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Haswell-Based Xeon E3-1200: Three Generations, Benchmarked

Haswell-Based Xeon E3-1200: Three Generations, Benchmarked
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Back in 2011 Intel introduced its Sandy Bridge architecture, which also powered the company's entry-level server and workstation Xeon E3 processors. Prior to Sandy Bridge, the Lynnfield design went into Intel's LGA 1156-based Core i5 and Core i7 families on the desktop, along with its Xeon 3400s. In fact, if you look back in history, there are a great many examples of Intel leveraging its work on the desktop to drive the most affordable business-class machines as well. With Haswell, that effort continues, and with similar applicability across both segments.

A number of the Xeon E3-1200 v3 line-up's features remain persistent across target markets, just as they have since the Sandy Bridge era, when Intel introduced the first Xeon E3-1200 CPUs:

  • Similar clock rates with increasing IPC and lower overall system power each generation
  • Dual-channel DDR3 memory support
  • The ability to accommodate 32 GB of RAM
  • Unbuffered memory only
  • On-die graphics available
  • ECC support for the Intel Xeon E3 line
  • PCIe control is built into the CPU package and consists of 16 lanes
  • Pricing relatively comparable between server and consumer desktop parts

These similarities highlight an interesting challenge that Intel faces. In shifting from the LGA 1155-based Xeon E3-1200 to the LGA 11550-based Xeon E3-1200 v2, and now to the LGA 1150-based Xeon E3-1200 v3, processor speeds remain similar, with slight boosts. Similarly, the amount of work each successive architecture can get done in one clock cycle continues improving slightly, but not staggeringly so. Memory support holds steady at up to 32 GB of unbuffered ECC.

At the same time, Intel's high-end Xeon E5 brand supports up to quad-channel memory configurations and registered DIMMs. That gives those LGA 2011-based platforms the ability to address hundreds of gigabytes of memory. Back when Sandy Bridge first surfaced, 32 GB seemed like a lot of memory for a small server or workstation. In 2013, we see high-end desktops sporting that much RAM (particularly easy across memory slots). The bottom line is this: there's a big gap between the Xeon E3 and E5 families, despite Intel's effort to distill the highest-end Xeon E5-2600s into more mid-range dual- and single-socket variations.

A notable feature that the workstation-oriented Xeon E3 models offer is the availability of Intel's HD Graphics P-series engine on-die. Hardware-wise, it's very similar to what you get on the desktop Core i7s. But Intel provides a special driver with the Xeon that is certified for applications from Autodesk, Adobe, SolidWorks, and Siemens. Naturally, discrete GPUs make the most sense in a high-end workstation. But in a more mainstream box, HD Graphics P4600 and ECC memory make for a solid combination. It's only unfortunate that you can't get a professional derivative of the Iris Pro 5200 in the Xeon E3 line-up.

Intel employs the same naming convention as the previous two generations, illustrated in the above graphic. Today's story centers on the company's Xeon E3-1275 CPUs, but you can clearly see (and appreciate) that Intel is maintaining nomenclature consistency. This might have been difficult to acclimate to at first. Three architectures in, though, we know right where everything goes.

During the course of this piece, we'll look at the key similarities and differences between Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, and Haswell, and what they mean for each workstation chip's performance. We're also digging into the platforms from Supermicro that we used for testing. After all, they're equal citizens in the quest for reliability in a professional environment.

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    Keyboard_only , 23 September 2013 13:57
    Are those 3DMark 11 results correct? A Xeon using on-die graphics can achieve ~11K points in 3DMark 11?