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Are the Xeon E3-12xx v1 series CPUs compatible with Windows 10 when using a discrete, Windows 10 compatible GPU?

idata
Employee
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Intel states that all Sandy Bridge CPUs, including Xeon E3-12xx v1 series CPUs, are not compatible with Windows 10. The reason seems to be the missing GPU drivers for the integrated Intel HD2000 or HD3000 graphics.

We are running a lot of workstations equipped with Xeon E3-1270 v1 CPUs in our firm. Since the Xeon E3-1270 v1 has no integrated graphics core and we instead are using discrete Nvidia GPUs, I really want a clear answer from Intel.

Is the Sandy Brigde CPU core compatible with Windows 10 or not?

Or is it just the Sandy Bridge integrated HD2000 or HD3000 graphics core which is not compatible with Windows 10?

Thanks in advance!

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idata
Employee
504 Views

Hello Morphium01,

 

 

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Let me help you out with this matter.

 

 

I understand you would like to know if the Intel® Xeon® E3-12xx v1 CPUs are compatible or not with Windows 10*.

 

 

Windows 10* should be able to run with Sandy Bridge Intel® Xeon® CPUs, but there is a chance you may not find some of the drivers including the graphics driver. There is a chance the motherboard you are using with the Sandy Bridge Intel® Xeon® may or may not fully support Windows 10* so we can expect you may not be able to find all of the drivers.

 

 

The video card you are using might be a workaround for the graphics driver, but please bear in mind that some of the motherboard components may not have drivers compatible with Windows 10*.

 

 

This link will give you a list of compatible operating systems with our graphics controllers http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/graphics-drivers/000005526.html http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/graphics-drivers/000005526.html

 

 

Let me know if you have or not any other inquiry.

 

 

Regards,

 

Fred
idata
Employee
504 Views

Hi Fred,

Thanks for the quick reply.

So can you confirm that if I can find all the Windows 10 drivers for my motherboard and if I use a discrete, Windows 10 compatible graphics card, there are no limitations using a Sandy Bridge Xeon with Windows 10?

There is no CPU instructions missing or some other microcode or whatever which could potentially cut down the user experience?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Oliver

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idata
Employee
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Hello Morphium01,

 

 

If you find all of the motherboard drivers you need then the CPU should work fine with Windows 10*. The CPU just processes the instructions that are sent by the operating system.

 

 

You can check with Microsoft* if they have seen any type of compatibility problem between the Intel® Xeon® E3-12xx v1 CPU and Windows 10*.

 

 

Let me know if you have or not any other inquiry.

 

 

Regards,

 

Fred
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idata
Employee
504 Views

Hi Fred,

Thank you very much for your remarks.

This information is very important for me and for our company. Now we can make better decisions regarding our existing workstation infrastructure.

Regards,

Oliver

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