Processor – Support for 43 Xeon Models

Thanks to the unrestricted support of all socket 771 processors, 43 Xeon models can be used in this board aside from the Core 2 Extreme QX9775.

At the moment, Intel sells 21 quad-core and 21 dual-core models. Equipping the Skulltrail board with dual-core Xeons does not make a lot of sense, since the express purpose this board was designed for is to create an 8-core system. If you’re out to build a quad-core system, choosing a conventional desktop board and pairing it with a quad-core processor is the much cheaper path, aside from the fact that this version will also yield better performance.

Due to the large selection of Xeon processors and the overclocking potential of the D5400XS motherboard, buyers will be able to build a much cheaper 8-core system than Intel may originally have envisioned – or planned. The smallest quad-core Xeon processor, the E5310 (1.6 GHz, 6MB L2 cache), sells for roughly €186. Meanwhile, the cheapest 12 MB version is the quad-core E5405 clocked at 2.00 GHz, costing about €205 apiece.

Thus, you can save up to 84% by choosing two smaller Xeon processors.

Thanks to the good overclocking potential of the D5400XS motherboard, you can build a rather inexpensive high-speed 8-core system using two smaller Xeon models.