight edge in both multicore and single-core scenarios.