Intel Xeon E5-2630L v3 socket: LGA 2011-v3

What the Xeon E5-2630L v3 is

The Xeon E5-2630L v3 is a low voltage Haswell-EP eight core for dense efficient servers on LGA 2011-v3. Intel set eight cores and 16 threads at 1.8 GHz base with turbo to 2.9 GHz. Twenty megabytes of Smart Cache cover many guests per watt. Power is only 55 W on 22 nm from September 2014. The L suffix marks low power for racks that cap energy per node.

Low base clocks sip power across many cores while turbo covers single thread bursts to 2.9 GHz. Sixteen threads consolidate web and storage services with ECC memory. Cache size over six core parts trims memory waits. An SSD fabric shapes throughput more than clocks at this power. Buyers pick the L where 85 W parts would exceed rack budgets but threads must stay high.

No integrated graphics exist. DDR4 ECC over four channels feeds each socket with two QPI links between dual nodes. The mix is a server socket for dense operators who buy threads per watt at 55 W.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The E5-2630L v3 fits LGA 2011-v3 on C612 Grantley boards with low power support. Vendor tables list L parts with 55 W thermal guidance. Check the minimum BIOS with v3 microcode. X99 desktop boards never suit this low voltage 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 population rules. Cooling uses vendor 55 W heatsinks with rack airflow.

A standard 85 W eight core on the same socket adds clocks where power allows. Confirm chassis cooling before swapping L for standard parts.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

DDR4 ECC quad channel per socket suits efficient guests. Even DIMM maps protect NUMA fairness. Large RDIMMs reach high counts at low power. Speed steps with population per manual.

Forty PCIe 3.0 lanes per socket feed NICs and HBAs for scale out traffic. Dual socket I/O should respect NUMA locality. Vendor slot maps guide controller placement.

Vendor 55 W cooling sustains all core loads quietly with cool inlets. No retail cooler exists. Turbo to 2.9 GHz needs headroom in per core states.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket the Intel Xeon E5-2630 v3 at 2.4 GHz to 3.2 GHz is a higher clock 85 W step on similar boards. The Intel Xeon E5-2618L v3 with eight cores at 75 W is a nearby low power sibling with higher clocks. Both share C612 mounting.

Newer efficient sockets replace Grantley. The E5-2630L v3 covers dense hosts where eight cores at 55 W are required.