Nehalem Memory Speed Information

Nehalem Memory Speed Information

The memory controller in Intel's new Nehalem processor is a radical departure from previous Intel processor architectures, in that the processor die now contains a memory controller. As a result of this change, much of the system builder community is confused as to the proper memory speed to use for Nehalem processors.

This paper provides information to system builders so that the proper memory can be selected.

This information is extracted from Intel documentation. It is correct, to the best of our knowledge, as of the time it was written.

Processor Specifications - First Generation

There are three different classes of first generation Nehalem processor. All three classes will be individually discussed below.

The first class is the Core-i7 (Bloomfield - both the standard and the Extreme). This was the first class of Nehalem processor released. These processors support up to two unbuffered single-rank or dual-rank memory modules per channel. They have a single QPI (Quick Path Interconnect) link, do not support ECC, and are targeted at high-performance desktop systems. The following processors are in this class:

Core-i7	Processor Clock	Cache	Cores	Hyper-Threading	TDP	QPI Speed	Memory Clock	TurboBoost
920	2.66GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
940	2.93GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
950	3.06GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
960	3.20GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
965	3.20GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	6.4GT/S	533MHz unlocked	1-1-1-2
975	3.33GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	6.4GT/S	533MHz unlocked	1-1-1-2

The second class is the Uni-Processor Xeon (Bloomfield - the same as the Core-i7). These processors support up to two unbuffered single-rank or dual-rank memory modules per channel. They have a single QPI link, support ECC, and are targeted at entry-level workstations and servers. The following processors are in this class:

Uni-Processor Xeon	Processor Clock	Cache	Cores	Hyper-Threading	TDP	QPI Speed	Memory Clock	TurboBoost
W3503	2.40GHz	4MB	2	No	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	None
W3505	2.53GHz	4MB	2	No	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	None
W3520	2.66GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
W3540	2.93GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
W3550	3.06GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
W3565	3.20GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	4.8GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
W3570	3.20GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	1-1-1-2
W3580	3.33GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	1-1-1-2

The third class is the Dual-Processor Xeon (Gainstown). These processors support up to two unbuffered single-rank or dual-rank memory modules per channel or up to three registered single-rank, dual-rank or quad-rank memory modules per channel. They have two QPI links, support ECC (required for registered memory modules), and are targeted at high-end workstations and servers. The following processors are in this class:

Dual-Processor Xeon	Processor Clock	Cache	Cores	Hyper-Threading	TDP	QPI Speed	Memory Clock	TurboBoost
E5502	1.86GHz	4MB	2	No	80W	4.8GT/S	400MHz	None
E5504	2.00GHz	4MB	4	No	80W	4.8GT/S	400MHz	None
E5506	2.13GHz	4MB	4	No	80W	4.8GT/S	400MHz	None
L5506	2.13GHz	4MB	4	No	60W	4.8GT/S	400MHz	None
L5508	2.00GHz	8MB	2	Yes	38W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	0-0-2-3
L5518	2.13GHz	8MB	4	Yes	60W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	1-1-2-2
E5520	2.26GHz	8MB	4	Yes	80W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	1-1-2-2
L5520	2.26GHz	8MB	4	Yes	60W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	1-1-2-2
E5530	2.40GHz	8MB	4	Yes	80W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	1-1-2-2
L5530	2.40GHz	8MB	4	Yes	60W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	1-1-2-2
E5540	2.53GHz	8MB	4	Yes	80W	5.86GT/S	533MHz	1-1-1-2
X5550	2.66GHz	8MB	4	Yes	95W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	2-2-3-3
X5560	2.80GHz	8MB	4	Yes	95W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	2-2-3-3
X5570	2.93GHz	8MB	4	Yes	95W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	2-2-3-3
W5580	3.20GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	1-1-1-2
W5590	3.33GHz	8MB	4	Yes	130W	6.4GT/S	666MHz	1-1-1-2

Some Uni-Processor motherboards are capable of supporting the Dual-Processor CPUs.

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