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Xeon processors good for gaming?
I was looking at more intel processors and stumbled across this one - The Intel Xeon e3 1240 v3
Would this be a good processor for gaming? I know that its supposed to be used in servers, and I know that the multiplier is locked, so there wouldnt be overclocking, but otherwise it seems pretty decent. 4 cores at 3.4 ghz (3.8 turbo), high benchmark scores. 1 MB of L3 cache for 3d games.
Is there a reason I shouldnt buy this if its going to be used for gaming? It seems like a better chip than the Intel Core i5-4670 i was looking at.
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Comments
IMO, any advantage that Haswell Xeon would have over an i5-4670k, like the extra L3 ram and hyperthreading, would vanish (and then some) in gaming once you take the i5 to 4.0 GHz--which is trivial...My MB does it automatically at the push of a button
The Xeon is also $40 more.
I don't think in a comparison of locked Xeon vs. unlocked i5 synthetic CPU benchmarks @ stock speeds have much relevance. Everything else being relatively equal, as far as impact on gaming performance goes, processor speed is king.
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Xeon E3-1240
vs
Core i7 4770
The difference: The 4770 turbos up 100Mhz higher, and has crappy on-die graphics. Pretty much the same chip.
So, would there be any reason to not use it for gaming? Not really. Looks like a $40 cheaper version of the 4770. The real question is finding a motherboard that is certainly compatible. You may need to step up to a Workstation motherboard, and they are not cheap. They may be the same CPU and have the same socket, but if the firmware on the motherboard doesn't recognize the CPUID, it will flag it as a problem and may not work, and that may lock out a lot of enthusiast and "consumer" motherboards.
Xeon's are fantastic for gaming, but they are quite a bit more expensive. In terms of speed, 2.4 xeon will have roughly the same capacities of a 4.2 i7. A 3.4 Xeon is closer to 5ghz i7. (The xeons hyperthreading also overclocks, so you don't lose any cycles from hyperthreading like you would with an i-series)
With a Xeon, you also end up with a superior mainboard chipset. There is no Intel HD graphics, no speed stepping, no attempts at fancy garbage that never works. And add in the ECC ram, and you end up with a very powerful, very stable system.
All that said, that processor is not just $40 more than the i5. You would need a Xeon mainboard, and those are typically $100-200 more than i-series mainboards, due to them being enterprise class (they are more thoroughly tested, and guaranteed to be available and fully supported for 3 years), and you would also need ECC ram, which is more expensive due to additional logic that ECC ram has.
The real trick with Xeon's, is that they are powerful and stable, not "fast". So games that really chew up your CPU, like Total War, are fantastic. Games that really don't use the CPU (like... every MMO) don't really see any difference, aside from pure stability.
So if your trying to decide, you need to think "do I play any games that crunch hard on the CPU?" and also "Am I willing to pay a premium for stability?"
Im not doubting you, but looking at some motherboards on newegg, such as http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131995 , they support the socket type that the Xeon chip is. Also, Dell seemed to be releasing workstations with the Xeon E3 -1240 v2, which has non ECC ram, which leads me to believe that it is not required either.
Are you certain it wouldnt work with the board I linked and normal ram?
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Z87 chipsets DO NOT support Xeon's. Neither do it's predecessors. Intel Xeon motherboards are extremely expensive, as are the processors. The Xeon's are meant for enterprise and enterprise solutions, not end users like you or I. They don't hold any benefits over an i7 for the typical end user, especially in gaming. If media creation is your thing then that's a different story. As for reckloose's statement of a Xeon being like a 5ghz i7, this is simply not true at all, especially gaming. Sorry to call ya out but no need to lie to the man. Here's the truth on Intel Xeon's they are more or less better binned processors then their equivalent brothers in the i7 family, some tend to overclock better, some use less power, but their main and pretty much only advantage over an i7 is being able to use multiple processors in the same board or "dual QPI". If it's as stated before, needed for work and media creation, it's an absolute plus fore multi-threaded apps. if it's for gaming, don't bother it's a waste of money. If you have a Xeon, sell it, and get something more suited for gaming if that's your focus. I hope this helps.
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That is complete nonsense.
Intel will sell exactly the same chips in desktops, laptops, and servers, though they tend to be binned differently and have different sets of features disabled. Xeon E3 is the same chips as desktop Core i5 or Core i7 or laptop Core i7 quad cores. Xeon E5 is the same chips as desktop Sandy Bridge-E or soon Ivy Bridge-E. The Xeon incarnation will typically use ECC memory that the desktop and laptop versions disable support for, while the Xeon incarnation will also completely disable overclocking, among other things.
I'd recommend sticking with the consumer versions of the chips unless you have unusual needs. Server motherboards might not have the features you're looking for in a gaming rig.