Woodcrest and the Xeon 5100 family is the core of the new generation that is aimed at surpassing the AMD Opteron family by better performance per Watt. Although the platform offers an number of interesting features, we are still sceptical concerning the efficiency claims. These only mention the processor, all components should be taken into account. The powerful northbridge and numerous FB-DIM modules could possibly change the outcome.
All Xeon 5100 processors with the exception of the 3.0 GHz top model are rated at a relatively low thermal design point of 65 W (the 3 GHz model specs at 85 W). In fact there must be a substantial improvement, because Windows' idle power measurements result in less than 160 W power draw. This is very much the power that you would require to run your dual core, high-end desktop system with high-end graphics (where the second, large consumer is the graphics subsystem rather than the second Xeon CPU).
When running under heavy load, the dual Xeon 5160 server drew approximately 250 W. Again, this is a great result. We had several high-end desktop PCs in out test labs that required considerably more power. Given that there are four FB-DIMMs installed there must be a substantial drop in energy requirements from older Xeons to this latest Woodcrest model.
Top: Woodcrest vs. Dempsey - Xeon 5160 vs. Xeon 5080
Bottom: Woodcrest vs. Dempsey - Xeon 5160 vs. Xeon 5080
You will need CPU-Z-Version 1.34.1 to identify a Xeon Woodcrest.
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Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.
