Database test: Sun UltraSparc T1 vs. AMD Opteron

We used two Sun machines in this test: a T2000 and an X4200. Both are 2U rack mounted servers, with the processor being the most significant difference: the T2000's heart is an UltraSparc T1 with eight cores clocked at 1HGz, while the X4200 is fitted with two dualcore Opteron 280 processors at 2.4GHz. Both machines had two Fujitsu 73GB SAS hard disks (2.5", 10,000RPM) at their disposal, hooked up to an LSI RAID controller. Some additional differences should be noted: the UltraSparc had 16GB of DDR2-533 memory on board, while the Opteron had to make do with 8GB of DDR-400. Since tests we conducted showed that the step from 4GB to 8GB hardly yields increased returns given our benchmark, we do not believe that the T2000's 16GB of memory gave it an unfair edge.

A further minor point is that the SAS controller came with the T2000 in the form of a slot card, while the X4200 has it fixed to the motherboard. Additional differences are to be found mainly in the machines' constructions: although both look sturdy and well-finished, Sun has made some slightly different choices for each machine. For instance, the double Opteron needs more cooling for its 190W TDP than the 79W UltraSparc T1. The design of the cooling systems is the same though: cool air is sucked in through the front and blown right across processor and memory. The case lid is designed in such as manner as to make sure that the warmest elements get most of the airflow.

T2000







X4200