[SOLVED] i7-6700 vs Xeon e3-1270v5

[dball79]

Hello!

I know that i7 vs. Xeon has been discussed and answered over and over again, always with the result that the Xeon is just not faster than the i7 and is therefore of no use to normal .. well …user. It is my understanding that the Xeon is almost identical to the i7, only the support for ECC-Ram and a few little things are deactivated on the i7.

Now I have 2 systems (both Dell workstations) to choose from, configurations other than the CPU are pretty much the same (both 16GB RAM, etc.)

1. i7-6700
2. Xeon e3-1270v5

I know that there might be better Systems and CPUs around (such as a 6700K, or a AMD CPU), but I got these 2 systems to choose from, and for the purpose of this comparison I’d like to stick with them for now.

In view of the above, the decision would hardly be difficult, because what would I need a Xeon for? What struck me in the CPU comparison, however, is that the Xeon has a higher base frequency than the i7 (3.6 GHz, the i7 has 3.4 GHz). The turbo frequency is the same for both (4.0 GHz).

So at this point I would like to hear your opinion. Do you think that the Xeon is faster here due to the higher base frequency, or should I use the turbo frequency as a reference? The CPU comparisons on the web are not clear (they even contradict each other, depending on where you look).

Also: unlike the i7, the Xeon has no integrated on-board GPU. Does that have any meaning if I install a graphics card anyway?

Thank for your help

 

[Darkbreeze]

Both systems will essentially perform exactly the same. They will never "live" at the base frequency anyhow, since anytime there is ANY kind of load at all they will both be at higher frequencies, and in fact, the same 4Ghz frequency. So in the end, the only real difference between these two is the support for ECC memory on the Xeon, and that is ONLY a benefit IF you are also running it IN a board that supports ECC memory, you have ECC memory, and you NEED ECC memory. Otherwise, same difference.

Get whichever one is less expensive. Neither can be overclocked, both will support the same memory speed depending on the motherboard chipset limitations and both are same Gen, so same general instruction sets supported. The base frequency is irrelevant except as a mechanism for Intel to claim a lower TDP on one that the other, which is lame anyhow because none of Intel's CPUs actually max out at the TDP they claim since those are base clock TDP figures they use.