Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Dedicated Server : Intel Nehalem Xeon 5504 or Nehalem Core i7 920? ECC?

[Ma2Tmatt]

Hello everyone,

I have been looking around, and want to get a server with gigenet (probably).

I can't decide between the two following servers:

Intel Quad Core Xeon 5504 - 2.00GHz (Nehalem) - 4MB Cache
6 GB DDR3 RAM
2 x 1TB Hard Drives
6,000 GB Bandwidth on 100Mbps Public Uplink

$199/mo (if quarterly)

---

Intel Quad Core i7 920 - 2.66GHz (Nehalem) - 8MB Cache
6 GB DDR3 RAM
2 x 1TB Hard Drive
6,000 GB Bandwidth on 100Mbps Public Uplink

$199/mo.

The Xeon 5504 is $250 if paid monthly. But I don't fully understand, as I believe the i7 920 is a faster processor (from looking at the benchmarks).

I read somewhere saying that the i7 doesn't feature ECC. Is this true, and if so, would it be an issue?

Is the i7 not a good CPU for a server? Which one would you recommend?

Thanks a lot for your help guys!
Cheers

[Ma2Tmatt]

== Edit: I thought I would add some extra information. I run a number of wordpress blogs (~20), and image galleries (~8) (PHP + Mysql). I use a php cache (x-cache) so the ram will store a lot of the php data).

[PCS-Chris]

Theres nothing wrong with i7s in servers. We are running a few now, they are stable and performance is excellent.

As far as I know the i7s do not support ECC

[Ma2Tmatt]

Thanks Chris, that's what I was hoping.

I have just read some people talking about it lacking ECC, or "it's a desktop CPU", and wondered if there was any weight to that argument.

[Shaun Olsen]

i7 doesn't support ECC as far as I'm aware.
The Core i7 920 is about 75% faster than the E5504 in terms of raw processing power. ( http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_look...04+%40+2.00GHz )

The only reason the E5504 is more expensive being a Xeon CPU with the extra server features that come with it, along with having to use more expensive motherboard etc and ECC RAM plus it's compatible with dual CPU setup whereas the i7 is not.

[ItsJustHosting]

Originally Posted by ShaunOlsen

i7 doesn't support ECC as far as I'm aware.
The Core i7 920 is about 75% faster than the E5504 in terms of raw processing power. ( http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_look...04+%40+2.00GHz )

The only reason the E5504 is more expensive being a Xeon CPU with the extra server features that come with it, along with having to use more expensive motherboard etc and ECC RAM plus it's compatible with dual CPU setup whereas the i7 is not.

I would assume a dual Xeon 5504 would be faster than any i7 considering it would have 8 physical cores.

[Shaun Olsen]

It will be faster, but not by much.

Looks like at the moment the Xeon E5504 is actually a cheaper CPU than the i7 920 - but the i7 860 is the same price as the 920 but slightly faster still.

But it's also factoring in motherboard cost, the i7 920 is dollar for dollar going to blow the E5504 out of the water. But - if you really need the features of a Xeon CPU (ECC etc) then it's a bit of a no brainer. If you don't need those features then i7 920 all the way for raw processing power, it's a beast. If you can, try and get an i7 860.

[ItsJustHosting]

Originally Posted by ShaunOlsen

It will be faster, but not by much.

Looks like at the moment the Xeon E5504 is actually a cheaper CPU than the i7 920 - but the i7 860 is the same price as the 920 but slightly faster still.

But it's also factoring in motherboard cost, the i7 920 is dollar for dollar going to blow the E5504 out of the water. But - if you really need the features of a Xeon CPU (ECC etc) then it's a bit of a no brainer. If you don't need those features then i7 920 all the way for raw processing power, it's a beast. If you can, try and get an i7 860.

Would you suggest then that the performance difference between an i7 860 with turboboost and hyper threading and a dual E5504 with 8 physical cores would be negligible? (I have never seen servers offered with a single E55xx processor, and I believe these processors were designed ideally for use in dual processor systems)

[Shaun Olsen]

You're right, there's the Xeon Wxxx series which are single processor only versions of the Exxx series.

Dual E5504 will be very slightly faster than the i7 860 (like 10%ish) - dual E5504 would be more comparable to an i7 950

[PCS-Chris]

The i7 is a desktop CPU but it's no less reliable than a Xeon. The only drawback is ECC but we have not had any issues.

Pair it with a decent board and you should be fine, we have several in production with Supermicro X8STi and they are excellent.

[Ma2Tmatt]

Hey ShaunOlsen, thanks a lot for your help!

I am currently only looking at the single CPU E5504, the dual option pushes it out of my price range.

Originally Posted by ShaunOlsen

But - if you really need the features of a Xeon CPU (ECC etc) then it's a bit of a no brainer. If you don't need those features then i7 920 all the way for raw processing power, it's a beast. If you can, try and get an i7 860.

This is a good point, and one which I wish I knew! To be very honest, I don't know if I need it or not lol. Maybe you could tell me? I run a server with multiple installations of wordpress and coppermine (image gallery software) php and mysql.

Would ECC be necessary / help? Gigenet said that the RAM in both is ECC.

Right now I'm running a lowly old AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+, which I assume doesn't feature ECC anyhow!

Thanks again for the help! It's much appreciated.

[Ma2Tmatt]

Chris, many thanks for your input also!

Now I just need to workout if I need / worth getting an ECC model.