what is the difference between a xeon and an i7

[thexplosivemuffin]

hello im new here and to the world of computers and I just wanted to know which is better to use for work since I want to use it for graphic design, aminamtions in general, and video editing.

[thexplosivemuffin]

1 minute ago, CUDAcores89 said:

 

well I did not expect to see a video that is LITTERALY what I wanted and I thank you.

[LukeSavenije]

12 minutes ago, thexplosivemuffin said:

well I did not expect to see a video that is LITTERALY what I wanted and I thank you.

good explanation @CUDAcores89

 

tldr: it's aimed at different people. the core series (i3, i5, i7, i9) is aimed at consumers, the xeon linup to businesses

[bimmerman]

There are also Xeons that can fit on consumer boards (eg, for Z370), Xeons for HEDT (eg, X99), and Xeons that physically cannot fit (eg, socket 3xxx). The latter generally are much higher in core count and designed for true server rack mount systems. The consumer board Xeons were popular a long while ago, and are found in laptops, but I don't know about desktop usage anymore. I think it's just HEDT and Server stuff.

[SupaKomputa]

Xeon :

- More cores than current i7

- ECC memory support

- Multi CPU support, up to 8 cpu per motherboard.

- Support larger total memory (up to 12 dimm slot per cpu socket)

- Slower clock speed for less heat generation

- Fully locked, no overclocking.

- Bigger L3 cache

 

i7

- Higher clockspeed

- Overclocking

- Lower core count

- No ECC support

- Integrated GPU

 

 

[Tristerin]

21 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Xeon :

- More cores than current i7

- ECC memory support

- Multi CPU support, up to 8 cpu per motherboard.

- Support larger total memory (up to 12 dimm slot per cpu socket)

- Slower clock speed for less heat generation

- Fully locked, no overclocking.

- Bigger L3 cache

 

i7

- Higher clockspeed

- Overclocking

- Lower core count

- No ECC support

- Integrated GPU

 

 

 

 

Ive seen some Xeons get overclocked to no tomorrow...is this a generational thing or?

[SupaKomputa]

2 minutes ago, Tristerin said:

Ive seen some Xeons get overclocked to no tomorrow...is this a generational thing or?

Maybe, but most Xeon's have locked multipliers, so what they did was bumping the base clock.

There are some Xeon's that are compatible with the i7 socket like the E3-12XX series, but you can't have ECC on consumer motherboard.

So it defeat the purpose of having one except maybe lower (used) price.

[bimmerman]

18 hours ago, Tristerin said:

 

 

Ive seen some Xeons get overclocked to no tomorrow...is this a generational thing or?

Yes.

 

Pre-X58, I dunno.

 

X58 era (Westmere/Nehalem) Xeons were all BCLK unlocked, with BCLK decoupled from PCIe clock. Two Xeon models were also multiplier unlocked just like the i7-980/990x models were-- in fact, they were the same chip just branded differently and with ECC support.

 

X79 era Xeons were not BCLK unlocked, beyond 1-3 mhz, with BCLK also coupled to PCIe, so that method fails. However, there were a few models of E3-16xx chips that were multiplier unlocked. Like X58, these corresponded with the i7-2/3xxx Extreme variants.

 

X99 era, not sure. Maybe single socket E3-16xx were unlocked?

 

Current era: not overclockable iirc unless you go for the W-3175X insane model.

 

Now, why would you care about using a Xeon in a consumer board? Well, ~3 years after release the server farms tend to decommission servers and dismantlers sell chips CHEAP on ebay and other sites. This can be great if you are looking for a cheap upgrade to a HEDT computer, usually for more cores. You are better served in many cases to just buy the i7 variant, if clockspeed is your goal. However, in some cases it makes sense to get the Xeon equivalent with unlocked BCLK and/or Multiplier to tinker with as the Xeon equivalent is usually much cheaper than the i7. This really is only feasible if you can get the motherboard cheap, or already own it and are looking for a low cost modernizing upgrade. Going from a 6 core unlocked i7 to a 6 core maybe-locked Xeon makes no sense.