Are Intel Core i3/i5/i7 Processors Server-Grade?

Question

1. Many web hosting companies are now offering Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors under "cheap dedicated hosting." But my laptop has an Intel core i3 processor, which makes it more likely a desktop processor than a server processor.

2. When I spoke to one of the web hosting company's tech support official about this, he told me that their "i3 processor comes bundled with ECC/Registered DDR3 RAM on a server-class motherboard (socket LGA1156)." Furthermore he told me this:

"We've chosen to offer this particular CPU as our "budget" server, but in no way lowers the quality of the actual server itself. We utilize proper cooling methods and also the same fans and heatsinks that we use on our Xeon CPU's.

The main difference between the Xeon and these i3' are that the Xeon processors can support multiple CPU's on the same motherboard, while these cannot. They're also marketed to be server CPU's, while the i3's are not, but they perform just as well under the same conditions."

I would like to take any input I get from the community. Is it good to go with an i3/i5/i7 processor, with the kind of setup mentioned above? or is there anything I should be worried about?

EDIT: To be more clear, I've got an Intel Core i3-540 Dual-Core processor (3.06GHz) with HyperThreading. And I will be running a wordpress blog on it (generates some 1-1.5 million pageviews a month).

Answer 1

From what I've seen, there are three things to be aware of for i-series processors vs Xeon series processors:

1. Xeon processors can typically be used in multi-cpu motherboards; i-Series processors cannot (just like the sales guy told you). This is by far the largest difference between between the processors themselves. Certainly a good i7 processor has the reliability and raw performance available to handle a server load, as long as you're still in the single-cpu range.
2. New chips from Intel tend to come out as server processors first. This means that most Core i7 processors have a Xeon processor that is almost an exact match. But at the very top end, there will likely be a Xeon processor that doesn't (yet) have an i7 equivalent. This only matters for top-of-the-line hardware, though.
3. Motherboards that support i-Series processors tend to expect desktop grade RAM. Motherboards that supports Xeon processors tend to expect server grade (registered) RAM. Of course, you can find server boards and desktop boards that support both types of both CPU and RAM, but the typical configuration of each board is to match the RAM type to the supported CPU type.

It's number three above that really matters to you. If you have both an i-Series processor and desktop grade RAM, you're not really running production-level server hardware anymore. It might work fine for a while, but then again it might not — and that's not the kind of risk a good sysadmin wants to take. The failure rate and average longevity just isn't as good.

In this case, given that they offer registered RAM with a server-class motherboard, if you are comfortable with the performance level of the hardware then this might be a good fit. I'll add that the best Core i3 I could find on Intel's site right now is a dual core with hyperthreading. The worst Xeon I could find was a quad core without hyperthreading (that lines up more closely with an i5).

Answer 2

Simple answer: No

Long answer: Depends

Your usage of the server should tell you if a desktop processor is what you need. Judging from your last question, however, it sounds like you have a very shady company anyway and I would look for other options for servers if I were you. In reality, desktop processors are fine for little test servers, but any server used in production has no reason to not use server-grade parts.

Answer 3

Yes and No... however, it depends on what you define as "server grade".

If you were to get the Xeon equivalent of a Core I cpu, it will technically be a server grade component.

However, if you are upgrading a P4 era Xeon to a modern i3/5/7 (or even a modern Dual Core Celeron!), you will notice immense speed increases in all areas.

However, there is much more to a computer than a processor on its own.

On a server, in addition to the processor, you want good quality, long life components as you want it to last around 5 years (average replacement cycle), you ideally want on board graphics - but just basic/not high end, you want ECC memory and other things - all of this requires a server grade motherboard, and the majority of server grade motherboards only take server grade processors.

All this being said, it completely depends on the usage pattern. For a very small company, I would rather buy an i3 machine and replace it with a similar specification machine 3 years down the line than buying a very expensive machine and keep it for longer. For hosting, unless you specifically need a high end machine, you may as well take the savings as it should be very good and powerful.