IBM System x3500 M3 Product Manual page 5

A rock-solid, performance server for your most demanding
applications
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amount of time the processor spends in the Turbo Boost Technology state depends on the
workload and operating environment, providing the performance you need, when and where you
need it. For example, a 3.33GHz six-core X5680 processor with 3-6 cores active can run the cores
at 3.46GHz. With only one or two cores active, the same processor can run those cores at 3.6GHz.
Similarly, a 3.46GHz four-core X5677 processor can run at 3. 6GHz or even 3.73GHz. When the
inactive cores are needed again, they are dynamically turned back on and the processor frequency
is adjusted accordingly.
Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed, to
reduce power draw.
Execute Disable Bit functionality can help prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow
attacks when combined with a supporting operating system.
Intel's Virtualization Technology (VT) integrates hardware-level virtualization hooks that allow
operating system vendors to better utilize the hardware for virtualization workloads.
DDR-3 Registered Memory with Chipkill ECC Protection
The x3500 M3 ships with registered double data rate III (DDR-3) memory and provides Active
Memory features, including advanced Chipkill memory protection (optionally), for up to 16X better
error correction than standard ECC memory. In addition to offering better performance than DDR-2
or fully-buffered memory, DDR-3 memory also uses less energy. DDR-2 memory already offered up
to 37% lower energy use than fully buffered memory. Now, a generation later, DDR-3 memory is
even more efficient, using 22% less energy than DDR-2 memory.
The x3500 M3 supports up to 192GB of memory with 16 DIMM slots. Redesign in the architecture
of the Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors bring radical changes in the way memory works in
these servers. For example, the Xeon 5500/5600 series processors integrate the memory
controller inside the processor, resulting in two memory controllers in a 2-socket system. Each
memory controller has three memory channels. Depending on the type of memory, population of
memory, and processor model, the memory may be clocked at 1333MHz, 1066MHz or 800MHz.
Note: If only one processor is installed, only the first eight DIMM slots can be used. Adding a
second processor not only doubles the amount of memory available for use, but also doubles the
number of memory controllers, thus doubling the system memory bandwidth. If you add a second
processor, but no additional memory for the second processor, the second processor has to access
the memory from the first processor "remotely," resulting in longer latencies and lower performance.
The latency to access remote memory is almost 75% higher than local memory access. So, the
goal should be to always populate both processors with memory.
The X56xx, L5640, and E5645 or above processors support up to 1333MHz memory clock speed,
while the E560x, E5620/E5630, L5609/L5630, and E556x-and-up models support up to 1066MHz
clock speed, while the E550x models support 800MHz clock speed. Using 1333MHz memory
(where supported) versus 1066MHz offers up to 9% better performance, while 1066MHz memory
produces up to 28% better performance than 800MHz memory.
Xeon 5600/5500 series processors access memory with almost 50% lower latency than the
previous generation 5400 series processors. That can result in faster processing of latency-
sensitive workloads.
Xeon 5600 / 5500
Processor 0
Memory Controller
Ch0 Ch1
7 8
D1 D4
4 5
D2 D5
1 2
D3 D6
1-16: DIMM population sequence;
This new processor design comes with some trade-offs in memory capacity, performance, and cost:
For example, greater memory capacity comes with lower memory speed. Alternatively, it is
possible to achieve the same memory capacity at lower cost but at a lower memory speed.
QPI
Ch2 Ch0
6 15
D7
3 12
D8
9
D1-D16: DIMM slot assignments
Xeon 5600 / 5500
Processor 1
Memory Controller
Ch1 Ch2
16 14
D9 D12 D15
13 11
D10 D13 D16
10
D11 D14
5