Dual socket vs Single socket workstation Motherboards

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
L

loraalkhara

Reputable
Oct 31, 2017
46
0
4,530
hello everyone,



iam currently lost on which motherboard type i need to choose for a serious workstation build. ***please no "these are old platform and not worth it ....." ****



first option :



motherboard : Gigabyte dual socket motherboard (Socket 1366)

two Intel Xeon w3690 CPUs

48gb ram (XMS3)

Asus x580 - 8gb Graphics card



second option:



motherboard gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R

One Intel Xeon w3690

48gb ram (XMS3)

Asus x580 - 8gb graphics card



which do you think is the best for workstation purposes which includes :

app development with music development opened at the same time, also alot of 3D modelling and alot of simulation and virtual machines (including massive amounts of programming and hundreds of opened chrome tabs) . iam not intending to do any gaming on it as i game on PS4 and Xbox one.



also why are dual socket motherboards created and for what purposes people buy them instead of single socket motherboard of the same socket type ? for example the mac pros?



Please consider reading this topic carefully and elaborate as much as you can in your answers.



Many thanks
 
Solution
k1114
Everything else is the same except dual socket mobo and 2 of the same cpus then dual cpus win.

It's pretty simple why they exist. If a single cpu isn't enough and current technology limits what a single cpu can do, then add more cpus for more performance on a single pc. There's also the cost as lower cpus tend to be cheaper for the performance.
Sort by date Sort by votes
k1114

k1114

Titan
May 2, 2010
14,240
93
75,540
Everything else is the same except dual socket mobo and 2 of the same cpus then dual cpus win.

It's pretty simple why they exist. If a single cpu isn't enough and current technology limits what a single cpu can do, then add more cpus for more performance on a single pc. There's also the cost as lower cpus tend to be cheaper for the performance.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
L

loraalkhara

Reputable
Oct 31, 2017
46
0
4,530


ok, would you be able to tell me what programs or applications make use of more than 4 cores of CPU?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
171,486
17,933
184,590
Upvote 0 Downvote
k1114

k1114

Titan
May 2, 2010
14,240
93
75,540


Almost every dev or content creation software. If it's of any real use, it will. Certain tasks in the software may not but that is usually because it's not needed so they didn't make it multithreaded.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

loraalkhara

Reputable
Oct 31, 2017
46
0
4,530


by the way i also have 4 servers besides the workstation iam planning to build, so do you think i should leave the dual CPU applications for the servers i have and focus on building a single socket motherboard workstation? the only thing that inspired me to consider a dual socket motherboard is the Mac pro.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
W

william p

Splendid
Sep 22, 2010
3,788
100
30,340
The W3690 are not SMP ( Dual CPU ) processors. X5690 is what you need for that.
The Dell T5500 might be of interest to you. It has a single CPU MB, and the 2nd CPU is on an optional riser card with extra RAM sockets.
The memory controller is on the CPU so capacity, and speed can vary there. The chipset also has an effect.
A single 6 core can support 12 threads, and 48GB RAM, the Dual CPU can be 12 cores and 24 threads with 144GB RAM. You might get more RAM with an SMP CPU running alone.
The dual CPU chipset 5500/5520 allows RDIMMs. 8GB DDR3 1333=$30 new.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAB0Z5UE1934
There are also fast Westmere EP 4 core Xeons X5687 3.6 GHz dual CPU for a fast 4/8 core 8/16 thread option.
RAM speed is highest with 3 modules, and drops with each bank of 3 added. So 3x16GB is faster than 6x8GB. This is only possible with RDIMMs.
For flexibility the T5500 is probably the way to go. You can try single CPU, and if you need more expand it.
Some of us are playing around overclocking the T3500 workstation, and the T5500 MB is becoming interesting.
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/throttlestop-overclocking-desktop-pcs.235975/
Here a Dell workstation owners thread if you want to explore this.
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/dell-workstation-owners-club.243124/#post-3830958
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom