I went for the
Xeon E5-1680-3 proc. Mine is some sort of SuperMicro OEM rebrand, but this isn't an issue. My IT contact informs me this proc was originally purchased through NCIX, hope that doesn't mean I need worry over the mysterious "microcode lockout" issue mentioned above.
Looks like win-win so far. This proc actually has slightly better specs than the i7-5960X, I almost wonder if it's just a higher Intel bin/package of the same die (but I don't intend to find out with a costly de-lid or two, lol). Stock performance speed is just barely faster enough to be noticeable.
I am highly pleased that it has a robust iMC - all of my troublesome/finicky 8x8GB DDR4-3000 "incompatibilities" just magically vanished - full speed, out-of-box voltage, plain XMP, no manual tweaking needed! I'm not sure if it's because Xeons as a group are better in this regard, or because my particular E5-1680-3 is better (and is designed to address up to four channels, up to three DIMMs per channel, up to 768GB max RAM), or because my particular i7-5960X might have been weak. Happy to confirm that it wasn't the R5E mobo.
Still running my customary self-imposed 24 hour stress test, looking good so far, and it hasn't exceeded 72C under full load (while my old proc peaked at 79C with the same cooler).
1) Before I play with overclocking possibilities - is the extra Asus OC Socket functionality compatible with Xeons? I realize I can disable the feature if needed for unexciting Intel-spec LGA2011-3 compatibility. But I suppose it would've been wiser to ask beforehand, lol.Yes, the OC Socket seems to work perfectly!
2) I also realize the R5E mobo isn't specifically engineered for the server market. But do the BIOS workarounds/fixes/errata identified in the
Intel Xeon E5-3 Processor Specification Update tend to be fully implemented? (Aside, perhaps, from irrelevant errata involving ECC, RDIMMs, etc.)
3) Last question (I hope). Will the presence of a Xeon activate any server-style complications in my TPM? I basically use it only as a Windows BitLocker hardware token, I know it can do a lot more but I'd rather avoid the configuration details I suspect are involved in overkill Enterprise security.Yes, a few more TPM-/Security-related options appeared in the BIOS.
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