Intel Skulltrail release date?

[lots]

Or you could just get a dual quad core Xeon setup right now... Why get the Skulltrail motherboard instead of one of the Xeon motherboards?

[Sulla]

From what I understand its setup for overclocking.

[lots]

I doubt you'll get much of an OC out of it, it uses FBDIMMs for RAM... which are not geared for such activity...

[Sulla]

One of the ones they just showed was overclocked to 4GHz and watercooled:) I could settle for 8 cores running at 4GHz.

[St-Craft]

What is the difference between Intel Skulltrail and all the motherboard already existing with 2 sock for processeur ?

[dontgvadamn]

If you go to toms hardware they have a nice article on the skulltrail. It is a good over clocking setup actually. But its fast from the start because it is socketed for core 2 extreme processors.

Other dual sockets of today use xeon and opteron processors...for the most part. The skulltrail IMO is more in teh field for high end gaming rigs than a workstation as most of the dual socket mobo's are. But then you can go to the high end of the workstations and they have 4 socketed boards. The tyan thunder and supermicro X7QC3 are both quad socket mobos. One being amd and the other intel. Most people call them servers but they are built to be workstations. They are only a server if thats what they are used for.

[aglick]

We've been working with "Skulltrail" technology daily for weeks now and I can share a few tidbits...

While it's true that it was developed as a "hardware enthusiast's gaming platform", it is clear that it could also make one hell of a workstation.

"Tweaked up" a bit in the lab, my new test rigs have absolutely SMASHED every single graphics-related benchmark we've thrown at it. And by a VERY WIDE margin. Every single one. Oh, and by the way, stability is rock solid.

An earlier post in this thread mentioned 4-socket/16-core systems as an alternative. Well, these platforms definitely have their place.

And, well, we've got both AMD & intel 4-way systems here as well. The AMD Barcelona quadcore chips are not currently shipping, and the XEON MP 7350's CPUs needed for the 4-socket X7QC3 mainboard cost $2,800 each. That's $11,200 just on 4 CPU's. Now add $1100 for the mainboard. Then add a few big FB-DIMMS, a nice GPU, some drives, etc.
It adds up pretty quick.

"Skulltrail"-based systems will not be cheap - but they won't be anywhere near like the above and will be affordable for professional artists who require maximum performance on the desktop and can make the investment in high-end tools for their business.

Oh, and of course for anybody who wants to get a zillion FPS in their favorite 3D shooter after work, there's that too.


;)

Adam
BOXXlabs

(edited for spellinfgh)

[St-Craft]

I still don't see the difference between (example)(What ever the kind of mother board)

http://ca.asus.com/999/images/products/1460/1460_l.jpg


And the skulltrail, wich also have 2 socket...
http://images.tomshardware.com/2008/02/06/intel_skulltrail_part_1/intel_skulltrail_part_i___d5400xs_birdseye.jpg


Both of them (well i didnt pick the right board on the first picture but what ever)
have 2 socket, and u can put any grapic card pci express, cross fire and sli.

[aglick]

'cause Skulltrail is better

[Srek]

The CPUs for the Skulltrail system and the mainboard are enabled for overclocking, which is not the case for normal Dual XEON CPU boards.
Cheers
Björn

[St-Craft]

Thx
So the skulltrail is a kind of refresh patch for a game full of bug :)

[HardwareGuru]

I'm looking at getting anew Skull Trail workstation from the guys @ CAD2 but was put off by the RAM limitations. It aparently just has 4x DIMM slost so can register a Max of 8GB of RAM (compared to the 32/64GB of the Pro Workstation mobo's).

Yes it does SLI & Crossfire... but these don't really benefit my day to day apps properly. I have an SLI Multi-View setup at the moment on a standard Intel 5400 chipset and that works fine (and it'll see 32GB of RAM if i ever need that much).

Gaming users yes, OC's Xeon Processors would be fun... (but can't see my boss buying that).

[Vilandra]

There was an article on one of the xtreme overclocking type forums (forgot the address) where someone had put together a skulltrail system and overclocked both processors to nearly 5Ghz. He then ran Cinebench 10 and the score for multiple CPU's was in the 40,000 range. The dual xeons are not just hitting the lower 20,000 range. Of course with overclocking comes the need for better cooling, not to mention this type of system isnt exactly cheap and meant for the average PC user.

[RPG2006]

A review here on the skulltrail

http://www.guru3d.com/article/skulltrail_review/495/1/

4ghz stable overclock without even touching voltages(stock voltage) and on air cooling.

Would like to know what sort/brand of ram you would need for a config like this?

RPG

[lots]

To get big overclocks like that you need hand picked RAM and CPUs :) along with some fancy cooling.

Basically you need a little luck.

[RPG2006]

I know where you're coming from Lots. Reviewers are more likely to get the better binned chips. Will have to see a few more results from users.

The coolings just Zalman air cooling though, nowt fancy:)

I was asking, because I've proposed a Skulltrail system where I'm working. The ram I'm new to though.

RPG

[HardwareGuru]

Is anyone else not put off by the 8GB RAM limit? or is this just me trying to over future proof myself.

My current system has 8GB of RAM in it and if i was to upgrade i'd want atleast 8GB again (with the ability to upgrade to say 16GB in the future).

Also, aparently the 3.2GHz Core 2 Extreme will be the same price as the Xeon 3.2GHz.


Can anyone else confirm this?

[Srek]

More than 8 GB were simply not possible on that board. It is already packed to the very physical limit. Keep in mind that the whol eidea behind skulltrail is an ultimate gaming system and more then 4 let alone 8 GB are simply wasted on games.
Cheers
Björn

[HardwareGuru]

Fair point, just a pitty that becuase its based on the X5400 Intel chipset (Server/Workstation) it doesn't support more rAM :(

Maybe some of these workstation motherboard manufacturers (Tyan, Supermicro etc) like BOXX & CAD2 use will eventually release a mobo that supports some sort of overclocking (escpecially with the release of the SKT771 Core 2 Extremem CPUs that have the same footprint as Xeon)

[lots]

Overclocking is outside of the scope of Tyan's and Supermicro's business. They don't aim for the consumer, or enthusiast markets. I doubt very much that you'll ever see either company openly endorse an "overclocker's board"

These companies have a reputation for quality and stability, which does not go hand in hand with performance. Beside that, in the server world stability is king.

[tecton3d]

Overclocking is outside of the scope of Tyan's and Supermicro's business. They don't aim for the consumer, or enthusiast markets. I doubt very much that you'll ever see either company openly endorse an "overclocker's board"

These companies have a reputation for quality and stability, which does not go hand in hand with performance. Beside that, in the server world stability is king.
quoted for agreement.

i snoop around over at 2cpu.com and i've read about guys overclocking full-on server boards with dual quad xeons... with minimal results & it's not as simple (or cheap) as overclocking a desktop system.

servers/workstations have no business being overclocked... if they did, it would be so.
:beer:
We've been working with "Skulltrail" technology daily for weeks now and I can share a few tidbits...

While it's true that it was developed as a "hardware enthusiast's gaming platform", it is clear that it could also make one hell of a workstation.

"Tweaked up" a bit in the lab, my new test rigs have absolutely SMASHED every single graphics-related benchmark we've thrown at it. And by a VERY WIDE margin. Every single one. Oh, and by the way, stability is rock solid.

An earlier post in this thread mentioned 4-socket/16-core systems as an alternative. Well, these platforms definitely have their place.

And, well, we've got both AMD & intel 4-way systems here as well. The AMD Barcelona quadcore chips are not currently shipping, and the XEON MP 7350's CPUs needed for the 4-socket X7QC3 mainboard cost $2,800 each. That's $11,200 just on 4 CPU's. Now add $1100 for the mainboard. Then add a few big FB-DIMMS, a nice GPU, some drives, etc.
It adds up pretty quick.

"Skulltrail"-based systems will not be cheap - but they won't be anywhere near like the above and will be affordable for professional artists who require maximum performance on the desktop and can make the investment in high-end tools for their business.

Oh, and of course for anybody who wants to get a zillion FPS in their favorite 3D shooter after work, there's that too.


;)

Adam
BOXXlabs

(edited for spellinfgh)
is there any chance boxx (or anyone else) will release a model anytime soon?;)

have you tested skulltrail with a pair of 9800GX2's yet?

[HardwareGuru]

I'm in talks with the guys @ CAD2 (http://www.cad2.com) and they are in the process of releasing their Skulltrail system soon.

It aparently will be a bespoke SKU of their DQX-SE series. They have been cagey on pricing but have said it would be approx £100 more than their standard DQX-SE.

I'm toying with back ordering one today, but £££££ is always tight :(

[Ed Caracappa]

very, very soon!

[tecton3d]

very, very soon!
good to hear... may have just found another reason to retire my 3 year old boxx rig

i got exited last night and googled D5400XS and 9800GX2 and found this thread. (http://www.cdrlabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=172712) I emailed the guy asking if the board handled the 16gb he has listed in his sig and he said "of course"...

to those who have been testing the skulltrail ~ can it handle 16gb's or is this guy just taking a piss?

[HardwareGuru]

You can buy 4GB FB-DIMM's @ 800MHz and the chipset (Intel 5400) should support up to 32GB (over 8 slots) so in theory the 4x slots of the skulltrail should allow upto 16GB (maxxed out).

I'm guessing as it is primeraly a gamer rig (over a Pro workstation) not many people have tried or even had the need to address (or even afford) above 8GB of RAM. The 4GB Modules cost nearly £300 each too! :(

2x £800 CPU's 1x £450 Mobo, 4x £300 Memory, 2x £350 GFX + HDD, Case, PSu etc, etc..... the costs easily mount up.

Lets see what the likes of CAD2 and Boxx say when things are finally released.

[tecton3d]

... true about the 5400 chipset, but the board slated for use in skulltrail only has 4 DIMM slots.... hithertofore ~ not capable of 32gb's unless there are 8gb DIMMS which would (a) as already stated, fetch an insane amount of money and (b) probably not be overclockable at all which negates the potential of the system substatially.

... clarification is needed ed/adam:deal:

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