Dual Intel Core i7 3960x

1. Yes it is possible, however applications barely utilise 4 cores still let alone 2 separate CPUs. Do you plan on hosting a server?

2. I'm not so sure but I'd think the Xeons are better, being server CPUs

The problem is that the Intel® Core™ i7-3960X Extreme Edition doesnt have the instuction set to work in a dual processor configuration. The Intel Xeon® E5's do have that instuction set.

i dont think its possible to run 2 socket 2011 extreme editions together, if it is would be costly. xeons are made to be paired up for auto-cad , servers , sound recording . professional type setups.

which one would a person pick for Workstation and gaming tasks.

depends of ur budget. whats ur full budget for a system?

For a heavy duty graphic workstation you could use a board like this Intel® Workstation Board W2600CR2 along with a couple Intel® Xeon® E5's. You can use this for gaming without problem however you most likely won't even see the second processor used in a game at all.

http://ark.intel.com/products/56338/Intel-Workstation-B...

Or you can simply use the Intel Core™ i7-3960X Extreme Edition or the Intel Core i7-3930K and an X79 board and still do both the gaming and the graphic workstation type work but not have as much of the performance on that as you would with the Intel Xeon E5's.

will the low ghz count make the game any slower?

2 i7s wont work in dual cpu config they arent made for it. Its like trying to sli 2 vid cards that dot support sli. Not to mention, very few apps and no games are coded to take advantage of more than 6 cores let alone 2 seperate cpus.

QPI!

Anyway, anything above 2.8ghz will be fine if it's a Xeon.

its not always about megahertz. also cpu design and architecture and design counts.

the megahertz war was a lost a while ago.

Okay I Have Decided To Have A Config that gives me the workstation power of dual xeons and the i7. ill run both together, and an adaptor that lets me change which computer is feeding data to the speakers and monitors. and a server machine that holds and exchanges my files. this way i can have the best of both worlds.

that doesnt work, u either have an i7 or dual-xeons u cant mix them up.

... i dont think you understand. im going to have 2 seperate pc's one with an i7 and one with dual xeons. then i will have a 3rd pc which will act as a network drive so i can access my files on both pc's and have both configs. then i will have an adaptor that will connnect one hdm input to my monitors at one time.

A KVM switch, if you will.

interesting whynot just not have 1 server nas box for storage and network, and the xeon double for performance,

i need the i7 too. im alright i think, if i can find a kvm switch that can connect 2 computers to 20 monitors