Intel Xeon E5-2678 v3 socket: LGA 2011-v3

What the Xeon E5-2678 v3 is

The Xeon E5-2678 v3 is a high clock 12 core Haswell-EP part on LGA 2011-v3 for dual socket performance nodes. Intel set 12 cores and 24 threads at 2.5 GHz base with turbo to 3.3 GHz and all core turbo near 2.9 GHz. Thirty megabytes of Smart Cache feed threaded apps. Power is 120 W on 22 nm from June 2015.

High base clocks for a 12 core suit mixed virtualization with latency needs. Turbo leads the 267x line in bursts. Two QPI links at 9.6 GT/s tie dual sockets. The locked multiplier keeps tuning off the table.

DDR3 and DDR4 support with quad channels gives board flexibility, though DDR4 at 2133 MT/s is the performance choice. ECC protects guests. Buyers pick the 2678 v3 where 12 cores must still burst like smaller SKUs.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The 2678 v3 fits LGA 2011-v3 on C612 and X99 class server boards with E5 v3 firmware. The socket also hosts HEDT silicon, but ECC RDIMMs mark server builds. Check the board list for the OEM or retail stepping.

Quad channel ECC memory is required for RAS. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers concepts, board docs decide populations. LGA 2011 without v3 never boots.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

DDR3 and DDR4 ECC over four channels to 768 GB per socket with up to 68.3 GB/s suit performance VMs. DDR4 at 2133 MT/s is preferred. Even DIMM counts protect bandwidth.

PCIe 3.0 with 40 lanes per socket in CPU only counts serves NVMe and networking. High clock nodes often feed accelerators. NUMA placement matters for tail latency.

Cooling uses 120 W server heatsinks with strong airflow. No boxed cooler exists. High base clocks need cool inlets to sustain turbo.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket the Intel Xeon E5-2676 v3 at 2.4 GHz to 3.0 GHz saves money nearby, while the Intel Xeon E5-2669 v3 at 2.3 GHz to 3.1 GHz covers OEM supply. All share LGA 2011-v3 where listed.

A v4 step needs Broadwell-EP BIOS. The 2678 v3 leads 12 core clocks in Haswell-EP dual socket.