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Which server CPU ? i7 3770T or i7 3770S ???

Combat squirrel

Combat squirrel

Combat squirrel

Soldato
Joined
7 Aug 2004
Posts
11,300
Hey all,

I run a windows home server 2011 box that does all the usual NAS stuff you would expect, but also run ispy for my CCTV IP Cameras. I currently run 6 of them and will be getting 2 more soon. As you can imagine this is fairly processor intensive.

My current CPU is an I3 2100T (I think), the 2.5ghz model with 35watt power draw.

Anyways this runs around 45-60% load normally with all cameras going, 90-100% load when encoding a CCTV stream, obviously this is high.

Im thinking of getting either a I7-3770S or I7-3770T, these being 4 core 8 thread CPU’s and ispy being a very threaded bit of software im hoping it may allow the CPU to spread the load better and generally run with less CPU useage, - am I right in thinking this?

Obviously if at all possible I want the server to draw as little power as possible, the T version i7 draws 45 watts (not much higher than I use now)………the S version still uses less power than a normal i7 (77 to 95watt for normal), but 65watt for this S, another key difference is there clock speed at 2.5ghz (T) vs 3.1ghz (S)

What would you guys do ? Im personally :/ about 65 watt draw, but then the cpu is a lot faster, would it being faster mean its load would be less ? thus running slower anyways?

Confusion of power vs work load here.
 
Yes, they quote the maximum power draw at stock speeds, and in theory the power draw at idle should be identical due to the power saving technology chips have these days.

You should be right about the hyperthreading yes, as long as the software supports 8 cores then it will be more efficient to have an i7 than an i5.

The S cpu will probably consume more power than the T when encoding as it may go as high as 90-100% on any chip, as it's just trying to do it as fast as possible, but that means it will finish quicker of course, so the overall power used will either be the same or possibly lower, it would likely be impossible to find someone who has tested a similar situation to see which chip is actually more efficient in terms of completing a set amount of work at full load and then going idle.

If you're lucky they may well consume the same power with your cameras running normally however, as the T is probably around 110% faster than your current chip (with all threads active of course, not per thread), but the S is then going to be ~50% faster than that, so they will run at different loads and therefore pull different ratios of their max power draw.

So in summary, I would go for the more powerful chip as it should definitely draw the same power at idle and should only draw a tiny bit more under operation (if any at all), but it has the added bonus of encoding your streams quicker and allowing you to run more cameras in the future if you wish.
 
Ok thats cool, thank you for that AllBodies.

Today I have read around more and hit on the idea of buying a normal Ivy 3770K and underclocking it/undervolting it.

In theory it should match the S/T processors? if I run them same speed/volts?

I have seen people undervolt/overclock i7's but NOT UNDERVOLT/UNDERCLOCK THEM

Can anyone with a i7-3770K underclock to 2.8-3ghz something like that and find out the lowest volts you can do that with?

The hilarious thing is.... im doing all this for my server system but my main rig is a AMD X6 1055t 95watt Processor....haha server is better than my day to day rig........

HANG ON A MINUTE (idea !) what if I underclocked/undervolted my AMD processor.... 6 real cores are not bad, but then a ~ 2.5ghz AMD x6 wouldnt be much faster than the i3 sandy would it ?

Christ people, what should I do! lol
 
Last edited:
jamesfreddie said:
What chip are you going with then?
Click to expand...

Im undecided, I updated ispy last night and now its 35-45% CPU usage at idle on the i3, its working fine, its not missing frames off CCTV footage.........so am I just falling into upgraditus ? also this chip defo only pulls 35watt so that’s good, options are:

- I3 2100T – 3c/4t – using now
- I7 2600k/3770k – either of these downclock to say 3 ghz with volts lower, I heard they do draw less power but not quite as low as S/T chips, but better resale value.
- 2600S/3770S – seems ideal, still fairly high clock speeds and less power draw, lower than an underclocked ‘k’ – no idea
- 3770T – 45watt 8 thread, 2.5ghz and no up or down clocking – probs wont go for this one
What would you do? Just see how the i3 fairs?, Would it be more efficient to actually get the i7 ? would cpu usage drop to ‘15%’ compared to the 30-40 ‘idle’ I see now ? So many questions! :/
 
I would wait and see how it goes with the i3.

I doubt it would be lower power using the i7 but i would say it wouldn't be much more than the i3.

What motherboard do you have in the server now?
 
Gigabyte z68-AP D3, cheapest board, but got awesome reviews, did have an ITX Gigabyte but ran out of PCI-E and hard drive connectors , needed 2x 1gb Lan ports (thus expansion card) and 2x expansion cards for SATA ports, 12 drives in it, there set to spin down after 20mins idle, uses around 55watts idle, 105 at load (entire system - have a watt meter on plug) - using corsair 650WATT top end PSU.

The system in normal use appears to draw ~80 - 107watts depending if its just monitoring CCTV or also serving files/streaming to the HTPC or doing all that and trans-coding with air video.
 
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