Overclocking Intel's Core 2 Duo E8400 Xeon Counterpart, the E3110
Processor Overclock Test Platform
For testing processor overclocking, circuitREMIX has created test bed configuration. The hardware chosen was picked to reflect that of a relatively modern computer system that an enthusiast may own. The heat production of the system is an above-average repesentation of one of these computer systems. The configuration of the system is as follows:
- Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink + 120mm Panaflo medium fan (86CFM)
- Asus P5K3 (P35) Deluxe motherboard, with 120mm Yate Loon fan blowing over northbridge and southbridge heatsinks
- Corsair 2GB (2x1GB) Dominator PC3-14400 DDR3-1800 C7 with Dominator cooler
- Diamond MM Radeon 3870HD 512MB PCI-e video card
- Seagate 7200.7 120GB SATA hard drive
- Samsung SH-S203 SATA DVD-writer
- Seasonic M12II 500w power supply
- Windows Vista Business Edition (patched to 09 Feb 2008)

The following is the BIOS settings employed for our testing. All values are static, except for FSB Frequency, DRAM Frequency (dividers have different behaviour at various FSB levels) and CPU voltage.


Our Windows Vista installation is configured to allow for the least possible amount of operating system overhead as possible. This includes turning off features and services such as:
- Disabling all power saving modes, screen saver, and Vista visual effects
- Fax & Scanner Services
- Hard Drive Indexing Service
- System Restore
- Windows DFS Replication Service
- Windows Meeting Space
- Windows Search
- Windows Update
In overclocking, we adjust FSB frequency and CPU voltage. Overclocking stability is tested with a 30 minute run of Prime95 with small FFT's. Both cores in the processor are stressed. We recommend that when users overclock, an 8hr (or longer) stability test run should be used.
Submitted by izle (not verified) on December 2, 2009 - 9:46am. Thanks for sharing this
Thanks for sharing this information. I found it very informative as I have been researching a lot lately on practical matters such as you talk about
youtube videos...
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 16, 2009 - 3:11am. Bosch markalı tüm beyaz
Bosch markalı tüm beyaz eşyalarınızın uzun ömürlü ve performanslı
çalışmasını sağlamak ve enerji tasarrufu vb. etkenler için yılda bir
defa olmak üzere tamir, bakım ve onarımı Bosch teknik servisi mutlaka yapılmalıdır.Herhangi
bir arıza durumunda müşterilermiz istediği servisin hızlı olmasını
bekler ve biz 12 gezici aracımız sayesinde bu hizmeti gayret ve
profesyonelliğimiz ile yerine getirmekteyiz.Tüm Bosch kullanıcılarına
profesyonel teknik ekibimiz ile hizmet vermekteyiz.
Submitted by asus eee pc (not verified) on October 4, 2009 - 12:25pm. xenon is great cpu
xenon is great cpu
Submitted by R2D2 (not verified) on June 16, 2009 - 1:09pm. the Xeon 3110 is labeled as
the Xeon 3110 is labeled as Dual core not core 2Rl
Submitted by Johnny (not verified) on June 2, 2009 - 1:32pm. Intel Xeon 3000 sequence is
Intel Xeon 3000 sequence is much better that C2D 8000's in terms of extended usage & overclocking!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 30, 2009 - 6:57am. Intel Xeon 3000 sequence is
Intel Xeon 3000 sequence is much better that C2D 8000's in terms of extended usage & overclocking!
Submitted by Arrod (not verified) on November 29, 2008 - 5:39am. Hi I'm planning to buy
Hi I'm planning to buy either Xeon E3110 or Core2 Duo E8400. Is it compatible with Asus P5W-DH Deluxe Motherboard which I bought last year and still unused.
Thanks for the reply.
Submitted by btuk member. (not verified) on November 3, 2008 - 5:25pm. dual core [as in pentium d]
dual core [as in pentium d] and core 2 are different in the size of die used. dual core pentium d, is 90nm while core 2' e6*** are 65nm, while the newer e8*** core2 series are 45nm. [and in this case e3*** series xeons.]
die shrink is whats needed to achieve lower power consumtion which in turn allows for a cooler cpu which equals a much larger overhead for overclocking. [hence more speed] its not quite that simple but you get the idea.
Submitted by Sparrow (not verified) on May 10, 2008 - 12:42pm. Hey, what did you guys use
Hey, what did you guys use to measure voltage? I have a Xeon E3110, Crucial DDR3-1600 Ballistix, and the Asus P5K3-Deluxe mobo (the same one you used in this review). I can't seem to get my Xeon stable at 4GHz. What voltage did you guys use at 4GHz in the Asus voltage settings? I've got a Zalman CNPS9500, it was the largest cooler I could fit in my Antec P190 what with the side fan and all. I've got a super-stable 3.6GHz clock running Prime95 for about 3 days now.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 3, 2008 - 6:58pm. Intel Xeon 3000 sequence is
Intel Xeon 3000 sequence is much better that C2D 8000's in terms of extended usage & overclocking!
Submitted by Drago (not verified) on April 23, 2008 - 7:34pm. Hi i just purchased a Xeon
Hi i just purchased a Xeon 3110 CPU, ASUS Maximus Formula LGA775 X38 ATX DDR2 and Mushkin XP PC2-8000 Redline 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000. Can anyone help with overclocking
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 17, 2008 - 6:54am. The Xeon e3110 and the Core
The Xeon e3110 and the Core 2 Duo e8400 are essentially identical, with the exception that the Xeon may undergo more strenuous testing as it is a server cpu.
Any Intel based motherboard that is designed to use 45nm architecture is compatible with both processors, and since memory isn't controlled by the cpu (but by a seperate chip on the motherboard, in the case of Intel)...DDR3, DDR2, etc., isn't an issue. Just make sure that the motherboard you use is compatible with the memory you choose, some motherboards can use both DDR2 and DDR3 (ie..P35 North bridge chipset).
Server CPU's are designed to run 24/7, so the Xeon requires slightly lower voltages to lessen the heat it creates.
The e3110 and the e8400 have identical clock speeds with the same multiplier, but at slightly different voltages (very slight).
I hope this answers several of the questions, these 2 processors are basically identical. Check the specifications for the motherboard you are using or going to use for compatibility with 45nm architecture, DDR2 or DDR3 usage, as DDR2 and 3 standards are also different for each board...but that's a little complicated and I won't get into that.
Submitted by Pedro (not verified) on April 9, 2008 - 4:49pm. does the xeon e3110 is
does the xeon e3110 is compatible with these motherboards: ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP, ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME LGA 775, ASUS P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP LGA 775?
Submitted by brandon on June 3, 2008 - 12:56pm. Yup, should be compatible
Yup, should be compatible with all P35/P45/X38/X48 based motherboards.
Submitted by alalalala (not verified) on April 7, 2008 - 12:38pm. i was just wondering.. there
i was just wondering.. there isnt too much difference in price between those two chips (from retail, brand new). why would you even consider buying e3110 instead of just buying e8400?
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on October 11, 2008 - 3:19pm. Well, mainly because the
Well, mainly because the E3110 they are refering to is a Xeon processor, made for servers, supposedly more reliable, longer lasting, etc. The E8400 is a Core 2 Duo, essentially the same chip, but with higher voltages, and possibly more power consumption and heat production.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 27, 2008 - 11:57pm. Hi i was just wondering
Hi i was just wondering about the Xeon E3110 is it compatible with the new ASUS Striker II Extreme 790I Ultra LGA775 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI SATA2 RAID Sound GBLAN 1394 Motherboard ?
And does it make a difference that it is dual core not
dual core 2 CPU ?
Submitted by brandon on March 28, 2008 - 12:40pm. Yes it should be compatible.
Yes it should be compatible. I've even seen reports of people using the E3110 on 780i based boards. If the E8400 is supported by that motherboard, the E3110 should have no problems.
And Core 2 Duo is just the marketing name, so since the E8400 and E3110 are essentially the same processor, there is no difference.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 24, 2008 - 9:42am. Ok first i was lead to
Ok first i was lead to believe that a DUAL core is much slower than a Core2
the Xeon 3110 is labeled as Dual core not core 2,,,has anyone checked to see what speed they actually show under windows, someone says that a 2 gig core 2 shows as 3.5 under normal circumstances...what does the Xeon 3.0 dual core show.
are they like two 1.5 cores or really two 3.0 cores?
Submitted by Peezee (not verified) on May 27, 2008 - 2:10pm. You've got it all wrong
You've got it all wrong :)
There's the Intel Dual Core and Intel Core 2 Duo. These are only brand names, as BOTH are dual core CPUs. The Core 2 Duo is newer technology, thus better
The E8400 is a Core 2 Duo.
The Xeon E3100 is basically the same chip.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 22, 2008 - 10:02pm. I found one (E3110), after
I found one (E3110), after seeing one run without problem on a recent ship Asus P5K Deluxe . That I bought it via a well-known auction site , from Canada , may give grist to the rumour mills.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 18, 2008 - 3:25pm. Hi, on the Intel Website it
Hi,
on the Intel Website it says that the E3110 only takes DDR2 ram. It looks like your tests here were done with DDR3?
So, does the E3110 work with DDR2 ram?
Thanks again,
Sixto Sicilia
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 22, 2008 - 10:20pm. To say it over and
To say it over and over.........
If the memory control resides on the same chip , and is integrated with the CPU - then it is possible/likely that there could be problems handling a memory chip with a different way of accessing the lines. AKA AMD.
When the memory access is controlled by a separate chip on the motherboard (that is , the CPU is 'dumb' in this context), all the processor wants is data , and the delivery logic is up to the supplier. It could be construed as the Achilles heel in Intel philosophy ; but commercially works well.
Submitted by brandon on March 18, 2008 - 4:35pm. From user experiences I've
From user experiences I've seen, it works with DDR2 as well. The memory controller is in the motherboard chipset, not in the CPU itself.
Submitted by Yuhsaku (not verified) on April 3, 2009 - 10:10am. Should work with DDR2.
Should work with DDR2. After all, if you check the P35 based Intel motherboards like the Intel DP35DP that uses DDR2, you will see the Xeon E3110 listed in the compatible processors. Just make sure you have the right BIOS that will support the processor.
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