In an era where cloud and dedicated server costs can make or break project budgets, a recent benchmark analysis provides hard data to guide developer decisions. Conducted using sysbench cpu run and published on softuts.com, the tests pit three Hetzner offerings against each other: the cloud-based CPX21 (AMD EPYC, 3 vCPUs, 4GB RAM, ~€9/month), the dedicated EX44 (Intel i5-13500, 64GB RAM, ~€40/month), and an auction server (Intel i7-8700, 128GB RAM, ~€40/month). Each machine underwent three single- and multi-threaded runs, with the best results highlighted below.

The Benchmark Results: Raw Performance Unveiled

Single-Threaded Scores (Higher is Better):
- EX44 (i5-13500): 4133.64 events/second
- CPX21 (AMD EPYC): 1617.52 events/second
- Auction (i7-8700): 1480.96 events/second

The EX44’s modern architecture shone here, outpacing the i7-8700 by nearly 2.8x and the cloud instance by 2.5x, thanks to Intel’s efficiency gains.

Multi-Threaded Scores (Utilizing All Cores):
- EX44 (20 threads): 50,234.72 events/second
- Auction (12 threads): 13,043.05 events/second
- CPX21 (3 threads): 4,835.93 events/second

Despite the auction server’s higher core count, the EX44 achieved 3.85x better throughput, demonstrating exceptional scalability. The cloud instance, while cost-effective for light tasks, faltered under heavy parallel loads.

Why This Matters for Developers

These numbers aren’t just synthetic metrics—they translate to real-world impact. For CPU-bound applications like video encoding, data processing, or real-time analytics, the EX44’s performance per euro is unmatched. As one analysis notes:

"The EX44 server has excellent value... drastically better single-core and multicore performance than previous gen CPUs."

Yet, trade-offs exist. The auction server’s 128GB RAM and larger storage (included at the same price) make it viable for memory-intensive tasks like large databases, despite its older CPU. Meanwhile, the CPX21’s low entry cost suits scalable, burstable workloads but struggles with sustained compute demands.

The Bottom Line: Choose Wisely

For teams prioritizing raw compute efficiency, the EX44 is a revelation, proving that newer-generation dedicated hardware can eclipse cloud instances and older machines without breaking the bank. As cloud costs spiral, this benchmark underscores a strategic pivot: invest in modern dedicated servers for heavyweight tasks, reserve cloud for elasticity, and repurpose legacy hardware only when RAM or storage dominates your workflow. In the relentless pursuit of optimization, data-driven choices like these separate performant systems from costly bottlenecks.