Comparing CPU Multicore Performance of OCI Compute Standard Flex Shapes

When selecting a compute instance, factors such as raw computational power, price-to-performance ratio, and workload optimization play a significant role.

The following standard flex shapes available in most OCI regions are:

• VM.Standard.E4.Flex (Processor: AMD EPYC 7J13. Base frequency 2.55 GHz, max boost frequency 3.5 GHz)
• VM.Standard.E5.Flex (Processor: AMD EPYC 9J14. Base frequency 2.4 GHz, max boost frequency 3.7 GHz)
• VM.Standard3.Flex (Processor: Intel Xeon Platinum 8358. Base frequency 2.6 GHz, max turbo frequency 3.4 GHz)
• VM.Optimized3.Flex (Processor: Intel Xeon 6354. Base frequency 3.0 GHz, max turbo frequency 3.6 GHz)
• VM.Standard.A1.Flex (Each OCPU corresponds to a single hardware execution thread. Processor: Ampere Altra Q80-30. Max frequency 3.0 GHz.)

In this article: Performance testing with PHP and OCI Compute instances I have tested a single PHP thread/cpu execution over all OCI standard flex shapes, now I conducted multicore benchmark tests with Geekbench 6 using 2, 4 and 8 CPU.

For additional information on the internal tests conducted , please refer to the provided link.

Performance Comparison

Let’s explore the results in multi-threaded performance test over different shapes:

We can see that the most powerful shape is the VM.Standard.E5.Flex.

This new AMD-based shape significantly surpasses other shapes, a very powerful CPU for best-in-class performance needs!

But we can evaluate not only the performance; in the real world, price-to-performance is another decisive factor.

Cost Comparison (Monthly Pricing )

Let’s break down the monthly costs for each shape with 8 CPU and Oracle Linux based on Oracle’s pricing as of March 2024:

We can observe that there are varying prices; not all shapes have the same cost.

In this table, I added a “Saving” column to represent the cost difference (in percent) compared with VM.Standard.A1.Flex than all other shapes.

Considerations

If you consider the ARM shape VM.Standard.A1.Flex, you can save 60% than VM.Optimized3.Flex with very similar performance results! Awesome!!

If performance is the main focus VM.Standard.E5.Flex is the winner! A good price and stunning performance results!

ARM architecture is not only for mobile and low watt devices, ARM processor is a real alternative of the classic x86 server CPU, please read What is Arm? page on OCI site to best understand the benefits of OCI A1 shapes!

Remember, the right shape depends on your unique use case.

Detailed results

If you want to deep dive to Geekbench 6 tests and results excuted by me, below a table with the relative tests executed:

Happy computing!