Why buy a Xeon CPU???

[Shephard]

Ok so right now there are Sandy Bridge Xeons up to 8 core. The highest i7 is 6 core.

I have been building computers for ever and to my understanding Xeon is a 'server' chip. I need more explanation on that.

I don't understand why you need a server CPU or a server operating system to host websites or host a game server.

I know there are motherboards for Xeons which have 2 cpu sockets. Point???

There are cheapo Xeons and then there are $2000+++ Xeons.

Does anyone here actually own one? How is a $2000 better than an i7 with 12 threads or even an i5.

What is the benefit of having 2 cpus on one board?

Why do you need a Xeon server cpu to run a game or host a website? I have run a game server before and the most important thing the quality of the internet connection.

 

[ShintaiDK]

You dont need a Xeon.

And really not sure if you post is serious?

Point of multiple CPUs is to offer higher performance on the same system. Plus it saves money in terms of performance/$. Not to mention TCO cost.

Xeons also offer ECC support. Plus the server platform offers other features as well.

And yes, we only use Xeons. We would never use a non Xeon for a server the business depended on. But thats because downtime cost money.

 

[Blandge]

Ok so right now there are Sandy Bridge Xeons up to 8 core. The highest i7 is 6 core.

I have been building computers for ever and to my understanding Xeon is a 'server' chip. I need more explanation on that.

I don't understand why you need a server CPU or a server operating system to host websites or host a game server.

I know there are motherboards for Xeons which have 2 cpu sockets. Point???

There are cheapo Xeons and then there are $2000+++ Xeons.

Does anyone here actually own one? How is a $2000 better than an i7 with 12 threads or even an i5.

What is the benefit of having 2 cpus on one board?

Why do you need a Xeon server cpu to run a game or host a website? I have run a game server before and the most important thing the quality of the internet connection.

And i7-39XX IS a Xeon (Sandy Bridge-EP) CPU that's just been named as a Core i7, but it's cut from the same wafer as a XEON CPU and has the exact same layout with features fused off.

The benefit of server class CPUs is higher memory bandwidth, higher memory capacity, higher CPU threaded performance, higher IO (PCIe) performance, support for redundant memory types like ECC Registered DIMMs.

 

[Shephard]

You dont need a Xeon.

And really not sure if you post is serious?

Point of multiple CPUs is to offer higher performance on the same system. Plus it saves money in terms of performance/$. Not to mention TCO cost.

I did not say I need Xeon my post has questions.

How is Xeon better than an i7 for hosting a website?

So you spend $4000 on 2 Xeons to run a webhosting business.

i7 can do that no problem. you need a good stable and fast connection more than a processor for a webhosting.

What can Xeon do better?

 

[videogames101]

The E3 Xeons provide quad-core HT at up $100 cheaper than the 3770k. You might actually be interested in these.

The E5 is for dual CPU workstations, they have special QPI links to connect to other CPUs.

They're for small scale servers and high end computation and rendering machines.

The E7 is for large scale servers.

Game servers are not the only kind of server.

What if you wanted to run twenty game servers on one machine.

How about 100 game servers on one machine?

What if you're web server has over 1000 clients at a time?

10,000?

100,000?

E7 Xeons


All Xeons also support ECC memory. Either you need this or you don't.

EDIT: Not to mention, validation.

 

[ShawnD1]

IIRC, it's expensive because it has a lower chance of screwing up. They do the same thing with hard drives. The good hard drives are sold as "Western Digital RE" and the defective ones are sold as "Western Digital Black/Blue/Green".

 

[Blandge]

How is Xeon better than an i7 for hosting a website?

So you spend $4000 on 2 Xeons to run a webhosting business.

i7 can do that no problem. you need a good stable and fast connection more than a processor for a webhosting.

What can Xeon do better?

Xeon has roughly 2.5 times higher PCIe (Network) bandwith and memory bandwidth than Core i7, allowing it to send and receive significantly more data for website hosting.

 

[SPBHM]

The E3 Xeons provide quad-core HT at up $100 cheaper than the 3770k. You might actually be interested in these.

anyone knows if the 1155 Xeons with turbo have the same OC capabilities of the i5/i7?


I used to have a 775 Xeon on my desktop, for my use it was 100% the same as some Core 2 at the same clock,

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Ok so right now there are Sandy Bridge Xeons up to 8 core. The highest i7 is 6 core.

I have been building computers for ever and to my understanding Xeon is a 'server' chip. I need more explanation on that.

Xeons support ECC RAM for starters, which is important as the amount of RAM in a server grows to huge numbers. Also, as others have mentioned, many Xeons contain the circuitry which allows them to be used in multiprocessor systems. There are generally cache differences as well and as others have pointed out, higher bandwidth to memory and I/O.

I don't understand why you need a server CPU or a server operating system to host websites or host a game server.

You can host a web site or a game server without a server OS, for example, but the server OS will give you TONS more features, stability, and more importantly, features such as clustering and NLB for redundancy and fault tolerance.

I know there are motherboards for Xeons which have 2 cpu sockets. Point???

Is this really a serious question? I could go on and on about why you'd want 2 CPU sockets and the technical benefits, but I'll leave you with this -- install two 8 core CPUs and you now have 16 cores. Many applications can be core hungry and benefit far more from additional cores than raw clock speed. For example, my stock Q6600 smoked my 4 Ghz E8400 in video encoding. Want to take a guess why?

There are cheapo Xeons and then there are $2000+++ Xeons.

Does anyone here actually own one? How is a $2000 better than an i7 with 12 threads or even an i5.

I own a lower mid-range Xeon -- the six core E5-2620 and am about to add a second one to my system (yes, I have a dual socket board).

What is the benefit of having 2 cpus on one board?

Already answered. For sample applications, see: virtualization, SQL, etc.

Why do you need a Xeon server cpu to run a game or host a website? I have run a game server before and the most important thing the quality of the internet connection.

Not if you're running it as a business -- internet connection and hardware reliability and performance are equally important.

Also, from your other post:

i7 can do that no problem. you need a good stable and fast connection more than a processor for a webhosting.

Again, you can't make this generalization. Large-scale web platforms run on huge server farms and when it comes to overall performance, the internet connection is a small component. Not only do you have to worry about front-end server performance but more importantly is the backend performance, which is typically SQL or Oracle.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

The Intel® Xeon® E3 processors do not have overclocking capabilities of processors like the Intel Core i5-3570K or the Intel Core i7-3770K. As far as BLCK overclocking that would be largely up to the board but from my understanding that is tougher on the server boards that support them them.

 

[holden j caufield]

max memory, more cpus, ecc and usually better vt. Now you can fit 10+ servers in 1 server and save on hvac and power bill.

 

[SPBHM]

The Intel® Xeon® E3 processors do not have overclocking capabilities of processors like the Intel Core i5-3570K or the Intel Core i7-3770K. As far as BLCK overclocking that would be largely up to the board but from my understanding that is tougher on the server boards that support them them.

I'm asking about locked i5/i7s, like the 3470, 3330... they all have some overclocking capabilities normally default clock +500MHz (turbo +4x).

so my question is if the E3s with turbo support the same overclocking as the locked i5s?

 

[Shephard]

yes I get that 2 cpus is better I am not an idiot. I ask because what server actually utizlies all those cores.

Most games now are finally taken advantage of 4. Programs like Sony Vegas can use 6 cores , but going from 6-8 not so much difference.

I can't get the Intel site to work but why not buy just 2 cheap Xeon 6 core and do dual CPU. Why spend like $2000 on the best one?

I need to see one in action to see how much difference it really makes.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

yes I get that 2 cpus is better I am not an idiot. I ask because what server actually utizlies all those cores.

Try SQL Server, for starters. Hyper V. VMWare. The list goes on and on.

 

[Atreidin]

ECC memory would be awesome to have, just in general. Too bad Intel uses it to segment markets.

 

[tweakboy]

Its so they can have ECC RAM so you know information is being processed properly and lots of RAM more then desktop systems.

gl

 

[bononos]

yes I get that 2 cpus is better I am not an idiot. I ask because what server actually utizlies all those cores.

Most games now are finally taken advantage of 4. Programs like Sony Vegas can use 6 cores , but going from 6-8 not so much difference.

I can't get the Intel site to work but why not buy just 2 cheap Xeon 6 core and do dual CPU. Why spend like $2000 on the best one?

I need to see one in action to see how much difference it really makes.

Its hard to see it in your case because you probably don't need it. Professional apps like database servers as mentioned above would be run better with more cores and ecc that the Xeon offers.

 

[zaydq]

...

stop being stuck on game servers. This isn't hosting a counter strike 1.6 server for you and 3 friends. Xeons will power your WoW servers, where millions are connecting to. They'll also be in the servers that host corporate networks, running oracle, roadnet, etc and allow employees to transfer data, usually nationally, quickly and reliably.

 

[Shephard]

Its hard to see it in your case because you probably don't need it. Professional apps like database servers as mentioned above would be run better with more cores and ecc that the Xeon offers.

I would have to see one in action.

I assume no one here has one then not even the cheap ones.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I would have to see one in action.

I assume no one here has one then not even the cheap ones.

I mentioned earlier that I have an E5-2620 and will be adding a second soon. I also have access to a ton of them at work.

 

[scannall]

If you have to ask that question, then it isn't for you. It is more for either high end workstations, or big database servers. For home use, it is simply more than you can use with the software currently on the market.

 

[Shephard]

I mentioned earlier that I have an E5-2620 and will be adding a second soon. I also have access to a ton of them at work.

and what do you use it for? I see people making home servers with old parts or celerons.

 

[Phynaz]

Shepard, have you ever been in a data center? Try to see one in person and most if not all your questions will be answered.

 

[Bill Brasky]

A xeon is then only way to get a certain combination of features on the same chip such as: dual socket support, Vt-d or Virtualization Technology for Directed IO, and also ECC support.

There is no i7 that supports dual socket CPU configurations. Only very few i7's have Vt-d: 3770, 3820, 3930k, 3960x, etc.

Long story short; you get a Xeon for a server.

I assume no one here has one then not even the cheap ones.

LOL. You must be new here. Where's rubicon when you need her?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

and what do you use it for? I see people making home servers with old parts or celerons.

Heavy virtualization (currently 2 domain controllers, 1 application server, 1 SQL server, 1 workstation, but I intend to add several more servers) and at the same time, media server (Plex), voice server (Vent and TS3), and file server. I have a second server that I plan on moving one of the domain controllers to and then I plan on adding several more virtual servers to the big box.

To give you an idea of the size of my new server, here is the config:

1. Supermicro X9DR3-F-O board
2. Currently 1 Xeon E5-2620 (#2 will be added this month)
3. Currently 64 GB of ECC RAM; I'll gradually expand that
4. OS volume is mirrored Samsung 830 SSDs
5. Data array is a RAID6 array running eight WD Red 3 TB drives (array controller is LSI MegaRAID 9261-8i)
6. All drives are in how swap cages
7. Base OS is Windows 2012 Datacenter (runs Hyper V)

Many would take my old server in a heartbeat -- it has been running 24/7 since September 2007:
1. Q6600
2. 8 GB of RAM (that is maxed out and one reason I finally had to build a new server)
3. Two mirrored 200 GB drives for the OS volume
4. Six 750 GB drives in RAID5 array for data (onboard RAID)
5. Base OS is Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise (runs Hyper V)

LOL. You must be new here. Where's rubicon when you need her?

Lol, Ruby played an integral role in my new server design and convinced me to go big and bad.