Nehalem EP in Desktop X58 board possible?

[Exocet956]

I have been reading a lot of reviews on the new Nehalem EP Xeons and i realized that none of the reviews have addressed what i most want to know. Is it possible to run a Nehalem EP in a desktop X58 board? I like the i7 processors but a 130w TDP is too high for my tastes.

I see no reason why it would not work as the workstation chipset appears the be the same as the desktop x58 chipset (ddr3 and socket 1366). I was also unable to determine from the reviews if ecc ddr3 is required or optional.

Snagged from Anandtech.com


Xeon model Speed (GHz) TDP (W)
X5570 2.93 95
X5560 2.8 95
X5550 2.66 95
E5540 2.53 80
E5530 2.4 80
L5520 2.26 60


I would normally draw the line at 95w TDP, but what interests me more is the 80w and the 60w

I realize Xeon's are more expensive than the desktop i7 counterparts but it would be worth it in my opinion. Plus seeing the temp's overclocked i7's are putting out i would much rather trade high overclocking high tdp cpu for a low tdp cpu with a lower oc ceiling.

Hell, the low TDP Nehalem EP could oc better than the 130w TDP desktop cpu's.

 

[wickedld9]

Yes they do work but some boards have crazy fits with them. If you want 80w TDP buy an i7 920 D0 stepping, under clock it to 2.53 and set the CPU voltage to 1.0. Want a 95w TDP? Clock it at 2.93 with the same voltage...

I just saved you $500, you can thank me later.

edit: with the D0 stepping BIOS now available for most boards the Xeon CPU's should be fine.

 

[RussianHAXOR]

Yes you can run a Nehalem EP processor in a Desktop Board and a Desktop Chip in a Nehalem EP motherboard. But the problem is that you lose the added QPI link when you go to the desktop chip so you cant really use two CPUs together and you lose the point of nehalem EP.

The Xeons wont be that much more expensive than the Desktop parts except for that fact that the most expensive highest clocked version will not be unlocked like on the desktop.