PC CPU vs. Workstation CPU

[wasabi6]

I'm confused about CPUs. What is the overall difference between a PC CPU (e.g. AMD Athlon 64 FX-60, Pentium D 955) and a workstation CPU (Xeon, Opteron, dual or single)? There appears to be some overlap in prices between these groups.

I'm trying to build a PC that will excel at Photoshop, games, some occasional 2D/3D rendering for radiology, as well as the usual surfing, email, etc. An all-around unit with great speed.

 

[jrnyfan]

basically the only difference is the quality control checks they go through with the workstation chips being subjected to more stringent controls. this means that (hopefully) they will perform longer and with better reliability. That being said, they usually cost more because they are supposed to be more stable.

 

[eyimbo]

basically the only difference is the quality control checks they go through with the workstation chips being subjected to more stringent controls.

huh?

so they check a 165 more than they do a fx60?

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

The main difference is in the chipsets on the boards that run said processors.

Of course a dual-core Opteron 100 series (s939 or s940) or Pentium D 900 series would be suitable for your needs.

The nForce Pro 2200 series is often used on AMD workstation/server class mainboards:
http://www.nvidia.com/page/nforce_pro.html

The Intel website lists common Intel Desktop chipsets, and further down the page, their workstation chipsets:
http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/index.htm?iid=HMPAGE+Header_2_Product_Chipsets

The processors are very similar, no real differences between them. (Socket, power usage, L2/L3 cache sizes, and number and speed of buses / links only). Same instruction sets, very similar cores across Intel and AMD desktop and server processors.

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/index.htm?iid=CorporateV3+Header_2_Product_Proc

http://www.amdcompare.com/