What are the actual specs of these processors? They are not exactly Xeons yet they support dual socket-771 and therefore not your run-of-the-mill 'Extreme' processors either.
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Skulltrail and X48 . . .w00t
- Thread starter DarthBeavis
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It sounds more like intels approach of how AMD released their FX line with the 4x4
The 4x4 would have been amazing had R600 and Barcelona actually performed like they looked like they where going to. Would have made nice competition for Skulltrail.
I personally like the idea of that much power on an enthusiast board, and i liked AMD's impementation, allowing for non server ram on the board, instead of FB-DIMMs, maybe we will get lucky and next round AMD will get off its ass and release a decent performing product
I personally like the idea of that much power on an enthusiast board, and i liked AMD's impementation, allowing for non server ram on the board, instead of FB-DIMMs, maybe we will get lucky and next round AMD will get off its ass and release a decent performing product
If you really want to get technical and if I recall all of the info from my surfing - These chips are QX Extreme Quad Core LGA 775 Chips migrated to the 771 pin package - because Intel has a Dual CPU controller for 771's but not for 775's. IIRC!!
And they are completely unlocked - "Infinitely Overclockable" is the phrase I've read.
SMP support is disabled in 775 processors during their construction. Plus none of the Intel desktop chipset will allow SMP anyway. They have been doing this for some time. This is done for unknown reasons at present but my guess is it allows the Xeon brand to stay seperate from the Core 2 brand. It also ensures that the buyer of workstation and server level hardware will have to get SMP rated processors that have been validated for the platform that was designed to support them. It isn't necessarily because Xeon 771 processors cost more, because they really don't. Well not all of them do anyway.
I suspect Xeon cores are validated in groups or are at least validated differently than their desktop counterparts.
I think you are right about that suspision...
During the era of my 1.6GHz LV's the Xeon core was a completely different core fron the desktop CPU's. Now, I don't know. Both the Xeon and C2D seem to offer almost exactly the same feature set. They could be the same chip with some traces cut and different testing. Like what Intel did with the orginal celeron.
The chips are virtually identical these days. Back in the Netburst days the Xeon and Pentium 4 parts were somewhat different, but now not so much.
I see, so they seem to be the best of both worlds. An unlocked Extreme-class enthusiast processor with dual-socket support. This platform should be labeled super-enthusiast then, or ultra-enthusiast. It's in a class all by itself from the looks of it, with a price tag to match.
There isn't anymore news on Skulltrail outside of some pictures.
revenant
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very nice... sounds like you've got a keeper..
and the mobo is nice also.
I doubt I will go with Skulltrail.. but it does look nice.. seems a little rich for my current blood. I dunno thouhg I could get another 6850 and split my 4gb of mem between the two cpus..(edit: I thought it had two memory busses but I guess it doesn.. hrm).. my current psu has 2x 8pin cpu power cables.. might be interesting..very nice... sounds like you've got a keeper..
and the mobo is nice also.
Your Q6850 won't work on the Skulltrail motherboard. it is socket LGA771 and not LGA775.
very nice... sounds like you've got a keeper..
and the mobo is nice also.
It should have quad channel memory if they're implementing it like the 5000 and 5400series chipsets. But you'll have to buy new memory and cpus.
revenant
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well, we're back to being a very expensive upgrade now.. oh well. I'm not that eager to gut my machine out and reinstall + tweak windows anyways.. that would cut into my obsession time with lotro.
Right. You'll need FB-DIMMs and two LGA771 Xeon CPUs or LGA771 Extreme Edition CPUs in order to get Skulltrail up and running. I could buy that but I don't think I'm going to go for it. Last time I built an SMP gaming machine it cost nearly $6,000.00 and I replaced it almost one year later with an E6600 for $312 and dual 8800GTX SLI setup on a motherboard that cost $200 less. I also had the option to use standard sized cases and didn't have to worry about EPS12v compatible PSUs. (Though I've only purchased PSUs compatible with EPS12v specifications since then.)
Right now Skulltrail doesn't offer much over a QX9770 or QX9650 setup. Even if the platform was as overclockable the extra four cores won't really get used and the FB-DIMMs might impact overclocking. (Unless you were using unlocked CPUs.) Even then clock for clock it won't have anything over a more standard high end setup. So I think I'll probably pass here. I do still love the idea of SLI on an Intel chipset based board.
revenant
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frankly I would much rather pick up another 8800GTX, ditch the X-FI, and go 3-way SLI if I need some more gaming power.. but ST looks fun for peeps with the $$$$ for it.
I have the xeon quads and fb-dimms, I just don't know if I want to go back to SLI. Plus, I already have the stock intel coolers for socket 771, I'd need to pick up some socket 775 coolers for skulltrail and the memory configuration leaves a lot to be desired. I was planning on going with a Tyan 5400 chipset board since they have 2 PCIe 2.0 slots and should run crossfire. I just want to see how Skulltrail performs before dropping the money on a board.
Well I'm running such a setup and eventually my graphics cards will get upgraded once the new cards come out and I see the reviews on them. Otherwise I think a QX9650 would serve me better than Skulltrail would. The QX9650 is simply a better bargain and probably delivers 97% of the performance that you'd get out of Skulltrail.
I cringe at the mere thought of another Tyan board. To each their own.
In any case SLI kicks ass if you run high resolution monitors and play games. In any case I'll take SLI over Crossfire right now simply because SLI is faster. ATI can't yet match the 8800GTX in single card combat and when adding the two together that generally holds true.I cringe at the mere thought of another Tyan board. To each their own.
My 2900XTs have held there own for me, plus I didn't have any problems getting them or my X1950XTXs working in crossfire in Vista. It took me 8 months to get SLI working in Vista with my dual 5160/dual FX4500 setup. I figure 2 of the new 3870 X2s should be able to push my 2407 at reasonable rates when backed by the dual 5355s.
So you're in agreement with AreEss' assessment of Tyan products then? That they are plagued with problems and designed very poorly from the onset...?I cringe at the mere thought of another Tyan board. To each their own.
The multi-socket product purchases I've made in the last 2-3 years have been from Supermicro. They also have issues and I can't really say which is better. I know from other people's experiences on the Internet that Tyan has been releasing products with inferior quality in recent years. It's not the same as it was in the past.
I have almost 0 experience with Intel motherboards and I would like to have a SkullTrail, but no one has convinced me they will be priced below $700. I already have four S-771 quad core Xeons and six FB-DIMM modules, so a hypothetical upgrade would be contingent on the motherboard cost.
At one time Tyan was a very good choice. They made top notch products and were certainly worth the price they commanded. This has not been for several years though. Over the years I've worked with several Tyan boards and I've dealt with stupid problems out the ass with them. Everyone else told me that all the issues I had (back in the dual PII early Xeon days) were flukes and that I shouldn't be so critical of them. I continued to put faith in Tyan's reputation until I bought a Tyan K8WE (S-2895) and (S2882-D) K8SD-Pro.
I had issues with both of them. They didn't die and stability wasn't a problem for me but I was plagued with their terrible BIOS issues and ROM compatibility problems. I've also known several people that had K8WE's and they had to RMA them two or three times. After that I started to agree with AreEss on the subject of Tyan boards. Compared to Supermicro they are junk.
So are you saying that I need two Harpertown cpus to turn on the ST?
If it's LGA771, Clovertown or even older dual-core Woodcrest Xeons should work as well, which means you can start off with a relatively 'affordable' top-notch multi-socket system. If you already own the processors and memory, then all you need to consider is the motherboard cost and the video card(s).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA771
Yeah, you should be able to get Dempsey's really cheap and you can turn on HT and pretend you have four cores per socket.
Not sure if the new boards support the 667 FSB though that the 5050 and lower had....
Don't know if you are serious, but I didn't have Dempseys in mind, hence their mysterious absence from my post.Yeah, you should be able to get Dempsey's really cheap and you can turn on HT and pretend you have four cores per socket.
However, Clovertowns can be found at fairly decent price ranges, even new. They can OC appreciably and their performance isn't that far off from Harpertown. They are an excellent choice to start off with this platform, IMO.
Doesn't matter. You employ the tape mod in the proper BSEL pins and voila, you should have a compatible and subsequently OC processors to boot. It's the only reason I am even looking at SkullTrail, since I already possess the potentially most expensive group of components in the whole platform, processors and memory.
DarthBeavis
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Don't know if you are serious, but I didn't have Dempseys in mind, hence their mysterious absence from my post.
However, Clovertowns can be found at fairly decent price ranges, even new. They can OC appreciably and their performance isn't that far off from Harpertown. They are an excellent choice to start off with this platform, IMO.
Doesn't matter. You employ the tape mod in the proper BSEL pins and voila, you should have a compatible and subsequently OC processors to boot. It's the only reason I am even looking at SkullTrail, since I already possess the potentially most expensive group of components in the whole platform, processors and memory.
Nah, wasn't really serious about dempsey, although you can probably find them dirt cheap. The 2.0 clovertowns or woodcrests look like the ones to get if you want to do the BSEL mod.
I just wish they had more memory slots and normal xeon layout.
I was thinking something along the same lines. As far as processors are concerned, I have two [email protected] and two [email protected] and both pairs of processors can go higher with the properly supported FSB on the motherboard. For with an appropriate BIOS which supports 400MHz FSB, one can employ the tape mod on the specific processor pin to enable it, thus no insane dividers will affect other components in the system. All this providing the memory can handle it, but it has already been successfully accomplished with 667MHz FB-DIMMs and I have four Hynix modules; there's no worry on my end, only the motherboard cost has me concerned. BTW, is there any word on the price? Anyone?
The Inq has a mini review of an Asus Z7S dual LGA-771 motherboard, essentially a 'mini'-SkullTrail but apparently supporting CrossFire instead of SLI. The advantages of this board is the normal ATX layout, 24+8+4 PSU connectors, 6 memory slots and almost certainly cheaper cost. They tested it with two X5472 Harpertown Xeons (3GHz). Unless you absolutely need SLI, this is probably a better choice...
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/09/first-exclusive-inqpressions
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/09/first-exclusive-inqpressions
I got TRI SLI with a QX9650 as well
I don't have a QX9650, but I'm thinking about picking one up. That mainly stems from the fact that I don't want to wait for the rest of the 45nm CPUs are released.
Sorry, that board is E-ATX the same as the Skulltrail board is. I know the article says that the board is standard ATX but that's bullshit. Looking at the board it is clearly E-ATX. It also only has three PCIe x16 slots instead of four. It is a nice board but doesn't seem to be the equal of Skulltrail.
Equal it is not, but I don't believe Asus intended it to be a competitor on an equivalent playing field. It is apparent they are targeted at different consumers, and that is no more evident than the fact one is intended for X-fire while the other is SLI. I assume most potential buyers will have their preferred video subsystem in mind when they make their decision at purchase time.
What I like about the Asus is its compatibility with more commonly available PSUs. I have several server motherboards of various configurations at home and none of them require a 24+8+8 PSU. I would need to order an expensive PSU upgrade just to run a ST board despite the fact I have all the other components needed to build such a system if I decide to take the plunge...
Obviously ST is the higher end product, but it's definitely going to be more expensive. I am anxiously awaiting a MSRP from Intel. Both motherboards are being designed with the enthusiast in mind, instead of an all-out server product. I don't understand why the Inq stated it was a standard ATX form factor, though. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on Asus' site about the Z7S. Maybe I didn't look hard enough or the Inq acquired early hardware. It will be an interesting year, to say the least.
I don't know if I'd go as far to say the Asus is designed for Crossfire, any of the 5000/5400 series should support crossfire as long as they have two PCIe x16 slots. If you're buying one of these systems, I'd expect you to have a newer 1000+ watt powersupply and most of the newer ones should have two 8 pin eps connectors, if not, they have 4 to 8 pin adaptors. I'd definitely take the layout of the Asus board over skulltrail, wish they would have snuck two more dimm slots in though. I just want some of these to hit retail so we can actually buy them.
I'm really liking the the Supermicro X7DWA that just showed up at newegg, but the Tyan S5396 is $100 cheaper. I imagine the the Asus will be cheaper then both of them, but we'll have to see what it retails for.
I'm really liking the the Supermicro X7DWA that just showed up at newegg, but the Tyan S5396 is $100 cheaper. I imagine the the Asus will be cheaper then both of them, but we'll have to see what it retails for.
Someone correct me if I am wrong but both these boards should support Quadro SLI shouldn't they? As far as I know NVIDIA has never restricted Quadro SLI from functioning on workstation chipsets. At least not Intel processor compatible chipsets anyway. In the Opteron market it may be different. It was before during the socket 940 days.
Now the Skulltrail is interesting because it will support retail GeForce series cards in SLI and is the first dual processor capable motherboard compatible with Xeon processors to be able to do so. I know that the ASUS board won't do that because it doesn't have those bullshit NVIDIA MCPs onboard like Skulltrail does. So I think that the ASUS board is a viable alternative to Skulltrail for Crossfire use and for workstation/server use. However the ASUS board won't be a viable alternative for gamers wanting to build the ultimate SLI setup.
Now the Skulltrail is interesting because it will support retail GeForce series cards in SLI and is the first dual processor capable motherboard compatible with Xeon processors to be able to do so. I know that the ASUS board won't do that because it doesn't have those bullshit NVIDIA MCPs onboard like Skulltrail does. So I think that the ASUS board is a viable alternative to Skulltrail for Crossfire use and for workstation/server use. However the ASUS board won't be a viable alternative for gamers wanting to build the ultimate SLI setup.
Quadro SLI doesn't have the issues of Geforce SLI. Many apps used with Quadros run in windows over multiple monitors, suicide if they don't support it.
It's not a hardware issue either, it's a card driver/bios issue.
But I could bet used to the idea of 3 HD3870 X2's running in CrossfireX.
The article also got the number of PCIe x16 slots wrong. Unless that white one on the end is a PCIe x8 in x16 format like some of the older PCIe 1.1 boards used.
And my Asus PC-DL Deluxe is still running strong with a 100% OC on my 1.6LV's
Since they have a $10,750.00 Quadro Plex SLi system for sale that you can pick Intel P4, Xeon or "higher" Processors or AMD Opteron format.
http://store.nvidia.com/servlet/Con...dia&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=89884400# Check the Tech Specs tab on this page.
I'd say they support SLi on the Intel workstation chipsets.