Intel Xeon E5-2428L socket: LGA 1356

What the Xeon E5-2428L is

Intel Xeon E5-2428L is a six core Sandy Bridge-EN server processor that Intel released in May 2012 for low power dual socket systems. It runs at 1.8 GHz base with a small turbo to 2.0 GHz, with 15 MB cache and Hyper-Threading for 12 threads. Power is rated at 60 W on a 32 nm process. The L suffix marks efficiency tuning, and ARK lists the vertical segment as Embedded for appliance and carrier use alongside classic servers.

No integrated graphics are present, so boards provide display through a management controller. Memory is DDR3 at 800, 1066 or 1333 MT/s across three channels with ECC, and the chip gives 24 PCIe 3.0 lanes plus one 7.2 GT/s QPI link that ties two sockets on dual boards. Scalability is two sockets.

Modest clocks with six cores suit steady virtualization and appliance loads that prefer determinism over bursts. Boards pair it with registered DIMMs across three channels and hardware RAID. The How to find your CPU socket type guide shows how to confirm the socket before ordering.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The Xeon E5-2428L fits LGA 1356 in FCLGA1356 form with 1,356 lands. Compatible boards use the C600 series controller on Socket B2, principally C602 on Romley-EN single and dual socket designs. The board vendor list for this SKU confirms C600 compatibility with Sandy Bridge-EN microcode.

Power at 60 W fits dense 1U and 2U chassis with vendor qualified heatsinks. The BIOS must list the exact E5-2428L string. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers server update rules.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is DDR3 at 800, 1066 or 1333 MT/s, three channels, with ECC and registered DIMMs. Populate all three channels per socket for bandwidth, and respect NUMA placement on two socket boards where each CPU owns its DIMMs.

PCI Express is 24 lanes of PCIe 3.0 per socket in x4, x8 and x16 splits for networking and storage controllers. The single QPI link connects two sockets at 7.2 GT/s on dual boards. Keep latency sensitive I/O near its owning socket.

Cooling uses vendor qualified heatsinks for 60 W with chassis directed airflow. There is no retail mount, so part choice follows the system vendor. Monitor inlet temperatures in dense racks.

Upgrade paths

Within LGA 1356 the Xeon E5-2428L can move to faster Sandy Bridge-EN or Ivy Bridge-EN parts on the same board, where the vendor list and power envelope allow it. A v2 comparison is Intel Xeon E5-1428L v2 on the same socket. Memory and storage carry over in most swaps.

A platform move means a new server generation with DDR4 memory. Keep the current node for efficient appliance duty where six Sandy cores still cover the service.