Intel Xeon E3-1275 Review: Sandy Bridge Goes Professional

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We've already seen Sandy Bridge impress in the desktop space. Does Intel's latest processor architecture have what it takes to dominate the single-socket server and workstation space, too? We run the fastest workstation SKU through our benchmark suite.

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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Test Hardware
ProcessorsIntel Xeon E3-1275 (Sandy Bridge) 3.4 GHz, LGA 1155, 8 MB Shared L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled
Row 1 - Cell 0 Intel Core i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge) 3.4 GHz, LGA 1155, 8 MB Shared L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled
MotherboardsAsus P8B WS (LGA 1155) Intel C206, BIOS 0401
MemoryCrucial 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1333 ECC Unbuffered, CT51264BA1339.16FD
Hard DriveSamsung MZ-5PA2560/000 256 GB SATA 3 Gb/s SSD
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics P3000
Row 6 - Cell 0 Intel HD Graphics 3000
Row 7 - Cell 0 Nvidia Quadro FX 580
Power SupplySeasonic X760 760 W 80 PLUS Gold PSU
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
DirectXDirectX 11
Graphics DriverIntel Driver: 8.15.10.2345
Row 13 - Cell 0 Nvidia Driver: 270.61
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Benchmarks and Settings
Video Encoding
MainConcept 2.0Version: 2.0.0.1555 MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV
HandBrake 0.9.4Version 0.9.4, convert first .vob file from The Last Samurai to .mp4, High Profile
Applications
WinRARVersion 4.0 RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3", Benchmark: 2010-THG-Workload
Visual Studio 2010Miranda IM Compile
BlenderVersion: 2.54 beta Syntax blender -b thg.blend -f 1, Resolution: 1920x1080, Anti-Aliasing: 8x, Render: THG.blend frame 1
ABBYY FineReaderVersion: 10 Professional Build (10.0.102.82) Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages
Adobe After EffectsCS5 10.0.2; Custom Workload, SD project with three picture-in-picture frames, source video at 720p
Adobe PhotoshopCS5 12.0.3; Custom Workload, Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates filters
Adobe Premiere ProCS5 5.0.3; Paladin Workload
e-on Software Vue 8 PLE1920x1080 landscape render, Global Illumination enabled
Euler3DCFD simulation over NACA 445.6 aeroelastic test wing at Mach .5
Autodesk MatchMover 2011Custom workload, 720p camera footage tracked in 3D space
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
SPECapc 3ds Max 9Default Run, Hardware Shaders, Graphics, and CPU Render scores
SPECapc LightWave 9.6LightWave 3D Discovery Edition, Render and MT benchmark scores
SPECviewperf 10Multi-threaded x64 (four-threads); Workloads: 3ds Max, CATIA, Maya, Pro/E, SolidWorks, Teamcenter Visualization Mockup
Cinebench 11.5CPU and GPU tests, Built-in benchmark
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • one-shot
    Stop teasing and give us a six core Sandy Bridge CPU!
    Reply
  • dragonsqrrl
    one-shotStop teasing and give us a six core Sandy Bridge CPU!Sandy Bridge-E, LGA 2011 X79, Q4 2011.
    Reply
  • agnickolov
    Finally a compilation benchmark! Now please make it standard in your test suite for CPUs and storage so there's a real benefit from it all for actual comparisons.
    Reply
  • memadmax
    They still make xeons?
    Reply
  • DavC
    Thanks for this review Chris, very well covered. I'll probably be refering back to this when it comes to spec our next workstations.
    Reply
  • I think this is a useless review. Why are we comparing Apples to Oranges? Lets compare current generation Xeons to Previous generation Xeons.
    Reply
  • dgingeri
    one thing I can attest to: companies who cheap out on their workstations and servers never perform well as companies, and eventually fail.

    I've worked with many small businesses, and every one that used a desktop chip for a server or a discount chip (Celeron, Duron, etc) for their desktop computers all performed very poorly. Some seemed to hang on by the sheer will of the owner, and in a couple cases, when the owner got sick for more than a week, the businesses folded like lawn chairs.

    I've also seen an Engineering shop of ~30 engineers invest nicely into a real server and real workstations, and had me set up their entire network with SBS. their business ramped up so fast and well that they had to hire several more engineers and outgrew SBS (limited to 50 users at the time) within the next 2 years, and I had to go back and rebuild their domain with full enterprise level software, and add another server specifically for email. the owner said the investment in that SBS system was the best thing he'd invested in the business since he hired his first engineer.

    Business owners who do not invest in their IT infrastructure fail at business. It's pretty plain and simple. While investing in good IT gear and software doesn't mean you'll ramp up your business to unheard of heights, it does give you a major leg up on the competition.
    Reply
  • geekapproved
    No quick sync on a Zeon??
    Reply
  • given the option of a cheaper Xenon that does not have the P3000 im pretty sure 90% of companies would choose that option, discreet graphics would almost exclusively be employed for the majority of workstation class desktops
    Reply
  • Very informative and useful article Mr. Angelini, thank you.
    Reply