Xeon e5620 hyperthreading: Intel Xeon E5620 Specs | TechPowerUp CPU Database

Overclocking Intel’s Xeon E5620: Quad-Core 32 nm At 4+ GHz

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From my review of Intel’s Core i7-980X:

“What’d really be cool for the enthusiast crowd would be a line of quad-core CPUs manufactured at 32 nm. Almost certainly scalable to even higher clock rates and armed with AES-NI, these would be high-performance, lower-power options that’d go really well with today’s less-expensive X58-based motherboards.

The potential for such a design is supported by Intel’s plans to launch quad-core 32 nm Xeon processors based on its Westmere-EP design. But the most we could get out of Intel regarding its desktop plans was ‘we’re considering all options.’ Ah well, we tried.”

Well, I give up on waiting. I’ve been poking Intel, trying to talk the company into introducing one of its 32 nm Xeons as a desktop chip. I want something faster than a Core i5-600-series chip and cheaper than a Core i7-970. Four cores are fine—just give the overclockers something that’ll run cool at 4+ GHz.

Is Xeon Where It’s At?

Meet the Xeon E5620. This processor runs at 2.4 GHz by default, and it Turbo Boosts up to 2.66 GHz. It’s a quad-core chip, but it retains all of Westmere-EP’s 12 MB shared L3 cache. Hyper-Threading is turned on, so you get up to eight threads in flight at a time, and the chip’s QPI operates at 5.86 GT/s.

From left to right: Core i7-970, Core i7-930, and Xeon E5620

Performance-wise, you can’t expect much out of a 2.4 GHz part. However, Xeons are binned notoriously generously, putting power and reliability ahead of all else. The 32 nm Xeon E5620 has a VID range of .75-1.35 V and sports a modest 80 W TDP.

The only Achilles heel this thing has is an 18x multiplier that’s locked. Oh, were it not for locked ratios, this $389 Xeon would be such a beast. Sigh.

From left to right: Core i7-970, Core i7-930, and Xeon E5620

Nevertheless, I got my hands on a pair of E5620s and shot for the moon, hoping to derive a bit of enthusiast value from a notoriously business-class processor designed for dual-socket servers and workstations. With a bit of help from Asus (not every X58 motherboard supports Xeon CPUs), I managed to build a fast, stable, gaming box that doesn’t require high-end cooling or eyebrow-raising BIOS settings.

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Meet The Xeon E5620

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linux — Enabling Hyperthreading on a Centos 7.3 server using Intel Xeon E5620

I have a Centos 7.3 server running a dual socket quad core Intel Xeon CPU E5620 @ 2.40GHz. I would like to use hyperthreading on this server but it seems it has been disabled.

The spec sheet for this chip indicates it should support hyperthreading:

Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ‡ Yes

https://ark.intel.com/products/47925/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5620-12M-Cache-2_40-GHz-5_86-GTs-Intel-QPI

And the CPU flags indicate the same:

flags       : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 
            clflush dts mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss **ht** syscall nx rdtscp
            lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts nopl xtopolog 
            tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni ssse3 cx16 sse4_1
            sse4_2 x2apic popcnt hypervisor lahf_lm ida arat dtherm

The machine currently has an SMP kernel running (i think) based on the name:

Linux PR-ORACLE01. prvln.local 3.8.13-118.14.1.el7uek.x86_64 #2 SMP

The reason I don’t think that hyperthreading is enabled is the output from lscpu:

lscpu
Architecture:          x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                4
On-line CPU(s) list:   0-3
Thread(s) per core:    1
Core(s) per socket:    2
Socket(s):             2
NUMA node(s):          1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 26
Model name:            Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           E5620  @ 2.40GHz
CPU NODE SOCKET CORE L1d:L1i:L2:L3 ONLINE
0   0    0      0    0:0:0:0       yes
1   0    0      1    0:0:0:0       yes
2   0    1      2    1:1:1:1       yes
3   0    1      3    1:1:1:1       yes

My understanding is that I should be seeing two threads per core instead of just the single thread.

I’ve had a good hunt around and the only suggestions I could find where to make sure I had an smp kernel running (I think this is the default behaviour now, but based on the name above, my kernel has it), or to try and pass acpi=ht to the kernel via grub at boot. (Didn’t help, but acpi was already enabled so I wasn’t really expecting this to do much)

This page here: https://www.golinuxhub.com/2018/01/how-to-disable-or-enable-hyper.html
indicates that you should be able to turn it on/off by echoing 0 or 1 into

/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu${i}/online;

(where $i is the cpu in question)

This file does not exist on my machine, but there is a /sys/devices/system/cpu/online file that just contains

0-3

As far as I can tell, this is enabled in the BIOS (or at least Multiprocessor Specification is set to 1.4)

 Multiprocessor Specification:    [1.4]

https://i.imgur.com/oylFALZ.png <- screenshot of bios

https://i.imgur.com/W8lo9od.png <— screen shot of Advanced Chipset Control

Advanced Chipset Control
Enable memory gap:      [Disabled]
ECC Config:             [Disabled]
SERR signal condition   [Multiple bit]

Am I mis-interpreting the lspcu output? Or is there something else I need to do to enable this?

Thanks

Intel Xeon E5620 — 51 secret facts, review, specifications, reviews.

Top specifications and features

PassMark CPU score
Heat dissipation (TDP)
Number of transistors
L2 cache size
Number of Cores

PassMark CPU score

Intel Xeon E5620:
3946
Best score:
89379

Test results

Intel Xeon E5620:
421594
Best score:

Technologies

Intel Xeon E5620:
2000
Best score:

Performance

Intel Xeon E5620:
2805
Best score:

Memory specification

Intel Xeon E5620:
1591
Best score:

Description

The Intel Xeon E5620 processor runs at 2.4 Hz. At the same time, the maximum frequency in Boost mode reaches 2.66 Hz. 4 cores available. The L1 cache is 256 KB, L2 1 MB and L3 8 MB. Power consumption at peak times can reach 80 watts.

The maximum number of threads that the Intel Xeon E5620 can handle is 8.

The Intel Xeon E5620 works on the 32nm architecture. Total number of transistors 1170 million

Regarding memory specification. The Intel Xeon E5620 processor supports DDR3. The frequency of RAM is 1066. The maximum supported volume is 288 MB. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6. Number of supported memory channels 3.

Now about the Intel Xeon E5620 tests. According to PassMark, the processor scored 3946 out of possible points. Based on the analysis of more than 4,000 processors, the Intel Xeon E5620 ranked 998 in the ranking of the best.

Why the Intel Xeon E5620 is better than others

32 nm process technology. This parameter is lower than that of 43% of goods

PassMark CPU score 3946 . This parameter is lower than 22% of products
Thermal Dissipation (TDP) 80 W. This parameter is higher than 64% of products
Number of transistors 1170 million. This parameter is lower than that of 23% of goods
L2 cache size 1 MB. This parameter is lower than that of 55% of goods
Number of cores 4 . This parameter is lower than 54% of products
The base clock frequency of the processor is 2.4 GHz. This parameter is lower than that of 44% of products
L3 cache size 12 MB. This parameter is lower than that of 18% of goods

Overview Intel Xeon E5620

Test results

Technologies

Performance

Memory specification

Interfaces and communications

Main characteristics

Intel Xeon E5620 Review: Highlights

PassMark CPU score

The PassMark benchmark considers read speed, write speed, and seek time when testing SSD performance.
Show all

3946

max 89379

Average: 6033.5

89379

AES

Yes

Thermal Control Technologies

Function Execute override bit

Yes

Intel Trusted Execution Technology

Yes

Number of threads

The more threads, the higher the performance of the processor, and it will be able to perform several tasks at the same time.
Show all

max 256

Average: 10.7

256

L1 cache size

Large amount of L1 memory accelerates results in CPU and system performance settings
Show all

256KB

max 4608

Average: 299.3 KB

4608KB

L2 Cache Size

L2 cache with large scratchpad memory to increase processor speed and overall system performance.
Show all

1MB

max 512

Average: 4.5 MB

512MB

L3 cache size

Large amount of L3 memory accelerates results in CPU and system performance settings
Show all

12MB

max 768

Average: 16.3 MB

768MB

Maximum Turbo Clock Speed 

When the processor’s speed drops below its limit, it can jump to a higher clock speed to improve performance.
Show all

2.66GHz

max 5. 7

Average: 3.2 GHz

5.7GHz

Number of cores

max 72

Mean: 5.8

Processor base clock speed

2.4GHz

max 4.7

Average: 2.5 GHz

4.7GHz

Number of connections QPI

Average: 2

Idle states

Yes

Turbo Boost technology

Turbo Boost is a technology that allows the processor to operate at a frequency higher than the maximum. This increases its productivity (including when performing complex tasks)
Show all

Mean: 1.9

Max. number of processors in configuration

Mean: 1.3

DDR Version

Mean: 3.5

Max. memory bandwidth

This is the speed at which the device stores or reads information.

25.6GB/s

max 352

Average: 41.4 GB/s

352GB/s

Memory frequency

RAM can be faster to improve system performance.
Show all

1066MHz

max 4800

Average: 2106.2 MHz

4800MHz

Max. number of memory channels

max 16

Mean: 2.9

Max. memory size

The largest amount of RAM memory.

288GB

max 6000

Average: 404.4 GB

6000GB

System bus frequency

Data between computer components and other devices is transferred via the bus.
Show all

5.86 GT/s

max 1600

Average: 156.1 GT/s

1600 GT/s

Memory support ECC

Memory debugging code is used when it is necessary to avoid data corruption during scientific computing or server startup. It finds possible errors and repairs data corruption.
Show all

Yes

Support for ECC memory technology

Yes

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)

Yes

AES-NI Commands

AES is needed to speed up encryption and decryption.

Yes

Hyper-Threading Technology

Many Intel processors use state-of-the-art hyper-threading technology. Thus, each processor core works simultaneously on two threads, which significantly increases performance. Most processors work on the principle: one thread per core, therefore, their performance is lower.
Full text

Yes

Version sse

Allows you to speed up multimedia tasks (such as adjusting the sound intensity). Each subsequent version has a number of improvements
Show all

4.2

max 4.2

Mean: 4.1

4.2

Socket

FCLGA1366

Demand Based Switching

Yes

PAE

max 46

Average: 39. 5

TXT

Yes

EDB

Yes

VT-d

Yes

VT-x

Yes

EPT

Yes

Process technology

The small size of the semiconductor means it is a new generation chip.

32 nm

Average: 36.8 nm

5 nm

Number of transistors

1170 million

max 57000

Average: 1517.3 million

57000 million

Heat Dissipation (TDP)

The Heat Dissipation Requirements (TDP) is the maximum amount of energy that can be dissipated by the cooling system. The lower the TDP, the less power will be consumed.
Show all

80W

Average: 67.6 W

0.025W

Status

Discontinued

Release date

01/01/2010

Embedded options available

Yes

Case size

42. 5mm x 45mm

Supports 64-bit system

A 64-bit system, unlike a 32-bit system, can support more than 4 GB of RAM. This increases productivity. It also allows you to run 64-bit applications.
Show all

Yes

Code name

Westmere EP

Maximum temperature Tcase

77.6°C

max 105

Average: 75.1 °C

105°C

Destination

Server

FAQ

How much RAM does the Intel Xeon E5620 support?

Intel Xeon E5620 supports 288 GB.

How fast is the Intel Xeon E5620 5600X?

The processor runs at 2.4 GHz.

How many cores does the Intel Xeon E5620 have?

4 cores.

Does the Intel Xeon E5620 support ECC memory?

Yes.

What is the socket of the Intel Xeon E5620

FCLGA1366 is used to install the Intel Xeon E5620.

Is the Intel Xeon E5620 a 64-bit processor

Yes

What architecture does the Intel Xeon E5620 use?

The Intel Xeon E5620 is based on the Westmere EP architecture.

What is the frequency of the Intel Xeon E5620 processor?

Intel Xeon E5620 processor running at 2.4 Hz.

What is the maximum frequency of the Intel Xeon E5620 processor?

In this case, the maximum frequency in Boost mode reaches 2.66 Hz.