Intel Xeon E5-2620 v3 socket: LGA 2011-v3

What the Xeon E5-2620 v3 is

The Xeon E5-2620 v3 is a mainstream Haswell-EP six core for dual socket servers on LGA 2011-v3. Intel set six cores and 12 threads at 2.4 GHz base with turbo to 3.2 GHz. Fifteen megabytes of Smart Cache serve virtual guests and services. Power is 85 W on 22 nm from September 2014. Retail distribution means broad C612 board support.

Six cores with 12 threads consolidate web and infrastructure services per socket at modest power. Base clocks hold all core work while turbo lifts control tasks. Cache covers tenants without reaching for ten core premiums. ECC DDR4 guards uptime. No integrated graphics exist. An SSD fabric shapes response. Buyers pick the 2620 v3 where six threads per socket meet the brief at 85 W.

DDR4 ECC over four channels feeds each socket with two QPI links between dual nodes. The mix is a server socket for mainstream virtualization with protection at 85 W.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The E5-2620 v3 fits LGA 2011-v3 on C612 Grantley boards for single and dual socket use. Retail stepping validates across vendors. Check the matrix for the minimum BIOS. X99 desktop boards never suit this server chip.

ECC RDIMMs over four channels carry memory. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide is desktop focused, so follow server manuals for NUMA maps. Cooling is vendor 85 W heatsinks with rack airflow.

An eight core on the same socket adds threads where guests grow. Confirm power ceilings before moving upward.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

DDR4 ECC quad channel per socket suits virtual hosts. Even populations protect NUMA fairness. Registered DIMMs allow large counts. Speed follows DIMM count per manual.

Forty PCIe lanes per socket feed NICs, HBAs and NVMe. NUMA aware placement across QPI links matters. Board manuals guide controller choices.

Vendor 85 W cooling sustains loads with front to back air. No retail cooler exists. Inlet temperature decides turbo residency.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket the Intel Xeon E5-2630 v3 with eight cores is a higher density retail step on similar boards. The Intel Xeon E5-2603 v3 with six fixed threads is a lower cost entry where turbo is not needed. Both share C612 mounting.

Newer sockets replace Grantley. The E5-2620 v3 covers mainstream hosts where six cores at 85 W are the target.