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Core i7 970 vs Xeon X5670

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End7

n00b
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
32
So i'm in an interesting position, i have the option of trading my core i7 970 for a Xeon X5670, even exchange.

I'm building a new rig and my goal is to overclock and end up with the best performance i can for both gaming and folding.

I've compared both CPU's (here: http://ark.intel.com/compare/47933,47920) and i don't really see any reason not to go with the Xeon. Does anyone have anything that would suggest the Xeon would be a bad choice?

My motherboard is an EVGA x58 Classified3 and i have confirmed that it does support both CPU's so i'd be safe in either direction as far as that's concerned.
 
Hmm.. make sure nothing is fishy with the trade first.

The Xeon, even though it has a lower multiplier, will likely overclock better, since Xeons are usually better binned than the i7s. It will almost certainly use less voltage at the same clock speeds compared to the i7. And it is worth more due to the dual QPI links.
 
Thanks for the input. And no, nothing fishy, its a long story on why he wants to trade but its legit.
 
In that case, go for it. Pick up a second one and an SR-2 while you're at it :D
 
Tsumi said:
Hmm.. make sure nothing is fishy with the trade first.

The Xeon, even though it has a lower multiplier, will likely overclock better, since Xeons are usually better binned than the i7s. It will almost certainly use less voltage at the same clock speeds compared to the i7. And it is worth more due to the dual QPI links.
Click to expand...

The dual QPI links only make a difference in 2P or greater systems. That does nothing for single processor systems.
 
Dan_D said:
The dual QPI links only make a difference in 2P or greater systems. That does nothing for single processor systems.
Click to expand...

I said that it is worth more (monetary wise in case it wasn't clear) due to dual QPI links.
 
The only concern that I really have about this trade is why? The Intel® Xeon® X5670 and the Intel Core i7-970 both share the same microarchitecture and same basic design with the exception of the instuction set designed to allow the Intel Xeon to work in a dual processor configuration and to work with ECC memory (which the board may not support) there is no advantage for the Intel Xeon X5670 over the Intel Core i7-970 on a single socket board.
 
i would trade, sell the x5670, and buy a socket 2011 setup lol.

Not sure why he would be interested in trading a $1500 cpu.
 
No ES LGA1366 CPU is going to be as powerful as an LGA2011 CPU. And in general ES chips aren't worth it. Many ES CPUs aren't unlocked. Some of them, in fact many of them don't even overclock as well as their retail counterparts do. Trafficking in them is a good way to get Intel's attention. Which is a bad thing. Much of this depends on the revision of the silicon. Early ES chips should generally be avoided. Later ones are as good if not better than their retail counterparts, but those are more likely to be multiplier locked. (Not a factor if the CPU is unlocked anyway.)

For what the X5670 is going for, you'd be better off selling it and buying a Core i7 3930K, the motherboard of your choice and 16GB of RAM. You will certainly get more performance for your money with that kind of setup.
 
Most of the time with ES chips I don't send anything up because the chip in question is already in production. There is no warranty for ES chips and most of the time you run into more problems with them then they are worth. Here is some additional information on ES chips.
 
IntelEnthusiast said:
Most of the time with ES chips I don't send anything up because the chip in question is already in production. There is no warranty for ES chips and most of the time you run into more problems with them then they are worth. Here is some additional information on ES chips.
Click to expand...

Yep. Though later production ES CPUs tend to identify properly with motherboards and their microcode is up to date enough. Early ES CPUs SUCK sometimes. They aren't really a good deal and dropping $1,000 on a CPU without warranty seems a lot more foolish than buying an Extreme Edition tends to be.
 
End7 said:
Thanks for the input. And no, nothing fishy, its a long story on why he wants to trade but its legit.
Click to expand...

Long stories make for good reads.

I see literally zero reason why the other party would want to make a trade like this. If he wanted a LGA1366 cpu (for single or dual), the Xeon X5670 does the job anyways. From a usability point of view, there is no reason for him to trade the Xeon to get a i7. In fact, it would actually be detrimental for him to trade it. If you sold the Xeon as an ES chip on eBay, the Intel police might buy it and may trace the serial number back to whoever was responsible for misplacing it in the first place (which may or may not tie to your friend).
 
dexvx said:
Long stories make for good reads.

I see literally zero reason why the other party would want to make a trade like this. If he wanted a LGA1366 cpu (for single or dual), the Xeon X5670 does the job anyways. From a usability point of view, there is no reason for him to trade the Xeon to get a i7. In fact, it would actually be detrimental for him to trade it. If you sold the Xeon as an ES chip on eBay, the Intel police might buy it and may trace the serial number back to whoever was responsible for misplacing it in the first place (which may or may not tie to your friend).
Click to expand...

Very true. The Core i7 has a warranty, the ES Xeon doesn't. They are pretty much the same CPU otherwise. I can't see why anyone would trade an ES Xeon for the same Core i7 unless there was something wrong with the Xeon. Unless he wants to sell the Core i7 and give you the Xeon which he may be afraid to sell. Either way, I doubt it's legit.
 
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