CPU and RAM questions.

[daibido]

1. What are the differences between the i7 980x and the Xeon X5680 CPU's that work for and against use in a Gaming computer and Workstation computer?
2. On a LGA 1366 Motherboard, can you use higher clock frequencies RAM than the Motherboard is said to be using, example, if the board is said to use 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM, can you make the bored use 2000+Mhz RAM?

Your help is greatly needed.

 

[Zatharus]

1. While both chips have similar specs as far as clock and caches, there is one major difference besides price. The X5680 is a commercial class part that has two QPI links and is thus capable of dual-cpu configurations. The i7 is not. Also, the X5680 currently has locked multipliers while the i7-980's are unlocked.

2. Yes, you can use higher clocked RAM. It will simply underclock to stock board speeds. Using higher speed modules does give you more headroom and removes the issue of the RAM limiting your overclock if you so wish.

 

[deanj20]

1. What are the differences between the i7 980x and the Xeon X5680 CPU's that work for and against use in a Gaming computer and Workstation computer?

From the Intel site:

i7980x:

Essentials
Status Launched
Launch Date Q1'10
Processor Number i7-980X
# of Cores 6
# of Threads 12
Clock Speed 3.33 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency 3.6 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache 12 MB
Bus/Core Ratio 25
Intel® QPI Speed 6.4 GT/s
# of QPI Links 1
Instruction Set 64-bit
Instruction Set Extensions SSE4.2
Embedded No
Supplemental SKU No
Lithography 32 nm
Max TDP 130 W
VID Voltage Range 0.800V-1.375V
1ku Bulk Budgetary Price $999.00
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size
(dependent on memory type) 24 GB
Memory Types DDR3-1066
# of Memory Channels 3
Max Memory Bandwidth 25.6 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions 36-bit
ECC Memory Supported No
Graphics Specifications
Integrated Graphics No
Package Specifications
Max CPU Configuration 1
Package Size 42.5mm X 45mm
Sockets Supported FCLGA1366
Halogen Free Options Available Yes

Xeon X5680

Essentials
Status Launched
Launch Date Q1'10
Processor Number X5680
# of Cores 6
# of Threads 12
Clock Speed 3.33 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency 3.6 GHz
Intel® Smart Cache 12 MB
Bus/Core Ratio 25
Intel® QPI Speed 6.4 GT/s
# of QPI Links 2
Instruction Set 64-bit
Instruction Set Extensions SSE4.2
Embedded No
Supplemental SKU No
Lithography 32 nm
Max TDP 130 W
VID Voltage Range 0.800V-1.300V
1ku Bulk Budgetary Price $1663.00
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size
(dependent on memory type) 288 GB
Memory Types DDR3-800/1066/1333
# of Memory Channels 3
Max Memory Bandwidth 32 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions 40-bit
ECC Memory Supported Yes
Graphics Specifications
Integrated Graphics No
Package Specifications
Max CPU Configuration 2
Package Size 42.5mm x 45mm
Sockets Supported FCLGA1366
Halogen Free Options Available Yes

So, the only differences between these two processors are:

.....................................................................i7980x.........................Xeon X5680
# of QPI Links...............................................1.......................................2
VID Voltage Range............................0.800V-1.375V............0.800V-1.300V
1ku Bulk Budgetary Price....................$999.00........................$1663.00
Max Memory Bandwidth........................25.6 GB/s.....................32 GB/s
Physical Address Extensions.................36-bit............................40-bit
ECC Memory Supported..........................No.................................Yes.

But what does it all mean???

Well,

QPI Links (from wikipedia):

The QPI is an element of a system architecture that Intel calls the QuickPath architecture that implements what Intel calls QuickPath technology.[5] In its simplest form on a single-processor motherboard, a single QPI is used to connect the processor to the IO Hub (e.g., to connect an Intel Core i7 to an X58). In more complex instances of the architecture, separate QPI link pairs connect one or more processors and one or more IO hubs or routing hubs in a network on the motherboard, allowing all of the components to access other components via the network. As with HyperTransport, the QuickPath Architecture assumes that the processors will have integrated memory controllers, and enables a non-uniform memory architecture (NUMA).

VID Voltage Range (from xtremesystems.org:

The way I understand VID is that it is similar to SPD on ram. It tell the mobo how much voltage it requires to run at its defined speed. A low VID is considered better as it requires less voltage and theoretically can overclock higher due to there being less voltage required at a given overclock resulting in less heat. That dosn't mean to say 1.5 is 'officially' safe. It simply means some cpus require 1.5v to run correctly, while others do not.

1.5v imo, is perfectly safe for a cpu. I'm sure I read somewhere 1.58 was the absolute limit on 65nm intel cpu's but intel don't want you frying there cpu's so put a 1.35v 'limit' on the box.

1ku Bulk Budgetary Price (some guy on Yahoo! Answers): The price if you buy 1000 units.

Max Memory Bandwidth (from wikipedia):

Memory bandwidth is the rate at which data can be read from or stored into a semiconductor memory by a processor. Memory bandwidth is usually expressed in units of bytes/second, though this can vary for systems with natural data sizes that are not a multiple of the commonly used 8-bit bytes.

Physical Address Extensions (from microsoft.com:

Physical Address Extension (PAE) is a processor feature that enables x86 processors to access more than 4 GB of physical memory on capable versions of Windows. Certain 32-bit versions of Windows Server running on x86-based systems can use PAE to access up to 64 GB or 128 GB of physical memory, depending on the physical address size of the processor. For details, see Memory Limits for Windows Releases.

The Intel Itanium and x64 processor architectures can access more than 4 GB of physical memory natively and therefore do not provide the equivalent of PAE. PAE is used only by 32-bit versions of Windows running on x86-based systems.

With PAE, the operating system moves from two-level linear address translation to three-level address translation. Instead of a linear address being split into three separate fields for indexing into memory tables, it is split into four separate fields: a 2-bit field, two 9-bit fields, and a 12-bit field that corresponds to the page size implemented by Intel architecture (4 KB). The size of page table entries (PTEs) and page directory entries (PDEs) in PAE mode is increased from 32 to 64 bits. The additional bits allow an operating system PTE or PDE to reference physical memory above 4 GB.

In 32-bit Windows running on x64-based systems, PAE also enables several advanced system and processor features, including hardware-enabled Data Execution Prevention (DEP), non-uniform memory access (NUMA), and the ability to add memory to a system while it is running (hot-add memory).

PAE does not change the amount of virtual address space available to a process. Each process running in 32-bit Windows is still limited to a 4 GB virtual address space.

ECC Memory (from topbits.com:

ECC stands for "Error Correction Codes" and is a method used to detect and correct errors introduced during storage or transmission of data. Certain kinds of RAM chips inside a computer implement this technique to correct data errors and are known as ECC Memory.

ECC Memory chips are predominantly used in servers rather than in client computers. Memory errors are proportional to the amount of RAM in a computer as well as the duration of operation. Since servers typically contain several Gigabytes of RAM and are in operation 24 hours a day, the likelihood of errors cropping up in their memory chips is comparatively high and hence they require ECC Memory.

Memory errors are of two types, namely hard and soft. Hard errors are caused due to fabrication defects in the memory chip and cannot be corrected once they start appearing. Soft errors on the other hand are caused predominantly by electrical disturbances.

Memory errors that are not corrected immediately can eventually crash a computer. This again has more relevance to a server than a client computer in an office or home environment. When a client crashes, it normally does not affect other computers even when it is connected to a network, but when a server crashes it brings the entire network down with it. Hence ECC memory is mandatory for servers but optional for clients unless they are used for mission critical applications.

So, to make a looong story short, while the processors have many of the same specifications, the Xeon X5680 would clearly out perform the i7980x processor, but costs approx 60% more.

2. On a LGA 1366 Motherboard, can you use higher clock frequencies RAM than the Motherboard is said to be using, example, if the board is said to use 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM, can you make the bored use 2000+Mhz RAM?

I don't know jack about overclocking, but I did find this on a forum. The poster was describing how he OC'd a LGA 1366 board:

from gamespot.com

What I did to reach a 3.875Ghz oc on a 920 with CO stepping is 1. turn off Intel Speed Step
2. turn off vdroop
3. set Vcore to 1.3
4. my ram voltage is 1.65
5. QPI pll vcore 1.2
6. CPU pll vcore 1.85
7. IOH vcore 1.2
8. CPU vtt 1.2
9. IOH/ICH auto
10. ICH vcore 1.1
11. QPI link is set manually to 2x speed of ram

Since I have a CO instead of a DO it is taking me a little work to get it that high so you may have to tweak your Vcore and ram timings a little to get it stable. Also my hyperthreading is still on with no heat issues. my max core temp, with coretemp and evga eleet verified, is 70c.

Good Luck.

Sorry, I forgot to add the most obvious things. Turbo mode is on. QPI is set to 185. Ram timings are 9-9-9-24 but I will be tweaking this trying to get over the 4.0Ghz barrier I have.

good luck

So apparently so.

Hope that helps.