High end X workstation thread?

[erikk]

this week we get our new server board with 2 x dual core opteron 2,4 ghz and 8 gb ram.

we need it for media production with windows xp64, but at first we try osx i will write some results.

 

now we have amd x2 4400+ overclocked at 2,9 ghz watercooled and osx 10.4.5 rocks well with 4 gb ddram. but we dont have full sata support, thats worse

 

the x2 is much faster than dual g5 2,5 ghz in native application running, like logic pro (approx. 80% faster)or ableton live (damned single core support only, but more than 50% faster as g5 2,5 ghz).

 

high end enough? when not, no problem costs only 1/3 of a g5

[bofors]

I haven't been keeping up with Woodcrest--will they be socket 775?

 

Intel has apparently released it's lastest Xeon, "Dempsey", with a new LGA-771 socket:

 

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/05/23/in...xeon_5000_cpus/

 

"Woodcrest" and "Dempsey" are both part of the new "Bensley" Xeon platform which supports both CPU's with the "Blackford" chipset:

 

http://www.anandtech.com/IT/showdoc.aspx?i=2644

 

This means that "Woodcrest" will likely be a LGA-771.

[bofors]

Here is Woodcrest preview that just came out. It compares a 3GHz dual Woodcrest system against a dual Opteron 285 (2.6 GHz). The Woodcrest system seems to beat to beat the Operton handedly despite having a measurably higher memory latency:

 

http://techreport.com/etc/2006q2/woodcrest/index.x?pg=1

[quietglow]

Another blurb on the LGA-771 over at the Register:

 

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=21821

 

So I wonder how progress on EFI is going to influence what counts as a "high end workstation?" Think these boards are going to be EFI ready? I couldn't find any indication.

[bofors]

So I wonder how progress on EFI is going to influence what counts as a "high end workstation?" Think these boards are going to be EFI ready? I couldn't find any indication.

 

I certainly expect Intel's Woodcrest motherboards to be EFI, but it might be a while before we get OSx86 working on EFI.

 

Otherwise, I know that people want the new "Mac Pro" to support SLI (or CrossFire) but I do not think that will be possible with Intel's Woodcrest chipsets. Only a single 16x PCIe slot is supported with the GreenCreek "workstation" chipset: http://www.2cpu.com/review.php?id=109&page=3

 

[bofors]

The other "issue" with Woodcrest I am noticing is that it requires a new kind of RAM, an "FB-DIMM" or "FBD": http://theinquirer.net/?article=31917

 

This RAM modules run hot and come with a heatsink built in. They are probably going to be at twice as expensive as DDR2 RAM when it comes time to start building.

[bofors]

BearCat has reported some great news about Woodcrest. He has been able to run OSx86 on it:

 

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?sh...ic=19554&st=18#

 

Otherwise, I know that people want the new "Mac Pro" to support SLI (or CrossFire) but I do not think that will be possible with Intel's Woodcrest chipsets. Only a single 16x PCIe slot is supported with the GreenCreek

"workstation" chipset.

 

I have been reading more this issue and somewhere along the line, I got the idea that despite what has been stated that it certainly is possible to run SLI (or CrossFire) with the GreenCreek chipset.