What is "xeon"

The Xeon is a brand of x86 microprocessors designed, manufactured, and marketed by Intel Corporation, targeted at the non-consumer workstation, server, and embedded system markets. The primary advantages of the Xeon CPUs, when compared to the majority of Intel's desktop-grade consumer CPUs, are their multi-socket capabilities, higher core counts, and support for ECC memory. A Xeon Phi co-processor, or co-processors can be used alongside an existing Intel Xeon processor to provide increased, or improved computing power. Requires an available PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot in x16, or x8 mode. Intel Xeon CPUs support the following chipsets: Z87, X99, and for dual CPUs the C600 series of chipsets.

Disadvantages that make Xeon processors unsuitable for most consumer-grade desktop PCs include lower clock rates at the same price point (since servers run more tasks in parallel than desktops), absence of an integrated GPU, and non-existent support for overclocking. Despite such disadvantages, Xeon processors have always had popularity among desktop users, (primarily gamers, and extreme users) mainly due to higher core count potential, and higher price to performance ratio vs. the Core i7. Because Intel Xeon CPUs lack an integrated GPU, they require graphics installed in an available PCI Express x16 slot.