We were asked to spec a customer build the other day who was torn between the above two processors. Here’s our thoughts on them.
E3-1245V2: Quad core, 8-thread, 3.4GHz -> 3.8GHz Turbo
E3-1275V2: Quad core, 8-thread, 3.5GHz -> 3.9GHz Turbo
All other specifications are equal apart from the 100MHz clockspeed difference. At this level 100MHz is a mere ~3% increase – not something that is going to be visible for most real-world applications. However, if there’s not much price difference it may be worth that extra bit of cash if you really do need every ounce of performance you can get (or just want the bragging rights). So what do they both cost (AU, our prices)?
E3-1245V2: $299
E3-1275V2: $389
$90 difference – or around a 30% premium above the E3-1245V2 for a 3% clockspeed increase.
If you have to have the utmost performance from a S1155 server chip with onboard graphics, there’s no other option. For most workstation users, however, the 3% is probably not going to be noticed – whereas the $90 could go towards a 128GB SSD or something similar where you’ll get a tangible speed boost. We would recommend taking a long hard look at the price difference – if you need it it’s $90 well spent but we’re pretty sure that most people will go with the E3-1245V2 at the end of the day and spend their $90 elsewhere.