- May 28, 2015
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I'm considering a Lenovo ThinkStation P300 Tower Workstation (Windows 7 Pro), which I will use for normal office use, HD video streaming, and some (parallel) scientific simulations using Matlab, Mathematica, Fortran, and C/C++. I don't need ECC memory, and I don't plan to ever use more than 32 GB of memory in the system. I will be getting a discrete graphics card with my system, so I don't need a processor with integrated graphics.
I want a processor with 4 cores / 8 threads. I'm very much on the fence as to whether to go with Core i7 or Xeon. Here are three particular such processors I'm considering (one Core i7, two different Xeons):
(1) Intel Xeon E3-1241 v3
8 MB cache
4 cores / 8 threads
3.5 GHz base frequency
3.9 GHz max frequency
80 W TDP
32 GB max memory
Includes Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading
(2) Intel Core i7-4790 [add $70 USD to (1)]
8 MB cache
4 cores / 8 threads
3.6 GHz base frequency
4.0 GHz max frequency
84 W TDP
32 GB max memory
Includes Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading
Includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 4600)
(3) Intel Xeon E3-1271 v3 [add $80 USD to (1)]
8 MB cache
4 cores / 8 threads
3.6 GHz base frequency
4.0 GHz max frequency
80 W TDP
32 GB max memory
Includes Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading
Please help me decide between Core i7 and Xeon.
Here is a detailed side-by-side comparison.
If I go with the Core i7-4790, will I be missing anything that a Xeon provides (assuming that I don't need ECC memory)?
Does the Xeon (3) with the same clock speed as the Core i7 (2) offer me anything more (except support for ECC memory, which I will never use)? Can I expect the Core i7 (2) to offer better single thread performance? Can I expect the Xeon (3) to offer better multi-thread performance?
Can I expect the Xeon to be more reliable or have a longer lifespan?
I don't have the time or know-how to build my own system, even though that would give me more options and would probably be cheaper. So I am stuck with the processor options that Lenovo is offering me (listed here). Lenovo is offering several Xeon E3 processors, whereas i7-4790 is the only Core i7 they are offering with this particular system.
Thanks for your time and advice.
I want a processor with 4 cores / 8 threads. I'm very much on the fence as to whether to go with Core i7 or Xeon. Here are three particular such processors I'm considering (one Core i7, two different Xeons):
(1) Intel Xeon E3-1241 v3
8 MB cache
4 cores / 8 threads
3.5 GHz base frequency
3.9 GHz max frequency
80 W TDP
32 GB max memory
Includes Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading
(2) Intel Core i7-4790 [add $70 USD to (1)]
8 MB cache
4 cores / 8 threads
3.6 GHz base frequency
4.0 GHz max frequency
84 W TDP
32 GB max memory
Includes Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading
Includes integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 4600)
(3) Intel Xeon E3-1271 v3 [add $80 USD to (1)]
8 MB cache
4 cores / 8 threads
3.6 GHz base frequency
4.0 GHz max frequency
80 W TDP
32 GB max memory
Includes Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading
Please help me decide between Core i7 and Xeon.
Here is a detailed side-by-side comparison.
If I go with the Core i7-4790, will I be missing anything that a Xeon provides (assuming that I don't need ECC memory)?
Does the Xeon (3) with the same clock speed as the Core i7 (2) offer me anything more (except support for ECC memory, which I will never use)? Can I expect the Core i7 (2) to offer better single thread performance? Can I expect the Xeon (3) to offer better multi-thread performance?
Can I expect the Xeon to be more reliable or have a longer lifespan?
I don't have the time or know-how to build my own system, even though that would give me more options and would probably be cheaper. So I am stuck with the processor options that Lenovo is offering me (listed here). Lenovo is offering several Xeon E3 processors, whereas i7-4790 is the only Core i7 they are offering with this particular system.
Thanks for your time and advice.
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