Which is better -- Dual Xeon or Latest iX CPUs?

I noticed that used dual xeon workstations are listed for ~$400 while desktops with single i7 (not newer sandy bridge) ~$500. But the xeon CPU computers take ECC DDR2 RAM and i7 take cheaper DDR3 non-ECC RAM.

In terms of CPU performance (of course for running VMs) which is better -- single i7 or dual xeon?

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Comments

RobertKaucher

Is this lab or prod? For a home lab the i7 systems would be just fine. For production I have a few concerns such as not being able to use ECC and I have heard that hyper threading has caused some odd issues with SQL Server. I would not use i7 in production at this point.

certhelp

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Is this lab or prod? For a home lab the i7 systems would be just fine. For production I have a few concerns such as not being able to use ECC and I have heard that hyper threading has caused some odd issues with SQL Server. I would not use i7 in production at this point.

Non production workstation for home lab use. Why specifically SQL Server has problems with i7?

I am not really looking for a bleeding edge solution. I seriously doubt any learning db I use would be larger than a few GBs.

My intention is to to run 8+ VMs for Windows 2008 Server, SCCM, SQL Server, Exchange, Windows Desktop clients (win7, vista), etc.

RobertKaucher

certhelp wrote: »

Non production workstation for home lab use. Why specifically SQL Server has problems with i7?

I am not really looking for a bleeding edge solution. I seriously doubt any learning db I use would be larger than a few GBs.

My intention is to to run 8+ VMs for Windows 2008 Server, SCCM, SQL Server, Exchange, Windows Desktop clients (win7, vista), etc.

Be aware: To Hyper or not to Hyper - Slava Oks's WebLog - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

I do not know if this is true with modern versions of SQL Server. it is not a problem with i7 specifically, it is an issue with hyper threading.

Asif Dasl

You can compare processors using this website. I would go with a second generation i7 if I was going to run VMs in a home lab, especially as they run cheaper non-ECC RAM.

RobertKaucher

Asif Dasl wrote: »

You can compare processors using this website. I would go with a second generation i7 if I was going to run VMs in a home lab, especially as they run cheaper non-ECC RAM.

Agreed! For home las cheaper is generally better!

certhelp

RobertKaucher wrote: »

I do not know if this is true with modern versions of SQL Server. it is not a problem with i7 specifically, it is an issue with hyper threading.

So, that doesn't favor any particular family of processors but those with or without HT. Since HT can be enabled/disabled, it isn't a real problem.

RobertKaucher

certhelp wrote: »

So, that doesn't favor any particular family of processors but those with or without HT. Since HT can be enabled/disabled, it isn't a real problem.

Exactly. And I suspect it msy no longer be a problem. For labbing using HT would not be an issue at all.