Need help understanding Intel CPUs...

[Caveman]

I'm a mechanical engineer with experience using AMD CPUs on my home rigs, but am basically clueless when it comes to Intel products. The IT group has given me some Intel CPU choices for some ME workstations and I'm not sure what to choose...

As far as high end desktop machines, my understanding is that there are Pentiums and Xeon chips and that the main difference here is that the Xeons have much more Cache memory...

And my understanding is that both products come in a dual core config.

Assumption is that single or dual core that a Xeon will be faster although its hard to tell whether a single Xeon would be faster than a Dual core Pentium, since it depends on the application. Are these "fact" in the ballpark, or completely hose. Please advise. Thanks.

 

[alpha88]

Xeons are primarily for server use (with multiple Xeons). As far as I know, they aren't used by enthusiasts to the same degree that Opterons are used.

 

[Caveman]

Bump

 

[DaveSimmons]

Can you wait until August to spec these? Intel's Core 2 Duo processors will be out then and solve the heat issues of current intel chips.

Workstations used to use Xeons just because regular P4s were not validated for multi-CPU configurations. Xeons still have more cache, and are still the only intel choice for a quad-core setup.

It depends on your budget and software packages whether the cache or quad core would increase productivity enough to justify paying 2-4 times as much per workstation.

AnandTech doesn't have much Xeon coverage, so you'll need to google to find benchmarks for the packages you use.

 

[Caveman]

Isn't there a dual core Pentium chip? How does this compare to a dual core Xeon?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Caveman
Isn't there a dual core Pentium chip? How does this compare to a dual core Xeon?

Yes. The 900 series Pentium D's are what you want to look at. As far as performance, it would depend on what applications you're using. What exactly are "ME Workstations,'" and what apps will be used?

I would also recommend waiting for Intel's new desktop and Xeon cpu's to arrive, in about 8 weeks. Both are going to have huge performance increases over their counterparts of today, using less power, and running much cooler.

 

[Caveman]

Are you referring to the Conroe chip?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Caveman
Are you referring to the Conroe chip?

Yes. Conroe was the code name, it will have the retail name of Core 2 Duo. As for Xeons, the new one is codenamed Woodcrest.

 

[0roo0roo]

u poor bastard. yes intels made it damn confusing. i've just stopped following it completely since amd works fine.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
u poor bastard. yes intels made it damn confusing. i've just stopped following it completely since amd works fine.

Oh, and AMD's line is not confusing?

 

[TanisHalfElven]

no amd's line is not confusing. there are not a bazillion chipsets numbers to remember AND there isn't a chance that some mobo's don't support the proc even if it fits in the slot.

servers use opteron, desktops use athlons. where the confusion ?

 

[corkyg]

Intel will contiue to lead the way in advanced technology. This plant is well underway to producing 45 nm CPUs in 2007. It is in Chandler, AZ. Business systems will follow Intel.

Intel

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
no amd's line is not confusing. there are not a bazillion chipsets numbers to remember AND there isn't a chance that some mobo's don't support the proc even if it fits in the slot.

servers use opteron, desktops use athlons. where the confusion ?

To those not fully aware of their products, they can be confusing, in regards to model numbers and even cache sizes. For example, an X2 3800+ is not a 3800+ with two cores, it's actually closer to a 3200+ with two cores. As well, the AM2 X2 4000+ has 2x1MB cache, while the higher model number, X2 4200+ has 2x512KB cache.

 

[gsellis]

Xeons are workstation and server class chips. They work as dual or multi processor cores in the same way that Opterons do. So, tuned for SMP.

 

[Aluvus]

Xeons are primarily distinguished from Pentium Ds (the dual core line) by two things: cache and features. Various Xeons have been endowed with fairly large L3 caches as a speed-booster. Some support Hyper-Threading (so in concept, a dual core chip with Hyper-Threading could run 4 threads at once instead of 2), while no Pentium D does (only the Pentium Extreme Edition). And as noted above, all Xeons support at least 2 physical processors in one system, while no Pentium D does.

Without any real information about the specifics of what is available to you, the blanket answer would be Xeon.

 

[reaz]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
no amd's line is not confusing. there are not a bazillion chipsets numbers to remember AND there isn't a chance that some mobo's don't support the proc even if it fits in the slot.

servers use opteron, desktops use athlons. where the confusion ?

To those not fully aware of their products, they can be confusing, in regards to model numbers and even cache sizes. For example, an X2 3800+ is not a 3800+ with two cores, it's actually closer to a 3200+ with two cores. As well, the AM2 X2 4000+ has 2x1MB cache, while the higher model number, X2 4200+ has 2x512KB cache.

I thought the 3800+ or 3200+ was the performance rating of the final product and not of the core. So as long as the chip delivers 3800+ of performance should it really matter what the performance rating of each individual core is?

I don't think the AMD line up is as complicated as Intel. It's simply because AMD is not capable of producing enough variety which can be good or bad depending on many other factors.