New system for work, i7 or Xeon?

[youpla]

I'd like to know your opinion concerning a new rig I am ordering for my work. The main purpose of the rig will be image and video editing.

I wanted a core i7 920 CPU but unfortunatly it is not available yet here and instead the shop proposed me a Xeon W3520 based system. The workstation also includes 6Gb of DDR3 1066MHz (ECC for the Xeon based system) and a Quadro NVS295.

What do u think about the Xeon compared to the i7? The Xeon workstation is pricey compared to the i7... is it worth it? The i7 is not available and I need the rig soon, but will i regret later if I get the Xeon now?

TIA

 

[Ham]

I've only done a quick google, but at first glance Intel have pulled the usual trick. IMO the xeon would do you fine, as its more than likly all but exactly the same as the I7. Maybe enginered to be a little longer lasting and stable, but basicly the same.

 

[monkey7]

i7 all the way. You probably will not regret if you purchase the xeon system now because you will be happy with the performance, but as ham said: intel gave it another name and put a lot of marketing crap around it.

 

[DeMoB]

The Xeon based one is essentially the same as a i7, but the hardware that goes with it (workstation board and error correcting memory) will make for a more stable machine.

If the price is an issue, then wait for an i7 (because they will both give pretty much the same performance, W3520 = i7 940), otherwise the Xeon machine will serve you just as well.

Dan

 

[youpla]

thanks all, well i guess i will go with the Xeon then, either my boss will be okay for the price tag or else i cannot work

 

[youpla]

got the "Go" from my boss so the Xeon workstation is on its way, and got even upgrade for the video card. Got the top of the line Quadro FX5800 instead of the NVS295... some serious crunching power!

 

[monkey7]

That must've hurt his wallet...

Fold on that FX5800! That thing is nearly buried in shaders.

 

[PeterStoba]

£2600 on a single card

 

[Rastalovich]

Will the 'work' the workstation will do use the FX5800 ?

 

[youpla]

Will the 'work' the workstation will do use the FX5800 ?

Hopefully it will, it's for image analysis and 3D reconstruction and modeling from confocal and electron microscopes data. I am sure it will be more than necessary but I am not going to complain

 

[Sihastru]

It is said that Intel tweaked the Xeon's microcode to modify the prefetchers to work better with server-like loads. So there is a difference between the desktop part and the workstation/server part.