Intel's Xeon...X-Cellent but X-Pensive
Written: May 08 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The three "S's"=Speed, Scalability, and Super SMP...Okay, that's four S's. :)
Cons: Price is a little steep...
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| mojobobo's Full Review: Archived Computer Hardware Reviews |
Judging by the fact that this category didn't exist up until a few minutes ago, I'm presuming many of you are unfamiliar with Intel's Xeon line of processors. Why? Because unless you're a graphics professional or deploy fantastically expensive servers for a living, odds are you'll never need one.
With that said, after you read this you'll probably REALLY WANT one. :)
First, let's start with some history about Intel's Xeon. Marketing it as a replacement to their Pentium Pro server line, Intel released the Pentium II Xeon in the Fall of 1998 at 400 and 450MHz. These chips run on a 100MHz front side bus, have a full speed cache ranging from 512KB to 2MB, support 8 CPU SMP (symmetric multi processing) configurations, and can handle 16GB of memory. Now let's put these specs in perspective.
How much cache did a 1998 Pentium II have? 512KB. Not bad, but that 512KB runs at HALF the speed of the processor so if you have a PII 450, your cache is chugging along at 225MHz. What about SMP? Pentium II's and Pentium III's only support dual processing so are not really appropriate for high end servers. And memory? Well, the Pentium II's could *only* had motherboard support for about an eighth of what a Xeon could accomodate.
Since then Intel has introduced Pentium III Xeons running at 500 and 550MHz. These are essentially the same Xeons of 1998, but with the added Pentium III/SSE instructions. They run on the same FSB, have the same cache offerings, etc.
Recently Intel introduced a line of Xeon processors that runs on a 133MHz FSB but has 256KB of on-die full speed cache (as opposed to the previous Xeons' off-die cache). By moving the cache onto the die, Intel was able to speed up the transactions occurring between the processor and its cache dramatically. In fact, Intel did this with its desktop Pentium III/Coppermine chips earlier. While there are no other cache sizes currently being offered for this breed of Xeon, Intel promises to have 1MB and 2MB options available later this quarter.
So what does this all mean to you? Well, it depends who you are. If you use your computer for MS Word, email, and other non-CPU intensive actions, you're better off with a standard Pentium II/III (or even a Celeron). If you're a gaming enthusiast, again, the Xeon will not really benefit you. Its full speed cache is what would help the most, but most games are fairly cache independent with benchmarks showing games like Quake3 being highly FPU intensive. Its SMP prowess might help a little in some multi-threaded games at lower resolutions, but really the money could be better spent on a video card upgrade.
No, the sad fact is that the only people who can really benefit from all of the architectural advantages of the Xeon line are server administrators and graphics artists. It also happens that these are the only people who can actually AFFORD a Xeon based CPU. For those of you wondering what an eight CPU PC based on Pentium III Xeons with 2MB of cache and 16GB of RAM goes for, well, please have a seat. Comfy? Okay, how about $120,000?
But don't get discouraged. I picked up my Dell Precision 610 with a Pentium II Xeon back in October of 1998 for just over $3,000, a decision I firmly stand by to this day. That was back in the day when the CPU ALONE cost well over $1,000. Today the same CPU goes for less than $200 on Ebay and a motherboard typically sells for under $300. Not a bad price at all to be a member of the Xeon crowd.
Let me address motherboards for a moment. While the Xeon CAN handle 8 CPU's simultaneously on one board, more often than not Xeon motherboards are sold in dual processor configurations. These motherboards also handle significantly less RAM (ranging from 2GB to 4GB) and tend to be much cheaper than their server breathren. Also, many Xeon boards come with a RAIDportII/III slot, integrated Ultra2/3 SCSI, integrated NIC, and and integrated sound. These features all help capitalize on the Xeon's speed and really do help take advantage of its multi-threaded, high-end nature.
The Xeon's not for everyone and probably the biggest reason for that is Price. However, these chips and their motherboards have been steadily dropping lately in anticipation of Willamete and Itanium and are actually fairly affordable. With Pentium III Xeon 733MHz workstations starting at just over $3,000 and servers beginning in the $4,000 range, the Xeon is not the elitist CPU it was at introduction.
Recommended:
Yes
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mojobobo
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