Using Intel's Feature List Filter to Find the BEST CPUs

[Albin]

I am attempting to use Intel's CPU Feature list to narrow down the list of CPUs that would be most optimal for UNRAID 6 and unRAID 6.0-beta15 and potentially future releases. 

 

Some of the listed Features are confusing.  I am not sure if they are needed or need to be avoided for an unraid build.  My goal is take advantage of UnRaids support of KVM QEMU and OVMF/UEFI.

I see some sites talk about needing to disable TXT or Trusted Execution Technology.  In the Intel features selection criteria you can select YES or No for TXT.  This is just one of the features that I really do not know if I need or want to avoid.

 

Also it is not clear to me if, YES for some of these give an indication the CPU has that feature, or that one can disable that option, or does it mean it has it and you cannot disable it.  For the time that I have spent trying to figure things out, it appears that having the ability to disable certain things, is important to the success of ones unraid build.

 

Description of TXT

• Intel® Trusted Execution Technology for safer computing is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel® processors and chipsets that enhance the digital office platform with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. It enables an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system.
  

 

I also see some chips that have Execute Disable Bit.  This does not seem to be a filter option but is listed under the cpu description section Intel® Platform Protection Technology

 

Execute Disable Bit

• is a hardware-based security feature that can reduce exposure to viruses and malicious-code attacks and prevent harmful software from executing and propagating on the server or network.
   
  

There are other options that can be selected but it is unclear to me what items should be set to YES, which ones should be set to NO, and which ones don't matter.

 

• Technologies
  
• Intel Turbo Boost Technology (options are 1, 2, NO)
  
• Intel Hyper-Threading Technology (YES or NO)
  
• Intel Wireless Display (YES or NO)
  
• Intel Quick Sync Video (YES or NO)
  
• Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) (YES or NO)
  
• Intel VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT) (YES or NO)
  
• Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) (I have this set to YES)
  
• AES New Instructions (YES or NO)
  
• Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology (YES or NO)
  
• Intel Demand Based Switching (YES or NO)
  
• Trusted Execution Technology (also called TXT) (YES or NO)
  
• Intel 64 (I have this set to YES)
  
• Intel vPro Technology (YES or NO)
  

 

I am guessing VT-d which has IOMMU DMA remapping would be most ideal.

 

Should I select YES for any of the other features to get a list of the most compatible CPUs?

Should I select NO for some to be sure to avoid them?

 

Here is my understanding of what one may want in a CPU to get the most out of visualization (I understand that some may have specific wants based on their current build, but this is specific to virtualization, and unless there is a strong recommendation it is not for filtering socket type, speed, cache size, core count, ....:

 

• VT-d with IOMMU support (I am not sure if VT-d that do not support IOMMU, but definitely want IOMMU)
  
• needs to support OVMF/UEFI  (I am not sure if this is somehow the same as IOMMU or is an additional feature needed)
  
• Not sure if there should be other must or must nots for a CPU
  

 

 

If anyone has used Intel's Feature filter to find the best cpu, and give me some pointers I would greatly appreciate it.

A Good, Better, Best list of CPU's would be awesome. 

 

Thanks,

 

Albin