CPU E3-1275 v6

[Phryq]

Reading this,

http://www.anandtech.com/show/11232/intel-launches-xeon-e3-1200-v6-family

It seems the E3-1275 v6 is the best CPU to get if I want to do light graphics work with integrated graphics. Is this true? And if so... is there a thin-ITX or STX (or any motherboard that will allow an external powerbrick) that can support this CPU with 64gb of ram?

Something like this-ish

https://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/D/X10SDV-16C-TLN4F.cfm

But better, and I was thinking like, $100 instead of $2500

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Best CPU would be the BGA Xeon E3-1585L V5. This is a 4C/8T Skylake Xeon with 45W TDP, 3.0GHz base, 3.7GHz turbo and Iris Pro iGPU (with 128MB eDRAM)

Iris Pro P580 has 72 execution units as opposed to the 24 from the HD graphics P630. The 128MB of eDRAM will also provides a substantial boost.

Asrock has an ITX motherboard, with 4x SODIMM ECC, PCIe-16X and M.2 slot.

http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C236 WSI4-85L#Specifications

Only drawback .... This is a soldered only CPU.

Edit: .... It is also quite expensive

 

[Phryq]

Actually, I like the fact that the CPU is soldered on. I've no intention of upgrading CPU, and would like to just build the system, then leave it as is until it's obsolete. Is the heatsink also soldered? I guess that would get better thermal performance... though I would have like to choose my own.

45W... how can that outperform something like a 7700k? Or does it outperform only for graphics applications, but not non-GPU needing application?

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Actually, I like the fact that the CPU is soldered on. I've no intention of upgrading CPU, and would like to just build the system, then leave it as is until it's obsolete. Is the heatsink also soldered? I guess that would get better thermal performance... though I would have like to choose my own.

No idea about the heatsink. You should prolly ask Supermicro or Asrock for that information.

45W... how can that outperform something like a 7700k? Or does it outperform only for graphics applications, but not non-GPU needing application?

Basically it is a Xeon version of an i7-6700T (a little beefier on the frequency side) with 3x times more GPU grunt. It won't perform better than a 7700K on CPU based task, but this is better overall rounder as it is a viable option for casual gaming without discrete GPU.

 

[Phryq]

Are there any Xeon motherboards (or any small motherboards) that have a similar clock speed to a 7700k but support 64gb RAM?

 

[vluft]

Are there any Xeon motherboards (or any small motherboards) that have a similar clock speed to a 7700k but support 64gb RAM?

http://asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C236 WSI#Specifications with a E3-1275/1280 should support 64gb, though that's down 300mhz on clock. Would need to wait for inevitable-probably BIOS update for the Kaby Lake xeons, as they released just a couple weeks ago. Other then that for 64GB in ITX or smaller form factor you're limited to LGA2011-3 slot which is a couple asrock boards, one with 4xSodimm slots, one with 2xdimm. But 2011-3 with a xeon you're gonna be a bit lower clock still (though many more cores).

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Or you have this one for 2011-V3, that supports 4x SODIMM and PCIe-16x: http://asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=EPC612D4I#Specifications

 

[Phryq]

Ok, I just made a little prayer to Hephaestus to make a motherboard with 4 ram slots, supports 7700k, 2 2280 slots (fed directly from the CPU), USB C, DC in from a laptop powerbrick, 5"x5", and priced around $100.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

I'd advise to also pray Hestia and why not Hermes

 

[zovc]

This isn't super-relevant to the discussion, as I don't think this Atom chip is in line with what you're looking for, but:

I got this supermicro board "Open Box" on Newegg for about ~$100 off. It's a SOC motherboard and it looks like the heatsink would come off if I undid the four (Phillips) screws in the corners. The board appears to be in good condition and I should have everything I need (RAM) to fire it up this weekend. If you want, I can try taking the heatsink off while I'm tinkering with it. I didn't plan on doing that but I can't say I'm not curious.

 

[Phryq]

If you're into it great, but don't risk breaking something for my curiousity

Actually, I guess if the CPU were soldered on, delided, and the heatsink were soldered on, that would give the best thermal transfer, yes?

 

[jtd871]

Harder to delid a soldered-on CPU...

 

[Phryq]

Harder to delid a soldered-on CPU...

I don't think delidding is important - everything I've read makes it seem conducting heat from the CPU into whatever heatsink is relatively easy - the difficult part is radiating the heat from the sink / case into the air.

 

[zovc]

I don't think delidding is important - everything I've read makes it seem conducting heat from the CPU into whatever heatsink is relatively easy - the difficult part is radiating the heat from the sink / case into the air.

Depending on the CPU--Intel is kind of bad for this--changing the thermal paste under your CPU heat spreader can improve temperatures between 10C and 15C.

Just because there's one major bottleneck in cooling (I.E. heatsink-to-air) doesn't mean it's the only one or the only significant one. In the case of a lot of Intel chips, the thermal paste used when assembling the chip is of poor quality (and is applied sloppily in an assembly line). Some people go as far as to replace their heat spreader with a copper one, though I've been told the heat spreader itself is not 'at all' a bottleneck. Or at least one that's 'not worth' replacing.

Delidding, though, yields pretty significant results if you look into it. Granted, these are often in cases where people are already getting as much performance out of larger coolers as they can. Around here, we tend to use pretty wimpy coolers because we're trying to use such small/short cases.

 

[Phryq]

Ok, thanks. I recently re-thermal-pasted my CPU (laptop) and noticed it had been delided. There was nothing between the CPU and the heatsink, which scared me, but then I realized it wasn't so bad.

So maybe I should delid the 7700k when I get it, and just go straight from CPU-thermal-paste-heatsink/heaptipes? 10c-15c is a lot, no? I mean, that's pretty surprising to me.

 

[zovc]

I don't have a whole lot of experience with laptops, but I believe they normally are soldered-on-chips (SOC), these often have coolers directly mounted to them. There's not a lot of room when you're trying to make such a thin device and adding a heat spreader when you've already got a heatsink is a little redundant for the mms it takes up. But these solutions were all engineered with that in mind.

I would not recommend you delid your CPU unless you've done a lot of research and are comfortable with buying a new CPU if worst comes to worst. There are a lot of little details you need to be sure you don't mess up including but not limited to the type of thermal paste you're using under the heat spreader. Technically you can leave the heat spreader off and mount your cooler directly to the chip itself, but that's much more hazardous than replacing the heat spreader. (As I understand it.)

10-15C is a lot, but again, this is with people who are already using some of the best CPU coolers out there.

 

[Phryq]

ya, I'm not experienced, and not ready to pay for a second CPU... but I do badly want that extra cooling. Tough choice.

I guess if you go lidless (not replacing the lid) you get top performance, but should use a non-corrosive and non-conductive paste.

 

[Phuncz]

Don't forget that the cooler also needs to be compatible with delidded CPUs, since the core will be sitting lower.

 

[Phryq]

Don't forget that the cooler also needs to be compatible with delidded CPUs, since the core will be sitting lower.

Right, I was thinking about this. So it's not possible to simply tweak the cooler, the way it mounts? Because I was also wondering about using a GPU heatsink on a CPU.

Here's Linus delidding and relidding,

He gets a couple degrees improvement. He said with a better paste maybe a couple more, so let's say 4°C, using a stock cooler. I wish he would repeat the test 3 times or so to get an average. Anyhow, if the lid weren't replaced, I'm guessing that would make a much bigger difference. No lid and best thermal paste I'm guessing 10°C ? which to me is good, considering no extra space/weight or cost to the system.

I could ask a friend to delid, or try one of those 3d printed delidders.

Here's a service that 'relids' CPUs, and claims 12° to 25°C improvement on Kabylake. But again, delidding should be even better than 12° to 25° relidding, no?

Here's their 7700k, it says it run @ 4.9GHz, so is it overclocked? That doesn't make sense to me. Base clock is 4.2 GHz...

Buying it here is the same price as Newegg, so why not? They even have a warranty. If I can just figure out how to mount the heatsink.

Here's a list of people delidding and their improvements,

It says they're all getting between 20-30°C temp 'Gain'. I'm guessing it means temp lost? As in losing is good, so it's a gain?

Also there's a column "Mhz gained", as well as OCing column. Mhz gained is like a natural increase to base clock? I don't understand it (probly something really basic I'm missing about how a CPU works).

 

[zovc]

There's no real reason to assume that not having a lid on your CPU will benefit you. In your specific case, there's literally no way to know how much delidding (with or without putting the lid back on) will help your temperatures. You've got your own individual CPU, your own individual motherboard, case, and so on.

To me it doesn't make much sense not to put the heat spreader back on your chip. Sure, you're introducing another component and another theoretical 'bottleneck' to your cooling setup. But--as I understand it--by not putting a heat spreader back on you increase the likelihood of physical and electrical damage to your CPU and motherboard, which could easily affect the rest of your parts too.

The "Mhz gained" is likely the extra few Mhz (not Ghz) these enthusiasts could get out of their CPU. They are pushing their parts to their absolute limit in terms of power consumption, heat, and performance. The results they see will probably be much more extreme than anything you see unless you're already putting as much voltage into your CPU and demanding as much performance as you possibly can.