Server vs. Desktop Processors

[kevin11951]

I have always wondered, what makes a server CPU different from a desktop CPU...?

ie. Intel Core i7 vs. Quad Core Intel Xeon

I don't mean as in what it is meant for, I mean physically. Does it have more cache, faster cache, more pathways for information, better heat distribution, etc...?

[Zorgoth]

I believe the #1 difference between server and desktop processors is that you man use multiple Xeons in one computer (a multi-CPU system, not to be confused with multi-core), whereas i7 does not allow this. Xeons are also much, much more expensive per unit performance than i7s, but they allow a single system to have far, far more processing power because you can use a lot of them in one computer.

If you can live with the processing power of an i7-980X there is probably not much of a reason to go for a Xeon system unless you need >24 GB of RAM. This certainly holds for scientific computing. I do not know about other server applications.