Intel Xeon Processor and Intel E7500/E7501Chipset Compatible Platform Design Guide

Introduction
22 Intel
®
Xeon™ Processor and Intel
®
E7500/E7501 Chipset Compatible Platform Design Guide
Unless otherwise noted, the term MCH refers to the E7500 chipset MCH and E7501 chipset MCH.
Supported system bus speeds are indicated as 400/533 MHz as applying to both chipsets, though
533 MHz can only be attained using the E7501 chipset with the Intel Xeon processor with
533 MHz system bus. Supported DDR speeds are indicated as DDR200 / DDR266 as applying to
both chipsets, though DDR266 is only for the E7501 chipset with the Intel Xeon processor with
533 MHz system bus.
In addition to these performance features, E7500/E7501 chipset-based platforms also provide the
RASUM (Reliability, Availability, Serviceability, Usability, and Manageability) features required
for entry-level and mid-range servers. These features include: x4 SDDC technology ECC for
memory, ECC for all high-performance I/O, out-of-band manageability through SMBus target
interfaces on all chipset components, memory scrubbing and auto-initialization, processor thermal
monitoring, and Hot-Plug PCI. For a complete list of the features on this platform, refer to the
component datasheets listed in Section 1.2.
1.3.1 Intel
®
Xeon™ Processors
The Intel Xeon processor with 512-KB L2 cache and the Intel Xeon processor with 533 MHz
system bus are targeted for servers using Intel
®
NetBurst™ microarchitecture in a dual-processor
(DP) configuration. The processor delivers performance levels that are significantly higher than
previous generations of IA-32 processors. The E7500/E7501 chipset compatible platform supports
all versions of the Intel Xeon processor with 512-KB L2 cache and Intel Xeon processor with
533 MHz system bus.
The Intel Xeon processor with 512-KB L2 cache is available in the Interposer Micro-Pin Grid
Array (INT-mPGA) package and only supports 400 MHz system bus configurations. The Intel
Xeon processor with 533 MHz system bus is available in the Flip Chip Micro-Pin Grid Array 2
(FC-mPGA2) package and only supports 533 MHz system bus configurations.
Other differences between these two processors are that the Intel Xeon processor with 533 MHz
system bus lacks the PIROM, Scratch EEPROM, thermal sensor, and SMBus that are all available
on the Intel Xeon processor with 512-KB L2 cache. The Intel Xeon processor with 533 MHz
system bus still contains the thermal diode, but will provide direct access to the diode output pins.
These output pins can interface with a thermal sensor device placed on the motherboard. Another
difference is that the Intel Xeon processor with 533 MHz system bus requires a new socket termed
“mPGA604 socket.” Table 1-4 summarizes the main features offered in the different versions of
the Intel Xeon processors. Refer to the Intel
®
Xeon™ Processor Datasheet for complete details
about the processor.
Table 1-3. Intel
®
E7500 and E7501 Chipset Lock Step Requirements
Memory
Installed
Processor Installed
Intel
®
Xeon™ Processor with 512-KB L2
Cache (INT-mPGA Package)
Intel
®
Xeon™ Processor with 533 MHz
System Bus (FC-mPGAs Package)
DDR200 DIMM DDR200 / 400 MHz Not Supported
DDR266 DIMM DDR200 / 400 MHz DDR266 / 533 MHz