Probably the most mysterious processor I've found

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tuandta2

New Member
Nov 13, 2019
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Hello

I have been a long time lurker here, nice to meet you!

I just got my hand on this little processor from a local end user. The processor is an E3 1275L V3 which is sold for $55, which is fairly reasonable.

However, the funny thing is that, the seller claimed this proc only has 2 cores with HT, which is half the cores of an E3 1275L V3, so I decided to take the risk and see if it was just a funky BIOS settings.

This is the picture of the processor:

Top lid: Imgur
Black sealed silicon: Imgur
Flip side: Imgur

It has the correct marking and the black silicon that sealed the lid seems original, no trace of it being delidded. However, the flip side is definitely NOT belonged to an E3 12x5/x6 chip, it is a flip side of an E3 12x0 chip, more precisely, E3 1230 and up.

I decided to pop it in my X10SLL-F board:

Okay, this is the most interesting part. According to Intel: Intel® Xeon® Processor E3-1275 v3 (8M Cache, 3.50 GHz) Product Specifications the proc should have 4 cores, 8 threads, has a base clock of 2.7Ghz and boosted to 3.9Ghz under turbo boost, and has 8MB shared L3 cache.

Imgur

The mysterious processor reported itself as an E3 1275L v3, but only have 2 cores, 4 threads and has only 4MB L3 cache. The weirdest thing is the clock rate. It has base clock rate of 2.9Ghz, not 2.7Ghz, and seems not turbo-able.

The only Haswell part that has those specs should be i5 4570T. But the i5 4570T's flip side does not look like this one at all.

Any idea what this processor could be? :) Thank you!
 
Last edited:

BlueFox

Legendary Member Spam Hunter Extraordinaire
Oct 26, 2015
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Core i3 4130T fits those specifications. It's a dual core with HT at 2.9GHz with no turbo.
 
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tuandta2

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Nov 13, 2019
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Update: It can indeed boost to 3.6 like a 4570T. And it has HD Graphics P4600 which should only available to Xeons.

Core i3 4130T fits those specifications. It's a dual core with HT at 2.9GHz with no turbo.
It does have 4MB cache though, all i3s only have 3MB.

Where were you scammed?
It's not really a scam though since he explicitly said the processor's spec. I just find it very odd.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SR/SR1T7.html
"NOTE: Engineering and qualifications samples are marked with this color"

Stepping says C0 in bios screenshot.

This appears to be just an ES version of the CPU written\spec'd on it.

The CPU has been re-printed, it's a "fake retail" as it's an ES with retail labeling.

I've never seen a legit ES\QS have retail nor look so "perfect" printed on it like that.
 

RippyMcDippy

New Member
Jan 21, 2022
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I just received this same chip from eBay it’s reporting as a e3-1275L and the IHS says e3-1275L at 2.7 but bios says 2.9 and its only 2 cores. Weird… not sure if scam or guy didn’t know what he had.
 

111alan

Active Member
Mar 11, 2019
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Haerbing Institution of Technology
It's possible to reprint the top IHS, but it's impossible to change the information inside the CPU for anyone outside intel. Maybe two cores died, I've seen this situation before, or it's a wrongly produced unit.

The back side matches the pcb of a 4 core unit though.
 

RippyMcDippy

New Member
Jan 21, 2022
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1642826691093.png

this was the guys ebay listing and he linked the 4 core 8 thread verson of the chip. glad ebay has a return policy.
 

RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
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I just received this same chip from eBay it’s reporting as a e3-1275L and the IHS says e3-1275L at 2.7 but bios says 2.9 and its only 2 cores. Weird… not sure if scam or guy didn’t know what he had.
e3-1275L v3 is out of the CPU, no way to change this. IHS can be replaced form a dead prod.unit.
check HWinfo please, maybe QS. remember intel made (i.e.)ivy-bridge-ep ES two cores less than production units then.
what mobo do you use ?