Opteron or WS Xeon for 64-bit?

[lots]

I'd shoot for the Xeons. So long as the Xeon is a 51xx model. Watch out for the 50xx models, they're crap :P

[tuna]

Get the Xeon, since it's better by 2926!

[Maven]

I'd shoot for the Xeons. So long as the Xeon is a 51xx model. Watch out for the 50xx models, they're crap :P

Thanks lots...anyone disagree????

[Framed]

I'm building almost the same setup, 64bit OS, FX4500 & 4Gb RAM. But I was considering getting a kentsfield over a dual dualcore setup because it would be cheaper, at least I think so.. also a single chip would make less noise to cool. And no need for ECC RAM would help keep the cost down. I'll probably get a E6600 first and sell it as soon as the quad chips hit the street..

But with a dual xeon system, will you be able to drop TWO quad-cores in there? That would be cool.. eehh hehe..

[tecton3d]

Thanks lots...anyone disagree????

nope

But with a dual xeon system, will you be able to drop TWO quad-cores in there? That would be cool.. eehh hehe..

yup.............:p

[maX_Andrews]

Yeah, you can drop in the quad cores pretty easily, anandtech did it with a mac pro and a pre-release kentsfield chip: http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6

[Myliobatidae]

Anybody compare the single quad to the dual xeons yet, like to know how much of a difference there is ....

[lots]

Yeah, you can drop in the quad cores pretty easily, anandtech did it with a mac pro and a pre-release kentsfield chip: http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2832&p=6
They actually used a pair Clovertowns, since this is a Xeon setup.... kentsfield would not have worked.

[GregHess]

Just to add my .01 cents. Xeons 51xx.

A single quad core (core2quadro) would most likely be "slightly" faster then a dual, dual core xeon system, just due to the difference in ram and system optimizations. (single cpu systems generally have significantly more tweakability options then server/workstation boards..."generally").

The biggest difference will be the cost, as you won't have to deal with the FB-dimm's by going with a single cpu solution....of course intel is abandoning those anyway...god technology changes so friggin fast.

This is all assuming that you are comparing TWO dual core Xeon's to ONE quad core2quadro. All bets are off if you actually fully utilize the capability of the Xeon platform to handle TWO QUAD core Xeon's.

8 > 4 > 2 > 1 Unless you're talking latency :).

[lots]

FB-DIMMs remind me of our oh so beloved RDRAM :)

This will be yet another time intel tried to serialize RAM, and yet another time it failed.. FB-DIMMs have some serious latency issues.... Not to mention they cut into Intel's "performance per watt" measurement (the things eat up huge amounts of power, so much so they dissapate alot of it as heat, take a look at the size of the heatsinks on the new MacPros and compare it to the lack of heatsinks on normal DDR2 RAM..)

FB-DIMMs are like a hybrid between RDRAM and DDR2. They use DDR2 modules, with an extra chip on board to translate all the calls into serial from parallel. That extra chip means longer latency, on top of that RAM is accessed "serialy" so you get another latency hit there, as the signal hops from each stick until its at its destination...

So ideally they are cheaper to make than RDRAM, but still more expencive than DDR, thanks to the additional chip (called the AMB) required for serial communication.

[Myliobatidae]

Just to add my .01 cents. Xeons 51xx.

A single quad core (core2quadro) would most likely be "slightly" faster then a dual, dual core xeon system, just due to the difference in ram and system optimizations. (single cpu systems generally have significantly more tweakability options then server/workstation boards..."generally").

The biggest difference will be the cost, as you won't have to deal with the FB-dimm's by going with a single cpu solution....of course intel is abandoning those anyway...god technology changes so friggin fast.

This is all assuming that you are comparing TWO dual core Xeon's to ONE quad core2quadro. All bets are off if you actually fully utilize the capability of the Xeon platform to handle TWO QUAD core Xeon's.

8 > 4 > 2 > 1 Unless you're talking latency :).

Will there be any advantage to having the dual xeon over the quad-single, besides being able to upgrade to quad xeons...

[GregHess]

Not really. Any minor increase in performance from the higher fsb will be negated by the higher cost due to FB-dimm's and server class boards.

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.