Dual Core 2 Quad or Core i7 Quad

[jeremy9174]

Hi All,

So heres the deal, my company needs to put together a high powered machine with loads of processing power. We already have a dual CPU Core 2 Quad machine that works pretty well. Do they make dual CPU motherboards for Core i7 yet? If not, is a hyperthreading quad core i7 faster then 2 core 2 quads? Money isnt really a problem here, its a company thing.

So to summarize, whats the fastest (Processing wise, video cards dont matter) computer we can build in a regular atx case, no servers or anything like that.

Thanks!

 

[winkerbie]

Well the most powerful processor, for desktops is the Core i7-975, but i think there is an equivalent Xenon processor, which is better equipped for servers

 

[jeremy9174]

Yea, i see that a single Core i7-975 is the fastest atm, i guess my question has two parts. A. Do they make dual CPU motherboards for core i7 yet, and if not is one core i7 faster then two core 2 qx9770s?

 

[hunter315]

A single i7 is not faster than 2 core 2 quads as the logical cores made by hyperthreading only perform 40% as well as a physical core does so the 2 core 2 quads would beat it, however you can get dual Xeons that are based on the i7 architecture. You would be looking for one of these boards for dual LGA 1366 processors
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200302%201071346469&name=Dual%20LGA%201366

 

[winkerbie]

no not yet, two Core 2 Quads, might be faster, you ought to check reviews, I dont think the QX9770 is the best Quad available, also I think there is a specific type of motherboard that can run two processor simultaneously, which a different socket to the Standard Core 2 processors.

The most basic Core-i7s are more powerful than the best Core 2 Quads.

 

[jeremy9174]

A single i7 is not faster than 2 core 2 quads as the logical cores made by hyperthreading only perform 40% as well as a physical core does so the 2 core 2 quads would beat it, however you can get dual Xeons that are based on the i7 architecture. You would be looking for one of these boards for dual LGA 1366 processors
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200302%201071346469&name=Dual%20LGA%201366

Awesome thanks, thats what I was looking for, sorry for the confusing question. So you say dual xeons wouls be the highest processing power i can get? Whats the best xeon processor we can get? I have very little experience or knowledge with Xeons.

 

[hunter315]

Xeon's are just the server counter part of the desktop chips, they are very similar but do slightly better in server apps, with those based off of the i7 archtecture they support ECC memory which the i7's do not. The absolute best Xeon you can get is this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117214
this one only supports up to 24GB of ram but is also significantly cheaper for the same speed so its up to you
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117220

 

[jeremy9174]

Xeon's are just the server counter part of the desktop chips, they are very similar but do slightly better in server apps, with those based off of the i7 archtecture they support ECC memory which the i7's do not. The absolute best Xeon you can get is this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117214
this one only supports up to 24GB of ram but is also significantly cheaper for the same speed so its up to you
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117220

Thanks a bunch for all the help, we're just looking for the most processing power we can get. One of our engineers is running some crazy RF analyzing/simulation software and the builds take 10-12 hours on his basic desktop PC.

Not to keep bugging you, but could you tell me the difference between the nehalem and bloomfield? and if i went with that bloomfield processor you suggested which motherboard would be the best value? I appreciate all the help, feel free to ignore me if you have better things to do

 

[jeremy9174]

Keep what you have. 2 C2Q's are waaaay faster than any i7 or zeon.

Were looking to set up a second station, just wondering if we should duplicate our setup or get something new. Why do you say they're faster then a dual xeon setup?

 

[warmon6]

Not to keep bugging you, but could you tell me the difference between the nehalem and bloomfield?

The best way to explain this kind think of this as a tree and the branches on the tree have names.



The Nehalem is the trunk. It's the Main micro-architecture that a group of cpu uses.

Bloomfield, Lynnfield, Clarksfield are the branches of the Nehalem. Mainly these names are just code names. Although there are slight differences to each one that make them unique.

Bloomfield: triple channel memory

Lynnfield: Aggressive turbo boost

Clarksfield: Mobile cpu for laptop.

Other than that there much the same.

 

[werxen]

xeons are a huge waste of money unless you are SERIOUSLY building a server.

 

[warmon6]

Were looking to set up a second station, just wondering if we should duplicate our setup or get something new. Why do you say they're faster then a dual xeon setup?

What he's meaning is if your just going to get one core i7 xeon version cpu, you would be better off having the Two core 2 quads. Although if you plan on keeping what you have and add more cpus, then 2 core i7 would be good good.

 

[werxen]

^ well it also depends on the clock speed. i would rather have an i7 running @ 3 than a c2q running at 3.5.

 

[jeremy9174]

^ well it also depends on the clock speed. i would rather have an i7 running @ 3 than a c2q running at 3.5.

Yea this isnt for normal usage. We are doing incredibly CPU intensive tests\compiling.

Edit: and money isnt really an issue.

 

[belial2k]

Just in case it isn't already clear, the dual xeon/i7 1366 socket is the fastest setup possible at the moment. (and will support the upcoming 6 core processors) Server MBs are limited in overclocking potential, so an aggressive overclock on an a single i7 on a consumer grade MB might compete with the setup you already have (dual C2Q).

 

[werxen]

lol you would still be limited bro... think about it 2 i7s vs 1 heavily overclocked? sure for single threaded apps the single might win but the dual will crush in multithreaded 'server stuff'

 

[jeremy9174]

Xeon's are just the server counter part of the desktop chips, they are very similar but do slightly better in server apps, with those based off of the i7 archtecture they support ECC memory which the i7's do not. The absolute best Xeon you can get is this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117214
this one only supports up to 24GB of ram but is also significantly cheaper for the same speed so its up to you
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117220

Just got in the two CPUs, So the other difference with the cheaper CPU is that it doesnt support a dual CPU Configuration. Dual cpu is only supported on the 5500 series processors for anyone looking.

 

[prabhjan]

Hi All,

So heres the deal, my company needs to put together a high powered machine with loads of processing power. We already have a dual CPU Core 2 Quad machine that works pretty well. Do they make dual CPU motherboards for Core i7 yet? If not, is a hyperthreading quad core i7 faster then 2 core 2 quads? Money isnt really a problem here, its a company thing.

So to summarize, whats the fastest (Processing wise, video cards dont matter) computer we can build in a regular atx case, no servers or anything like that.

Thanks!

Which motherboard are you using for the Dual CPU Core 2 Quad? :O I can't find one anywhere.