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Mac Pro Nehalem 8-Core vs Westmere 8-Core

Desmo1098

Desmo1098

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 28, 2009
126
0
So I have to pull the trigger again on a Mac Pro and soon... Besides the video card and hard drive bump is there any other technical advantages (i.e. main-board, memory, internal components, etc...) that would make worth holding out for a 2010 Westmere 8-Core Mac Pro vs the 2009 Nehalem 8-Core?
 
The Gulftown quad core processors have a lower TDP and higher clock speeds. I know less about Xeon DP (X56xx) though. That might be limited to the hexcore models.
 
the westmere variant of the mac pro will be able to run 1333Mhz ram on the 6,8, and 12 core models.
 
Desmo1098 said:
Can someone clarify this site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainestown_(microprocessor)#Gainestown

What processor "code-name: is used in the following:
Click to expand...

2009
Quad Core - Bloomfield
8-Core - Gainestown

2010

Quad Core - Bloomfield
6-Core - Gulftown*
8-Core - Westmere-EP

*Intel don't tend to use codename branding for 3000 series Xeons, they include it as part of the Westmere-EP line here, but also indicate Westmere-EP processors are targeted at the 5520 chipset, which the W3680 doesn't work with. An older version of an official W3680 page referred to Gulftown but not Westmere. Intel's codenames have always been a mess :)
 
beto2k7 said:
the westmere variant of the mac pro will be able to run 1333Mhz ram on the 6,8, and 12 core models.
Click to expand...

Before making a decision based on memory speed, I recommend this article on the merits of faster memory to understand what apps might benefit and by how much...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2792

(The gains are typical limited to single-digit percentage improvements)

@Desmo1098, the only material differences between the 2010 and 2009's will be in clock speeds at a given price point and bundled components (HD, GPU, Wifi)... you may be able to do much better on a similarly equipped 2009 refurb than a comparable 2010.
 
Thank you, everyone, for all the responses. I am going to hold out until Tuesday, next week, in lieu of them being available at the retail store.

How much of a performance difference is there in the DMI interface vs the QPI?
 
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