Do HP use "special" versions of Intel Xeons? I.e do they have a microcode in there meaning that only "HP" CPU's can be used in their servers? Or is it possible to purchase an off the shelf Xeon X3450 ...

I wanted to post something here because I first learned about the Mediasmart servers in a thread in this part of the Ars forum, and I have nothing but good things to say about it (I have an EX470 and ...