Xeon Chips vs non Xeon benchmarks

[kmullie]

I am looking at getting another Xeon chip in a new machine for my workstation at work. Why can I not find any benchmarks that show how much better the Xeon chips are than a regular chip? Can anyone help me out? The CPU I have is a Dual Core Xeon 2.66Ghz from about a year and a half ago. Our IT group wants to put in a non Xeon Chip.

Comments?

 

[GhislainG]

You didn't specify which Xeon, but Xeon and non-Xeon basically are the same chip, therefore they provide the same performance. A good example is the Xeon 3110 which is the same as the E8400.

 

[kmullie]

For example, comparing a X5450 vs a QX6850 or a E6850 vs a L5240. From teh readign I have done, the Xeon chips have about a 6X throughput factor vs a non Xeon chip.....

 

[spathotan]

You are looking at the wrong Xeon's, those are LGA 771 Xeons...pure server. For a direct comparison you need to be looking at LGA 775 Xeons. For example my Xeon X3370 is the same chip as a Q9650.

There is no comparison between LGA 771 chips and LGA 775 ones.

 

[Guest]

In a word, no. They have identical performance to their desktop equivalents.

The Xeon 5000 series are required if you want dual CPUs (for up to 8 cores), and have a different physical socket (LGA771 vs LGA775) so they only fit in server/workstation motherboards.

45nm chips are faster than 65nm, more cache is obviously better, and then it just comes down to Mhz.

Easiest way to tell whether a chip is 45nm/65nm is to look at the amount of cache: 2/4/8MB = 65nm and 3/6/12 = 45nm.

45nm desktop models with max cache are E8xxx for dual cores and Q9xxx for quads. "Extreme" models like the QX9650 / QX6850 also have an unlocked multiplier, so you can overclock them without stressing the rest of your system.

Basically if you can just get either a dual core with 6MB cache, or a quad with 12MB. That way you're guaranteed the fastest chip clock for clock.

 

[kmullie]

So then why do the Xeon chips cost so much more than the "regular" chips?

 

[amdfangirl]

So then why do the Xeon chips cost so much more than the "regular" chips?

Xeon LGA 771 chips normally have more cache and are higher binned their desktop counterparts with the added bonus of being able to run with other Xeons on the same motherboard.