This indicates that the Opteron 23xx is about 10% faster in integer tasks than the 22xx series. Considering that the best SPECint_rate2006 score of AMD's quad-core at 2.5GHz is 102 while Intel's 5460 (3.16GHz) is already at 138, we think it is safe to assume that the integer performance of AMD's Barcelona is still not up to Intel Core levels. The Xeon 5365 at 3GHz is also able to deliver a significantly higher score (117). This, together with our own benchmark data, makes us believe that the Xeon 54xx based on the Penryn architecture will beat the best AMD chips on every aspect of raw processing performance: integer, legacy x87 FP, and SIMD (SSE). It is clear now why Intel's CPUs are so dominant in desktop and workstation workloads.
Add to this a significant clock advantage: there is already a 3.2GHz Xeon 5485 (150W). If you prefer a less power hungry CPU, Intel can provide a 3GHz 5472 that is still clocked 20% higher than what AMD will be able to deliver 2 to 3 months later. Although the 3GHz models are quite pricey (>$1000), you can already find a 2.5GHz quad-core Xeon for $316. That's the same price as a 1.9GHz Opteron 2347 chip. There is little doubt in our mind that a 2.5GHz Xeon is faster in almost every application we can think off, so Intel's newest Xeon does have the price/performance crown as well.