# Inefficient Processor Selection in EC2 Instances

Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/inefficient-processor-selection-in-ec2-instances

[Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) 

# Inefficient Processor Selection in EC2 Instances

## Explanation

Many organizations default to Intel-based EC2 instances due to familiarity or assumptions about workload compatibility. However, AWS offers AMD and Graviton-based alternatives that often deliver significantly better price-performance for general-purpose and compute-optimized workloads.

By not testing workloads across available architectures, teams may continue paying a premium for Intel instances even when no specific performance or compatibility benefit exists. Over time, this results in unnecessary compute spend across development, staging, and even production environments.

## Relevant Billing Model

- EC2 instances are billed per second (Linux) or per hour (Windows/older usage) based on:

- Instance type and size

- Architecture family  (e.g., Intel, AMD, Graviton)

- Graviton instances (\`m6g\`, \`c6g\`, etc.) typically offer  20-40% better price-performance

- AMD-based instances (\`m6a\`, \`r6a\`, etc.) are often priced lower than equivalent Intel types

## Detection

- Identify EC2 instances running on Intel-based families

- Identify applications with general-purpose compute requirements that could be migrated to Graviton or AMD

## Remediation

- Check for architecture-specific performance issues or compatibility blockers before switching

- Benchmark representative workloads on Intel, AMD, and Graviton instance types

- Migrate to the instance family that offers the best price-performance for the workload

- Update provisioning defaults and infrastructure templates to prefer AMD or Graviton when appropriate

## Relevant Documentation

- [AWS Graviton Processor Overview](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/graviton/)

- [Amazon EC2 Instance Types](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/)

[Submit Feedback](https://hub.pointfive.co/inefficiencies/inefficient-processor-selection-in-ec2-instances)

## At a glance

Reference

CER-0158

Cloud provider

AWS

Service

AWS EC2

Category

[Compute](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/compute)

Inefficiency type

Suboptimal Instance Family Selection

## Contributed by

- Jason DiDomenico 

### Jason DiDomenico

Director of FinOps @ Discover Financial Services

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondidomenico/)

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