Am I correct that the Xeons have locked clock-multipler within the chip and thus achieving a random frequency may not be possible with the default FSB?
Slightly off topic: I bought a pair of X5675's to upgrade my server (from E5606). I also bought a pair of L5640's for a low power option if I downgrade the server-role to light weight duties. If I can run X5675's at lower clock speeds then I may not need these separate low power CPU's. May be I should return those and get a spare X5675.
I also ordered a Gene III. Will L5640 work better for overclocking?
Yes the clock multipler is locked but usually to a certain range.
Overclocking on 1366 is a combination of FSB changes and multipler changes to get your desired speed.
"Intel® Xeon® 5600 series -automatically and intelligently adjusting server performance according to your application needs
Integrated power gates:
Allow idling cores to be reduced to near-zero power, independent of other cores, reducing server idle power consumption.
Automated low-power states:
Automatically put processor, memory, and I/O controller into the lowest available power states that will meet the current workload while minimizing performance impact."
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-briefs/xeon-5600-brief.pdf
Good pdf and going through it brings up an important point.
Everyone has to remember Xeons were made for enterprise systems. So some of those features actually require enterprise/workstation grade chipsets and motherboards to have all the features working. 99% of the people on this thread are putting these chips in consumer level boards.
Will paste this from the link its on page 7.
Intel Xeon Processor 5600 Series
The Intel Xeon processor 5600 series is available in a range of features to match different computing demands.
All processors integrate Intel QuickPath Technology, Intel Intelligent Power Technology and Intel Virtualization
Technology. Intel VT FlexMigration, Intel VT FlexPriority, and Intel® 64 Architecture
Standard, Enterprise Servers:
Intel® 5520 and 5500 Chipset
Server and workstation platforms based on the Intel® 5520 and 5500
Chipset, combined with the Intel Xeon processor 5600 series, drive
breakthrough performance and state-of-the-art technology to perfor
-
mance and mainstream server platforms.
The Intel 5520 Chipset supports the Intel Xeon processor 5600 series
at 6.4 GT/s, 5.86 GT/s and 4.8 GT/s speeds via the Intel QuickPath
Interconnect. Additionally, this chipset delivers support for 36 lanes of
PCI Express 2.0 I/O, Intel VT-c and Intel VT-d enhancements for virtual
-
ization OS, Intel® Dynamic Power Node Manager system management,
and support for Intel® ICH10, ICH10R and Intel® 6700PXH 64-bit PCI Hub.
The Intel 5500 Chipset supports the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series
at 6.4 GT/s, 5.86 GT/s and 4.8 GT/s speeds via the Intel QuickPath
Interconnect. Additionally, this chipset delivers support for 24 lanes of
PCI Express 2.0 I/O, Intel VT-c and Intel VT-d enhancements for virtual
-
ization OS, Intel Dynamic Power Node Manager system management,
and support for Intel ICH10, ICH10R and Intel 6700PXH 64-bit PCI Hub.
Workstations: Intel 5520 Chipset in Single
or Dual I/O Hub (IOH) Configuration
The Intel 5520 chipset improves data movement across Intel Xeon
processor 5500 series-based workstations and HPC systems by
increasing interconnect bandwidth, optimizing system bandwidth,
increasing memory capacity, and improving network traffic processing
while reducing I/O latency.
These platform advancements help to match the improved perfor
-
mance of the Intel Xeon processor 5600 series and include:
• Point-to-point connections via the Intel QuickPath Interconnect at
4.8, 5.86 and 6.4 GT/s speeds
• Dual IOH configuration for higher I/O connectivity, up to 72 lanes for
PCI Express 2.0
• Multiple x16 or x8 PCI Express 2.0 graphics card support
• Intel VT-c and Intel VT-d virtualization technology enhancements
• Intel Dynamic Power Node Manager system management support
• Intel ICH10 and ICH10R
• Intel 6700PXH 64-bit PCI Hub