Is An Engineering Sample CPU Worth The Savings? Comparing A Xeon 6148 With An ES Version

Thanks to Unix Surplus for providing the hardware used in this video. Check them out here: unixsurplus.com/
Engineering sample CPUs can be found for prices that seem too good to be true. Today I compare a normal and engineering sample variant of the Xeon 6148 to see how they differ. I also go over some possible ways to reduce risk when purchasing a ES CPU.

[@SomaCoder]

Duuude. Where did you get that shirt?! D&D is the only thing I love more than computers.
This is the best tech channel I have seen in a while. Thank you for all this useful content.

[@Mickaleb]

Sometimes the frequency is printed on the chip much lower on the ES chips than with the retail ones. I noticed this while looking on ebay.

[@yellowood252]

This is the third video of yours that I've stumbled across this week. I've been thoroughly impressed with each. A definite subscribe, can't wait to see what else you put out!

[@leafdriving]

I'm seeing a pattern. After watching your videos:
- Comparing A Xeon 6148 With An ES Version
- ZimaBoard Review
- Movespeed HB7450 1TB review
I keep thinking: That so cool! Why have I never heard of this from anyone else?
You Ballance being thorough yet compact, not wasting our time at all, and
don't pick youtube flooded topics.
Changing my Subscription Notification to "ALL"

[@SomaCoder]

Thanks!

[@trenchXspike]

oh i just bought a supermicro chassis from your sponsor, neat

[@tombouie]

Thks & you are quite amazing

[@littlebigmarc]

Amazing video. Thanks. Only guy with the video.

[@wecharg]

Been trying to get a skylake LGA1151 Xeon working on a Gigabyte BTC250 motherboard, haven't had much luck yet, think you're supposed to use Coffetime software, but not sure.

[@pepeshopping]

It depends!
Some will have errors that don’t matter and others will be just headaches.

[@adamkostas6401]

The QMS1 is a qualification sample of the 6148, so it will be no different than its retail variant. QS CPUs are the only engineering samples that I would go with. Earlier ES samples have horrible base and turbo frequencies and other possible bugs and issues.

[@shephusted2714]

do some content on how you are going to use these chips and how many more vms you can run on these monsters and how many other servers you could consolidate into a server using these newer bigger chips - real world experience beyond the benchmarks and synthetic testing

[@ElectronicsWizardry]

Thanks for the suggest. I’ll work on integrating these ideas into a future video.

[@shephusted2714]

@@ElectronicsWizardry the only other thing i would add is to conc on basic affordable upgrades - things like raid0nvme arrays and bridged and bonded connections or using a 40g dual port on your ws to dual nas - 40g dual port cards are only like 30 bucks on ebay. maybe try to start to wade in to some smaller ai LLM models too? keep up with the good content!

[@bloxfruitdealer247]

im considering to buy a i9 12900es.should i do it?

[@ElectronicsWizardry]

Yea there pretty fast chips and fairly power efficient if you keep clocks down. As long as the ES doesn't cause issues I'd go for it.

[@okay-mj6cx]

Did it cause issues? In the same boat

[@bloxfruitdealer247]

@@okay-mj6cx i haven't buy it yet. Still deciding

[@macmind62-uu6rr]

I have bought a Intel Confidential QQBY 3.10 Ghz(i9-9900k) and build a Hackintosh running MacOS 14(Sonoma) on a Asus Z390-h Gaming motherboard. :) Geekbench 6(Mac) Geekbench: 'Pre-Release Hardware Blocked' :(

[@ElectronicsWizardry]

That's interesting Geekbench detects QS/ES CPUs. Never heard of this before, and I'll try Geekbench next time I get some of these chips.

[@ricsip]

Are you sure that the Intel Processor Validation tool really checks all instructions individually for faulty engineering-sample issues? Quote from intel:
The purpose of the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool is to verify the functionality of an Intel microprocessor. The diagnostic tool checks for brand identification, verifies the processor operating frequency, tests specific processor features, and performs a stress test on the processor. --> from this description I am not convinced that all instructions are tested for correctness.

[@ElectronicsWizardry]

I’m not sure. From the hi it says it checking it somehow but I haven’t check what exact instructions are used. I couldn’t find a better tool easily that would test all instructions so that’s why I used the intel processor validation tool.

[@GamingCentral3000]

It’s probably just checking CPUID flags to see what’s supported.