Can a Xeon E3-1270v5 be used for most of the same things as an i7-6700?

[JAndr9]

So, I want to use ECC memory because I'm concerned about data corruption due to some of the work I do. However, that feature isn't supported on the Core i7-6700 that I wanted to get. Someone I asked pointed me towards the Xeon E3 series, which seems to be very similar to the Core i7 series on paper. Even the pricing is similar, it's just $20 more than the processor I wanted originally. However, other people have been telling me that Xeons are only good for headless servers and datacenters, and that they won't work very well for anything that puts a strain on the GPU due to the way PCI-E lanes are implemented on the C series chipsets... for instance, gaming, folding, or 3D modeling.

I don't have a lot of experience with server equipment, so I'm wondering if getting a Xeon actually means I lose anything other than Integrated graphics and SLI? It seems like as long as I'm just running a single GPU configuration, a Xeon should handle it just as well as a Core i7. I mean, are the processors tuned differently on a low level to the point that normal desktop applications would run badly on the Xeon? Would it handle random spikes in demand on GPU and RAM resources as well as a desktop variant (because servers are tuned for consistently high rather than random demand)?

Would I need to build two separate systems and try to figure out what needs to run on the i7 and what needs to run on the Xeon? Or could I just build a system around the Xeon and use it for everything I want to do?

It's kind of an awkward situation because I know Xeons are for servers, but I'm not running a server (well, unless you count the 20-man Minecraft or IRC servers I'm running), and I'm wondering if Xeons are flexible enough to act as servers or ensure data integrity when I need them to do so, and still work as a regular computer the rest of the time.

There seem to be two schools of thought on the issue... some people think that the Xeons are completely different and thus only good in server closets (thus being useless for ordinary tasks), and other people think they're basically the same chip as the Core i7. Which is closer to the truth? I've already priced the system out, and I won't have any trouble affording the Xeon system I want, so price shouldn't be a factor in the analysis.

[idata · Accepted solution]

Hello, athenian200:

Thank you for contacting the Intel Communities.Actually your reasearch is good.Basically, the difference would be, no graphics from processor and ECC support (Motherboard has to support it as well).The advantage of Intel® Xeon® over Intel® Core™ i7 would be data processing as you already know as well.So if the board supports ECC and the processor desired to be used, you should be good to go.If you require any further information or support, do not hesitate to contact us back.Regards,Esteban C