Benchmarking the Intel Xeon E5-2630 v3 in modern games

In a previous article, we found that a 6-core, 12-thread Haswell CPU can deliver decent performance in most 2022 games and confidently outperform its direct counterpart from Intel's older Sandy Bridge generation. But that raised a natural question: is it worth paying extra for a more powerful 8-core, 16-thread CPU from that same 22nm family? Will those two extra cores offer any real benefit, or is it simpler to save money and just get a Xeon E5-2620 v3?

We once tried to answer this very question, but couldn't give a definitive answer then. The E5-2630L v3 chip had an extremely low TDP, causing its frequency to rarely reach its theoretical 2900MHz maximum. This made a fair comparison with the E5-2620 v3, which runs at 3200MHz, impossible.

Fortunately, the frequency profile of this article's main subject perfectly matches that of the classic 6-core Haswell. This means our investigation should be extremely interesting.

Processor

Meet one of the most popular chips for the LGA 2011 v3 platform: the 8-core, 16-thread Xeon E5-2630 v3. Let's take a look at the CPU itself:

The E5-2630 v3 we tested is marked SR206 and was manufactured in Malaysia. Its base clock speed is 2400MHz, with an 85-watt TDP. This figure isn't significantly different from most standard desktop processors, meaning almost any cooling system should be sufficient for our 8-core chip.

The E5-2630 v3 processor is based on a 22nm, 8-core, 16-thread Haswell-EP die, designed for LGA 2011 v3 motherboards. While its nominal frequency is 2400MHz, Turbo Boost can significantly increase the CPU's speed: up to 3200MHz for a single core and 2600MHz for all 8 cores/16 threads. Fortunately, this seemingly low frequency isn't an insurmountable problem.

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Currently, many modified BIOSes for LGA 2011 v3 motherboards allow all processor cores and threads to operate at the maximum single-core Turbo Boost frequency. This means our E5-2630 v3 test subject can run quite stably at 3200MHz across all 8 cores and 16 threads.

The Xeon E5-2630 v3 features 256KB of L2 cache per core and a sizable 20MB shared L3 cache. Its integrated memory controller is hard-locked at 3000MHz, a speed also used by the L3 cache. The maximum RAM frequency is limited by its quad-channel DDR4-1866MHz controller.

Beyond these specs, the CPU also boasts critical instructions for 2022, like SSE4.2, AVX, and AVX2. This helps avid gamers launch virtually any new title released this year without issues.

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Test setup and software

Test setup

• Intel Processors— Xeon X3470, Core i7-2600, Xeon X5660, Xeon E5-2667, Xeon E5-2620 v3, Xeon E5-2630 v3;

• AMD Processors— FX-8350, FX-6350;

• Processor Cooling— Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition (RR-212S-20PK-R1);

• RAM for LGA 1155/1156— four 8GB HyperX Genesis Na’Vi Edition (KHX16C9C2K2/8) modules, totaling 32GB;

• RAM for LGA 1366— three 8GB HyperX Genesis Na’Vi Edition (KHX16C9C2K2/8) modules, totaling 24GB;

• RAM for LGA 2011— four 8GB Micron MT36JSF1G72PZ-1G4M1HF modules, totaling 32GB;

• RAM for LGA 2011 v3— four 4GB G.SKILL DDR4 F4-2400C15S-4GNT modules, totaling 16GB;

• RAM for AM3+— four 8GB HyperX Genesis Na’Vi Edition (KHX16C9C2K2/8) modules, totaling 32GB;

• Motherboard LGA 1156— DELL OptiPlex 980 (0D441T, mod-BIOS);

• Motherboard LGA 1155— Gigabyte GA-Z68P-DS3 (rev. 2.0);

• Motherboard LGA 1366— DELL T3500 (09KPNV);

• Motherboard LGA 2011— DELL T3610 (09M8Y8);

• Motherboard LGA 2011 v3— Qiyida X99-H9 with a modified BIOS from Huananzhi x99-8m-f (Turbo Boost unlocked, along with unlocked timing and voltage control);

• Motherboard AM3+— ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0;

• Graphics Card— KFA2 GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB (~1950/14816MHz, Power Limit 112%);

• Solid-state Drive— KINGSTON SUV400S37240G 240.0 GB (Windows 10 + Games) + KINGSTON SUV400S37400G 400.0 GB (Games);

• Power Supply Unit— Chieftec GPS-1250C.

Software

• Operating System:Windows 10 x64 with the latest updates as of August 2022;

• Graphics Card Drivers:NVIDIA GeForce 516.94 WHQL;

• Additional Software for FPS Measurement:MSI Afterburner 4.6.4;

• Games:testing was conducted on the most current game versions as of August 2022;

• Game Settings:testing was performed using the highest possible graphics settings at 720p resolution.

Tested processor configurations

• Intel Processors:Core i7-2600@3400MHz, Dual-Channel DDR3@1866MHz (DDR3 timings 10-11-11-26, DDR3 voltage 1.550v);

• Xeon X3470@3200MHz, Dual-Channel DDR3@1333MHz;

• Xeon X5660@3066MHz, Triple-Channel DDR3@1333MHz;

• Xeon E5-2667@3200MHz, Quad-Channel DDR3@1333MHz;

• Xeon E5-2620 v3@3200MHz, Quad-Channel DDR4@1866MHz (DDR4 timings 10-10-10-24);

• Xeon E5-2630 v3@3200MHz, Quad-Channel DDR4@1866MHz (DDR4 timings 10-10-10-24).

• AMD Processors:FX-6350@4200MHz, CPU-NB@2200MHz, Dual-Channel DDR3@1866MHz;

• FX-6350@4595MHz, CPU-NB@2608MHz, Dual-Channel DDR3@2086MHz (CPU Core voltage — 1.440v, CPU-NB voltage — 1.375v, DDR3 voltage — 1.660v);

• FX-8350@4200MHz, CPU-NB@2200MHz, Dual-Channel DDR3@1866MHz;

• FX-8350@4434MHz, CPU-NB@2608MHz, Dual-Channel DDR3@2086MHz (DDR3 timings 11-12-12-30, CPU Core voltage — 1.416v, CPU-NB voltage — 1.375v, DDR3 voltage — 1.660v).

You can find more detailed information on almost all the tested components in our full reviews, or by checking out the blogs section, which features short notes on overclocking and hardware testing.

To reiterate our CPU testing methodology: each game was run five times. We then took the average frame rate from these five runs and recorded it as the final result. Also, it's worth noting again: all games were installed on an SSD.

Test results

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

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In

Battlefield 2042

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Ray tracing - ON

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Battlefield 2042

Ray tracing - OFF

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With deactivated

Cyberpunk 2077

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Ray tracing - ON

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However, as soon as we launched Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing enabled, the situation reverted to its familiar state. In CD Projekt Red's creation, the octa-core E5-2630 v3 only managed a disappointing 13% lead in average frames per second and 21% in minimum FPS. Nevertheless, this was more than enough for the 16-thread Haswell to deliver a very comfortable level of performance in one of the most popular projects of the last decade.

Ray tracing - OFF

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Disabling the notorious ray tracing allows squeezing additional FPS out of the E5-2630 v3. However, this extra performance will primarily benefit owners of monitors with refresh rates above 90Hz. Otherwise, the balance of power remains largely unchanged.

Destiny 2

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Destiny 2, a multiplayer session shooter, only actively uses 8 threads. However, even under these circumstances, the 8-core E5-2630 v3 outperforms its six-core competitor, particularly due to its larger L3 cache.

Elden Ring

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Not much has changed for Elden Ring since our last E5-2667 article. Hidetaka Miyazaki's masterpiece remains notoriously poorly optimized. Even with the 8-core E5-2630 v3 and its generous 20MB L3 cache, we still encounter frequent micro-stutters, and the framerate is incredibly unstable. Nevertheless, it's worth noting that the star of this test delivers the best performance here.

Far Cry 6

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Ray tracing — ON

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Far Cry 6 struggles to adequately distribute CPU load when the core count exceeds 12 threads. This leads to intermittent hitches (read: micro-stutters), even on the 16-thread E5-2630 v3. However, it's crucial to point out that this observation applies only to older processors. More modern architectures, such as AMD Zen 2 or Intel Skylake (or its derivatives up to 11th Gen Core), are likely free of this drawback, with their multi-threaded chips delivering much more stable frame rates in Far Cry 6.

Ray tracing — ON

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With ray tracing deactivated, the situation remained largely unchanged. The Xeon E5-2630 v3 still slightly outperforms its 6-core counterpart, but it's fundamentally a rather lackluster showing.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered

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Ray tracing — OFF

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Nothing has changed since the last article: processors without AVX2 support cannot run the current version of the remastered SONY classic, 'Marvel's Spider-Man,' with ray tracing enabled. Fortunately, the E5-2630 v3 includes the necessary instruction set extension, allowing us to test it in this 2022 release. Despite this, like the 2620 v3, the 8-core CPU still can't provide truly comfortable gameplay at ultra graphics settings. However, we had to highlight the increased framerate compared to the 6-core chip: this latest Spider-Man adventure is extremely sensitive to increased L3 cache, with even an extra five megabytes boosting performance by 4%.

Ray tracing — OFF

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With RT off, E5-2630 v3 owners can expect a mere 3% increase in frame rate compared to the E5-2620 v3. This marginal uplift from the 8-core, 16-thread Haswell over its 6-core, 12-thread sibling is easily explained: Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered only effectively utilizes 6-8 threads, a point vividly illustrated by the FX-6350 and FX-8350 results.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

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Ray tracing — ON

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With ray tracing enabled, "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" shows significantly better optimization for multi-threaded processors. Here, the E5-2630 v3 delivers a more substantial 12% advantage over the 2620 v3. Yet, even the 6-core Haswell manages to provide acceptable frame rates.

Ray tracing — OFF

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Disabling ray tracing boosts frame rates across all processors. However, the performance hierarchy and the 12% lead for the E5-2630 v3 remain essentially unchanged.

Saints Row [2022]

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Ray tracing — ON

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In the "Saints Row" reboot, with ray tracing enabled, swapping from an E5-2620 v3 to an E5-2630 v3 nets only a 3% gain. While that might seem minor, it's far from the whole picture. For starters, the 8-core CPU delivers a much more assured, and critically, stable minimum FPS. Moreover, it's on the 16-thread Haswell where the game virtually eradicates those annoying micro-stutters, drastically improving the overall gameplay feel.

Ray tracing — OFF

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With ray tracing deactivated, the situation shifts quite noticeably: the frame rate difference becomes less critical, and those rare micro-stutters vanish even on the E5-2620 v3.

Red Dead Redemption 2

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In Red Dead Redemption 2, the legendary franchise's second installment, the 8-core E5-2630 v3 chip delivered significantly better performance gains over the E5-2620 v3: 8% for average FPS, 6% for minimum, and 13% for 1% lows. This means the 16-thread Haswell can ensure stable frame rates even in RDR2's most demanding scenes.

Watch Dogs Legion

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Ray Tracing — ON

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Finally, we arrive at Watch Dogs Legion, the toughest game in our test suite. Ubisoft's third installment in the popular series responds quite well to an increased core count, delivering a solid 14% boost in frame rates. However, even with these gains, the E5-2630 v3 couldn't quite hit 60 FPS with ray tracing enabled.

Ray Tracing — OFF

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In standard mode with Ultra graphics settings, however, the E5-2630 v3 emerged as the clear leader, confidently hitting 72 frames per second. The 8-core Haswell outpaced its 6-core sibling by a full 14%, making this CPU an exceptionally worthwhile purchase for Watch Dogs Legion.

E5-2630 v3's advantage over E5-2620 v3 in 11 games:

Conclusion

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Our tests revealed an average performance lead of a rather unremarkable 10% for the 8-core, 16-thread Xeon E5-2630 v3 CPU over its 6-core, 12-thread E5-2620 v3 counterpart. Despite this, the key is to consider which projects matter most to you. For instance, upgrading from six to eight cores won't yield significant dividends in Destiny 2, Far Cry 6, or Elden Ring. However, in games like Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Cyberpunk 2077, and Watch Dogs Legion, the E5-2630 v3 performed much more confidently, leaving its Haswell-based sibling in the dust.

At the same time, it's worth noting that the 8-core CPU consistently (though not substantially) outperformed its 6-core sibling across all titles, thanks to its larger L3 cache.

Summarizing our findings, a clear conclusion emerges: 6-core, 12-thread chips are still more than sufficient for most AAA titles. While an older Haswell CPU might struggle with modern games that have ray tracing enabled, virtually any contemporary 12-thread processor should comfortably handle almost any 2022 game without significant issues. We'll explore whether this holds true in an upcoming article.