Silicon Triangle
AWS M6 Generation: M6i vs M6a vs M6g
General Purpose workhorses across Intel Ice Lake, AMD Milan, and Graviton2
Compare 6th generation general-purpose instances with 4 GiB memory per vCPU. Ideal for baseline capacity planning and evaluating legacy migrations.
1. Architectural & Silicon Specs Head-to-Head
Comparing underlying processor microarchitectures, memory ratios, and Nitro generation features using representative xlarge sizing.
m6ix86_64
M6I General Purpose
ProcessorIntel Xeon 8375C (Ice Lake)
Clock Speed3.5 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network50 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS160,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m6i.xlarge)$0.1920/hr
Monthly Est.$140.16/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0480/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0120/hr
CoreMark Benchmark66,742
CoreMark / $347,615
Price Index100% of highest
Compute / $ Value46% of leader
m6ax86_64
M6A General Purpose
ProcessorAMD EPYC 7R13 Processor
Clock Speed3.6 GHz
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network50 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS240,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m6a.xlarge)$0.1111/hr
Monthly Est.$81.10/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0278/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0069/hr
CoreMark Benchmark80,527
CoreMark / $724,815
Price Index58% of highest
Save 42% vs most expensive
Compute / $ Value95% of leader
m6gARM64 (Graviton)
M6G General Purpose
ProcessorAWS Graviton2 Processor
Clock Speed—
RAM / vCPU4.0 GiB/vCPU
Max Network25 Gbps
Max EBS IOPS80,000
AWS NitroSupported
Min Rate (m6g.xlarge)$0.1012/hr
Monthly Est.$73.88/mo
Cost per vCPU$0.0253/hr
Cost per GiB RAM$0.0063/hr
CoreMark Benchmark77,002
CoreMark / $760,889
Price IndexLowest Cost
Save 47% vs most expensive
Compute / $ Value100% (Leader)
2. Side-by-Side Sizing & Pricing Matrix
Direct price and benchmark comparison across matching instance tiers in the lowest-cost region. Lowest hourly cost in each row is highlighted in green.
| Size Tier | vCPU | Memory | m6iLinux Rate | m6aLinux Rate | m6gLinux Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .medium | 1 | 4 GB | — | — | |
| .large | 2 | 8 GB | |||
| .xlarge | 4 | 16 GB | |||
| .2xlarge | 8 | 32 GB | |||
| .4xlarge | 16 | 64 GB | |||
| .8xlarge | 32 | 128 GB | |||
| .12xlarge | 48 | 192 GB | |||
| .16xlarge | 64 | 256 GB | |||
| .24xlarge | 96 | 384 GB | — | ||
| .32xlarge | 128 | 512 GB | — | ||
| .48xlarge | 192 | 768 GB | — | — |
3. Workload Decision Framework
Clear, actionable rules on when each family wins based on workload profile, runtime language, and licensing boundaries.
Recommended:M6g (Graviton2)
When: Standard container clusters and application tiers
Why: Massive cost advantage and broad support across AWS managed services like EKS and ECS.
Recommended:M6a (AMD Milan)
When: Drop-in x86 replacement for aging M5 fleets
Why: Saves ~10% over M6i with comparable or superior multi-core throughput.
Recommended:M6i (Intel)
When: Legacy enterprise Windows and Linux stacks needing pure Intel architecture
Why: Clean drop-in for M5 instances with updated Ice Lake instructions.
5. Related Architecture Comparisons
Explore adjacent generational comparisons and silicon trade-offs.