- Sunday, 22 November 2009
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John Leyden at the Register only has to write two stories a day - Paul Hales
Double Nehalem for double power
AS YOU READ THIS, Intel has just announced – finally – its dual processor capable Nehalem-EP (aka Gainestown) line of Xeon 5500 processors, basically the big brothers of the Core i7 with which they share the same LGA1366 package, cooling choices as well as most of the die, with the exception of an added QPI link for the second CPU. Just the same applies for the Tylersburg 36D, (aka i5500) chipset, which is a dual-CPU enabled flavour of Tylersburg36S (aka X58) chipset that you see on all the high-end Core i7 mobos.
The 3.2 GHz W5580 130W TDP CPU is the cream of the crop of the Nehalem line, using the same D0 stepping as the upcoming Core i7 975 CPU. With the D-step improvements, this fast yet power-saving CPU should be able to support the default speed at nearing just one volt, leading to either some lovely power saving or extra overclocking potential once the multipliers are unlocked.
Also, sorry AMD, but now we can say that, in several benchmarks - Sandra CPU included - the dual W5580 actually beats four AMD 2.7 GHz Opteron MP quad cores. In the dual CPU class, in almost any parameter considered apart from large page TLB handling, these dual Nehalems outclass the competition completely: anything from raw integer and FP power, multithread handling, cache and memory latency and bandwidth, you name it. So, AMD really needs that trip to Istanbul for some delicious Turkish fare, my personal favourite, in six-portion servings, I guess.
Interesting, isn't it? Everything is well ahead on the newbie, save the slight drop on the Sandra FP score. Do keep in mind the famous Turbo is on there, so the CPU will actually run at 3.33 GHz most of the time as long as the cooling isn't totally crappy - which Supermicro could have done a bit better anyway, I have to say. Luckily, the 40Kx40K Linpack run did manage to get its 95 GFLOPs net without any heat problems. Also, keep in mind that even the best dual Shanghai memory scores are half of what you see here, while the CPU scores are well behind.
In summary, after these first tests, the winner is clear and AMD has to work triple hard to be back in the running. Actually, Apple should be doing its Mac Pro with the W5580 instead, I'm sure there would be a plenty of Mac fanboys to pay extra - more than the expected OEM price of $3,000 a pop for a pair of these chips - for an Apple-branded uber-Nehalem 3.2++ GHz dualie. And, not to mention the Skulltrail followers... this baby could overclock fabulously if unlocked, another one of my exploits to follow.
The Good
Stunning performance, balanced CPU-memory-I/O design
The Bad
Whenever Intel wins on speed, they need not have the press junkets
The Ugly
It's all good
Bartender's verdict
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Uh.. I don't agree with the ugly part. PRICE! Oh wait, you're right.. they're giving these away free. Maybe I could sell my children into slavery to afford this platform and new stepping CPUs. Granted, nothing in the server market is *cheap*, but not everyone has an unlimited tech budget. Well not in the USA anyway, since our economy is teh suck. Maybe wIntel has an expanding market in what Palin would call the country of Africa.
Oh, btw this is quite an impressive platform for those who can afford it. More power to you rich son of a guns.
Now... what to do with it ? Strap some Tripe SLI NVidia Cards on 'em ? Oops... no go. Which begs the question; larrabee where art thou ?
Impressive rig nonetheless.
Yessss - the Ugly is the price - I think that the 975 will be same as this Xeon - wow $3,000 for a chip is a loT of mula in deed and if you have a skulltrail platform wow $6,000 (2 CPU's) for the CPU upgrade lol!
975 will still be 1100 as 965, I think. They've never priced consumer processors that high.
I'd love to see AMD quad Istanbul (24 cores) setup compete with Intel dual Nehalem (8 cores) setup. Maybe AMD can close the gap a bit with it. LOL
Just why is Chentilla the Hun, such a raucous provocateur?__ Excommunicating paramours faster than Henry the Eighth? Does not Chintela fear the jolly-big-blue sleeping giant? afoot?
STiLL! Chipzillla is embroiled in rows so bad, I got my stick out! Why no bravado? Why so insecure? Jealously accursing every suitor for being a double-bagger, and out to put the kibosh on all their prozxzy nick-nab hooky!
For jack all! There must be land-ho on the horizon that's not all there.
Else, nowt be wrong with getting the nod, nudge-nudge, wink-wink and an easy touch. Only now, Chimpkong and Nvcheetah get dicky-bird owt.
If one says so it’s yes, more or less, absoblutely, that brand of woo who’ve been brewin’ all fur-coat and no yo-yo knickers!
Nehalem-EP has a face like the hind-end of a bus. Other Jen blag artistes will find it hard shlepp to keep pecker up.
Browned-off pretenders are having a brown trouser moment, nous the bum's rush off the bus by the snooty clippie with her double-Xeon beamers dead heat in a Zeppelin race! They all should be deffo dischuffed by now, they be offered out.
However; we're told they'll be taken away by the gypsies if they continued in their bad behaviour. Tick Tock will clock their cobblers cob on!
All of these reported crimes we can safely say are not carnival related, rest asshoured the public, that the carnival has been totally crime free for the umpteenth year running....!
All PC and IP freely.
What he said! Take that Dashek. A gauntlet across thy face.
Guys, as I mentioned in the story, it's 3 grand for a pair, not one, CPU. So the price per CPU, at $ 1.6K, is just a tad higher than the extreme Core i7.
Does this seem differnt than Barcelona Launch? where 1/4 of previous generation was ?toupee'r. This Nahalem stuff looks good, yet Give Me My Filet Of Fish & Give Me Bloomfield, For 2 Billion Level of Transistor interconnect.Give Me My drashek.?STeWie
Worshipful Imbiber Drashek! Take that!
BTW: Why does a product without bads and uglies get 9 kegs out of 10? Is it the fear of hangover??
Well, we never did and probably never will. Not only the product would have to be absolutely perfect, but it'd cause an horrible overdose of alcohol huh.
Jokes aside, 9 out of 10 - a fantastic score by itself - is about the right thing for this near perfect uber-baby. If it also had unlocked multipliers, a better mobo than this Supermicro, and ran my Kingston HyperX at six channels of DDR3-2000, hey I'd break the rule and give it 10 out of 10.