i7-900s vs Xeon processors - identical?

F

fosch

What are the differences between the i7 and Xeon lines of processors from Intel? More importantly, which one is better for trading?

They appear to be identical. For instance, when comparing the specs of the i7-920 and the Xeon 3520, the specs indeed do come up identical. Does one processor meet the needs of a trader running 4-6 monitors better?

One other note, Dell only offers the Xeons with it's T3500 machines. If you want an i7, then you have to go with the Optiplex.

Thanks in advance.
 
Quote from fosch:

What are the differences between the i7 and Xeon lines of processors from Intel? More importantly, which one is better for trading?

They appear to be identical. For instance, when comparing the specs of the i7-920 and the Xeon 3520, the specs indeed do come up identical. Does one processor meet the needs of a trader running 4-6 monitors better?

One other note, Dell only offers the Xeons with it's T3500 machines. If you want an i7, then you have to go with the Optiplex.

Thanks in advance.
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Either CPU has more than enough horsepower for trading. The obvious choice is the T3500.. it has much better mobo.
 
Quote from Scataphagos:

Either CPU has more than enough horsepower for trading. The obvious best choice is the T3500.. it has much better mobo.
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Thanks for the reply Scataphagos.

I'm considering either a Dell T3500 or an HP Pavilion Elite HPE-180t PC. You definitely seem to be a big fan of the Dell T3500. Based on the following specs and prices, which one would you go with?

Dell T3500
-------------
Quad Core Intel Xeon W3520 2.66GHz
1GB non-ECC 1066MHz memory (I would add antoher 7GB on my own)
500GB Hard Drive (I would add a 2nd 500 GB drive and setup a RAID 1)
2 NVS 295 video cards
DVD/RW
3-Year Dell Pro Support (pro is an extra $109)
Windows 7 64-bit
Slots: 2 PCIex16; 2 PCIex8; 2 PCI
Cost: $1,613 = $1,313 Dell config + $60 HD + $240 memory

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-180t
---------------------------------
Intel Core i7-930 quad-core 2.83 GHz
8GB non-ECC 1066MHz memory
500GB RAID 1
1 GB ATI Readeon HD 5450 video card (I would then purchase 2 NVS 295 to replace the ATI card)
DVD/RW
2-Year Standard Support
Windows 7 64-bit
Slots: 2 PCIex16; 1 PCIex4; 1 PCIex1
Cost: $1,375 = $1,075 HP config + $300 video cards
 
For the cost I'd think you'd get DDR3 memory since the cost of it has come down so far.

Also, you make a statement that you would "add another 7gb". Not that cost of 7GB and 8GB is going to differ, but with memory you're better off getting all RAM as a set or in multiples of sets. The 1gb that comes with it is probably not going to match perfectly and you are better off with a perfect match even buying the sticks all in one transaction so that if something does not work out you relied on your vendor to provide something that works. Mixing RAM is inviting trouble and you don't want to find out the hard way when markets are fastest because that's when you need your resources the most.

FYI: There are NVS295 cards out there which work in an x1 slot and I've read a review (at Newegg) where some guy says he mixes x1 and x16 NVS295 cards and it works great for him. Let this be a note to everyone spending big bucks to have new systems with more x16 slots just to have more monitors - you may need only to spend $139 at Newegg instead of $1500 on a new box. Consider it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133277&cm_re=nvs_295-_-14-133-277-_-Product
 
Quote from mgookin:

"... FYI: There are NVS295 cards out there which work in an x1 slot and I've read a review (at Newegg) where some guy says he mixes x1 and x16 NVS295 cards and it works great for him. Let this be a note to everyone spending big bucks to have new systems with more x16 slots just to have more monitors - you may need only to spend $139 at Newegg instead of $1500 on a new box. Consider it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133277&cm_re=nvs_295-_-14-133-277-_-Product
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I read that same review... he said he had "x1 card mounted in x4 slot". My x1 card is mounted in x8 slot.

I've tried some x1 cards in x1 slots where it did not work. I haven't tried all that many different mobos, but come to think of it, I have yet to find one that DID work... x1 video card in x1 slot.
 
What are you superstars doing with 8 gig ram?

I run 4 gig, multiple apps , and use less than 60% ram on any given day.

You just like unused ram sitting around?

PS Why are you turkeys buying slow ram when 1600 or faster is available?
 
did you guys realize that these heavy weight quad core cpu's finish most tasks before they need to page multiple segments in and out of memory?

Xenon vs. Core i7's / Core '9's?

multi threading that actually works, as well as multiplexing whereby the i7's report 8 cores instead of just 4 cores.

betcha your daddy's Xeon can't do that (humor)

go with the newer technology, it will be supported going forward,

also the die-cast being substantially lower in size and using substantially less electricity / wattage ....

also support for these newer formatted motherboards, with Sata 6GB support combined....

well, he who calculates first and clicks in first wins.....
 
I never buy anything but every few years I get the itch for a new computer.

I got a quote from a local shop to build one. He gave me a quote of $1450 for a system with the AMD Phenom II 1055T Hexacore, Asus Board with the 890fx chip set, 8Gigs Ram, 2 basic video cards, basic 500 Gig HD and XP Pro 64 Bit.

John
 
Quote from Scataphagos:

I read that same review... he said he had "x1 card mounted in x4 slot". My x1 card is mounted in x8 slot.

I've tried some x1 cards in x1 slots where it did not work. I haven't tried all that many different mobos, but come to think of it, I have yet to find one that DID work... x1 video card in x1 slot.
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Is there any practically, visibile difference (with trading screens) about speeds with 1x and x8 /x16 PCI-E video cards? :confused:

For example if you have 2 x x16 slots, when using both often the result is each videocard will run at x8...
 
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