VT and Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7400 @ 2.80GHz

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Hi,

Few months back I bought brand new PC with processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7400 @ 2.80GHz

To my surprise I realised that same CPU supports virtulization on some other PC while mine doesnt !!

After lot of research I came to know that few types of this CPU supports VT (SLGW3) while few other doesnt (SLB9Y). I never understand why Intel has done this confusion. Is there anyone on this earth who _doesn't_ want VT in this perticular model of CPU?

To add more to the frustration, Intel CPU identification utility doesn't tell me what is the type of my CPU (Is it SLB9Y or SLGW3). Somewhere in the forums it has mentioned to read about it on box CPU comes in. (Oh indeed very "Intel"egent way to find info in this digital era) Now since I have lost that box, is there any alternative to find which CPU am having?

I dont know what going on here. All I want is to run 64 bit OS using VMWare on my 32-bit machine.

Someone in Intel please advice me what to do now (or simply ask me to buy new CPU)

-Atul

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Hello Atul,

Yes, the CPU E7400 exists as in three different flavours:

1. SLGW3 where you have different product codes

(i) BXC80571E7400

(ii) BX80571E7400

(iii) AT80571PH0723ML

2. SLGQ8 where you have one product code

(i) BX80571E7400

3. SLB9Y where you have two other product codes

(i) BX80571E7400 (Boxed CPU comes with 3 years warranty )

(ii) AT80571PH0723M (Tray CPU comes with 1 year warranty )

Indeed from the http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=36500 link, only the SLGW3 seems to have VT enabled. I don't know why there are different CPUs with different model, may be for marketing and pricing purposes. You may need to be aware that on some board, all SL numbers may not have been validated and tested by the board manufacturers. And one more thing, the board bios needs to have support for some VT as well.

The only way for you to find out which SL number you have, is to remove the CPU from the socket and read it directly from the silvery metal.

http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-030330.htm http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-030330.htm

All the best,

Kind Regards,

Aryan.

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Hi Chaps

Same problem here. To buy a retail E7400 you have to use the product code BX80571E7400. You *cannot* specify the "SPEC" code SLGW3. That means you have no guarantee which version you will receive, and it could well be SLB9Y without VT. I have contacted plenty of retailers and asked if they can guarantee that I will receive the SLGW3 but they have all said no. My conclusions are that:

1) Intel are surely now only manufacturing the SLGW3 version of E7400. This started shipping as a retail boxed CPU in August 2009, and was available to OEMs (PC builders) in June 09.

2) There are still many old SLB9Y in the supply chain, especially because OEMs will now only want the SLGW3 version, so Intel are getting rid of old stock in the retail market.

3) The only way to get a VT E7400 is to buy one then check the code printed on top. If it's not the right one, send it back for another. But no retailer will be happy with that.

4) To guarantee you get VT, buy an E8400 for a 50% price increase - but why bother? 3MB extra cache is not worth that much (it makes almost no difference).

5) Intel introducing the SLGW3 E7400 was a complete waste of time and money because you don't know what you are getting. Unless of course you are an OEM and buy thousands or millions direct from Intel, which is exactly who Intel did it for.

6) This leaves individual customers like me pissed off that there is a product I want but can't buy.

Any chance of a reply from Intel and information on how to buy an SLGW3 E7400 here in the UK?

Cheers, Ian

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Adding more info:

This link tells only SLGW3 support virtualization:

http://ark.intel.com/products/36500/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E7400-3M-Cache-2_80-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB# orderingordering http://ark.intel.com/products/36500/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E7400-3M-Cache-2_80-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB# orderingordering

[idata]

Adding more info:

This link tells only SLGW3 support virtualization:

http://ark.intel.com/products/36500/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E7400-3M-Cache-2_80-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB# orderingordering http://ark.intel.com/products/36500/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E7400-3M-Cache-2_80-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB# orderingordering