ES Xeon Discussion

[kijun93]

I've collected some v3/v4 xeons and I wanna share some info.

1. QEYZ (ES2)
This cpu is known as 1660 v3. But it's actually Haswell-E sample.
QEYZ was leaked as first Haswell-e sample by Intel from VR-Zone.
It is technically overclockable. BUT It doesn't apply.
You can change multiplier but somehow it's stuck to 3.2GHz for all cores.
You can overclock uncore and memory instead. But the thing is that it's a bad overclocker.
You can only set to 2200MHz with full 8dimms. and uncore can go up to 31x in default cpu multiplier.
I don't know why but if you set higher cpu multiplier, you can unlock and set higher uncore multiplier.
I assume that microcode is messed and somehow it's blocking the overclock.

Someone claimed that he set BCLK strap to 1.25x and achieved 4GHz.
But my ASUS mobo won't boot up if i change any cpu settings. (so I tested with XTU)

2. QK3M / QK3S (ES2)
These are known as 1650 v4 and 1660 v4 samples.
They are unlocked up to 80x and support ecc registered memories.
Unlikely retail ones are locked.
I wonder QS samples are whether locked or unlocked. I don't want to risk it.
Anyway, they're not a good overclockers. You can probably set up to 4.2GHz@1.325v~1.35v
You'll need to set 1.4v or above for higher multiplier.
You can also overclock the memory and BCLK strap does not work.

3. QGSL (QS)
This is 1660 v3 QS. not a good overclocker as well.
up to 4.5GHz@1.279v and 4.7GHz@1.345v for Linx 0.6.4 AVX Edition.
Probably need more voltage for AVX2. But nobody uses AVX2 or AVX unless you use Photoshop or so.

4. QHVJ (ES1)
Known as 1660 v4 but actually an early sample of 6900k A.K.A a bad bad overclocker.
overclocking potential is depending on batchcode. later ones can go up to 4.0 to 4.2 GHz.
Earlier ones are usually 3.7 to 3.9GHz @1.375v
And there is an issue. It stucks at 28x on AVX running so you might not want it if you use AVX.
I believe it has something to do with its microcode. doesn't seem to be fixable.
If you can get it cheap, it's probably a good one.
You can set 28x and BCLK strap to 1.25 so the issue won't be a problem.

 

[_haru]

Just got given a QFZR. E3-1275L V3 qualification sample. going to go into my main rig

 

[foureight84]

Does anyone have or seen the Xeon E5 2660 V3 ES with the QGP1 marking? I'm curious if the Max Boost is close or same as production.

 

[John Titor]

@foureight84 , I have a E5-2667 v3 (QGSQ) which I've found to be practically identical to production stepping in every way.

Also, the QGP1 has the same final stepping as the production version, so I would assume that it should perform the same.

 

[scraper]

Hello,

I managed to get my hands on Xeon E5-2696 v3 ES QEY8, its B0 stepping.

As some people suggested here i went with AsRock X99 Extreme 4 board for it, since it seemed they have best support for ES QS samples.

But unfortunately i cant get it to post.

Tried all bios versions. Situation is as follows:

1. v1.2 - first release - 3 long beeps, memory error
2. v1.3 till v2.1 - no beeps, seems like memory initialization passes since no beeps, but still black screen
3. v3.3 and above - 5 short beeps meaning cpu error, makes sense since they cleaned some space in bios files for Haswell v4 support

I also tried to put Asrock X99 extreme6 bios on extreme4 but to no succes, still get black screen.

My question is there any way to modify bios to make it work on this board? Or any consumer level board(ASUS,Gigabyte,MSI, Asrock) - i got Asus X99-A and on that board it just stops at memory initialization error(post code b5/b6.

Or does it work with server boards like supermicro/quanta, etc?

Thanks!

 

[scraper]

Been tinkering with both asrock x99 extreme4 and asus x99-a, still cant get past balck screen.

Do i maybe need ECC ram for Xeon E5-2696 v3 ES QEY8?

At the moment im using Gskill F42400C15Q-16GRR, quad channel 4x 4GB DDR4. Also tried with adata 16GB 3200MHz from my ryzen rig but same issue, no post.

 

[William]

You will need ECC RAM.

 

[scraper]

Thanks for response! I have only find Samsung module M393A2G40DB0-CPB on both boards compatibility list.

Would it be safe to get something else? What is common safe, go for ECC memory? Should i avoid branded hp etc memory?

Sorry for this much questions, first time building this kind of machine.

 

[Marsh]

I used
SK Hynix 16GB 2Rx4 PC4-2133P DDR4 HMA42GR7MFR4N-
Micron MTA36ASF2G72PZ
Kingston Memory KVR21R15D4
Samsung ram ( do not remember model number, not all Samsung ram worked )

ram with Xeon v3 , v4 CPU and Asrock extreme 4, 6, WS , OC formula , taichi boards.

 

[scraper]

Think im gonna try to find Samsung memory from QVL, does it make difference if its just single stick or should i go dual/quad channel?

 

[Marsh]

quad channel is better than dual channel , single stick of ram during power on testing.

Sometimes , when I find cheap 4gb DDR4 , I would buy it to fill all 8 slots for the sake of quad channel.

 

[scraper]

I see. I was worried that having some number of sticks in system in necessary for normal POST process, thus need for dual/quad configuration for successful boot.

Ill go for one stick of the memory from supported list just to see if CPU and motherboard combo is working normally, then later buy more if all is fine.

 

[Marsh]

During power on testing , You must populate the single ram stick in the first ram slot.

 

[Rand__]

One per CPU isn't it?

ah i see its a x99 board. Then only one

 

[chrgrose]

I've been eyeing these Xeon Platinum ES listings on ebay:

From seller makimoo-uk (21808 reviews):
Intel Xeon Platinum 8170 ES QL2K 1.8GHz 35.75MB 26Core 185W 52Threads LGA3647 ($749)
Intel Xeon Platinum 8180 ES QL1F 1.8GHz 38.5MB 28Core 165W 56Threads LGA3647 CPU ($835)

From seller penguinestore (72 reviews):
Intel Xeon Scalable Processor Platinum 8176 ES CPU LGA 3647 1.8GHz 28 Core QL1F ($999)
Intel Xeon Scalable Processor Platinum 8160 ES CPU LGA 3647 1.8GHz 24 Core QL1K ($668)

If at all safe, I would like to get 2 or 4 of these and put them in dual or quad configurations (although it seems to be difficult to find quad socket motherboards), and I would prefer any higher clocking cpu's if possible (for example, the 8170 cpu lists a higher TDP, 185 W, even higher than the final released 8170 product). I'm also concerned about penguinestore having few reviews.

I will use them as MATLAB workhorses which will probably be on full load for long periods, but I could probably live with a blue screen a few times a year.

Any opinions on these ebay finds? Red flags? Am I looking at a world of headaches or might these be the real deal? Perhaps I could send the seller some insightful questions... like if they could test that they work in dual configuration with all memory channels populated?

 

[foureight84]

@foureight84 , I have a E5-2667 v3 (QGSQ) which I've found to be practically identical to production stepping in every way.

Also, the QGP1 has the same final stepping as the production version, so I would assume that it should perform the same.

Thanks for confirming! I went and bought immediately after posting. Good thing it worked out. Was able to get the turbo mod working on it too. Pretty awesome pair of CPUs

 

[John Titor]

@chrgrose I haven't bought from them personally, but I'm familiar with the steppings of the ES/QS processors they sell. They are functional processors, but there is definitely a lack of board support for many of those QSpecs (unless BIOS updates have been rolled out by other manufacturers since they made the compatibility list in their descriptions).

I personally have (x4) QL1F, which are the Platinum 8176. I was planning posting mine for sale soon as well, so if you feel more comfortable buying from a US seller via PayPal, I'm your guy. I also have 4 heatsinks for my QL1F.

As for a quad-socket system, as much as I hate to endorse them too much, I'd recommend an HPE DL560 Gen 10 (or a DL580 Gen10). Those systems are your best bet for support since they are known to work with most of PenguinStore's ES/QS processors. Mind you, I've only seen dual-socket work myself, so I can't guarantee quad-socket support on those models.

Lastly, when it comes to questionable feedback/history of PenguinStore, I don't think there should be too much concern buying from them as they give really robust descriptive details on there posts. If you decide to buy from them, just keep in mind they ship from China (slow shipping), and there may be some language barrier in the event of an RMA, but eBay buyer protection and PayPal buyer protection will take good care of you in the worst case scenario.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[ipreferpie]

@chrgrose I haven't bought from them personally, but I'm familiar with the steppings of the ES/QS processors they sell. They are functional processors, but there is definitely a lack of board support for many of those QSpecs (unless BIOS updates have been rolled out by other manufacturers since they made the compatibility list in their descriptions).

I personally have (x4) QL1F, which are the Platinum 8176. I was planning posting mine for sale soon as well, so if you feel more comfortable buying from a US seller via PayPal, I'm your guy. I also have 4 heatsinks for my QL1F.

As for a quad-socket system, as much as I hate to endorse them too much, I'd recommend an HPE DL560 Gen 10 (or a DL580 Gen10). Those systems are your best bet for support since they are known to work with most of PenguinStore's ES/QS processors. Mind you, I've only seen dual-socket work myself, so I can't guarantee quad-socket support on those models.

Lastly, when it comes to questionable feedback/history of PenguinStore, I don't think there should be too much concern buying from them as they give really robust descriptive details on there posts. If you decide to buy from them, just keep in mind they ship from China (slow shipping), and there may be some language barrier in the event of an RMA, but eBay buyer protection and PayPal buyer protection will take good care of you in the worst case scenario.

Hope this helps a bit.

Just want to add that I was one of the buyers from penguinestore using a dual QL1F setup on a SM X11DPHT board. So far so good on my UnRAID setup using VT-X and VT-D. However, I’m only getting 5250 on Cinebench test, not high 5k. I wonder if I’m not optimizing properly or the Turbo isn’t kicking in enough, although I see it jumping to 3.2GHz max on OPPT testing. Using 2x dual rank 64GB ECC LRDIMMs as reference.

 

[m4r1k]

It’s just my feeling or there are very few ES/QS Skylake around? One year after all Xeon E5 families (v1, v2, v3, and even v4) were released , both eBay and Chinese marker were full of QS...

 

[_haru]

It’s just my feeling or there are very few ES/QS Skylake around? One year after all Xeon E5 families (v1, v2, v3, and even v4) were released , both eBay and Chinese marker were full of QS...

Yeah I haven't seen much Skylake-X either. regular skylake ES, on the other hand, is dirt cheap and great value