Two slower Xeon processors, or one newer one?

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Shadow12347

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Sep 19, 2012
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10,510
Hello,

I am currently looking to upgrade my computer to something a little beefier, and I was wondering about this. I found a Precision T5400 for a really good price which has dual 3.0ghz quad core processors, and 32gb ram. It doesn't have hyperthreading, but it has four real cores in each processor for a total of 8. Would something like this be faster than, say, a single newer quad core E3 xeon running at 3.3ghz which has 4 real cores and 4 virtual?

In addition, would the difference of having DDR2 instead of DDR3 ram affect performance a lot? I currently have 8gb DDR3 1600 ram and am not sure whether it would be beneficial to have more ram or faster ram for my usage (mainly gaming, with programming, virtual machines, cloud etc. and potentially at the same time)?

As a note, I would be putting an ssd in it and my current graphics card as well, so that would stay constant, I am more so looking at the processor and ram differences here.

Thanks!
Sean
 
Solution
Ironsounds
Hello... 1) http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5660+%40+2.80GHz&id=1305&cpuCount=2 $194
2) I would be sure that a 2Rx4 ECC sticks will work in your MB... they make so many types ( 1R 2R, x4 x8 ECC non-Ecc ) My MB uses 2Rx8 HIGH density Non ECC 8gb per slot type memory, Typical consumer available Memory. Not all memory communicates and operates the same, even tho they look and Fit the same.
3) As I said earlier Memory Compatability is the hardest thing to research and is my only concern here... so you don't go through a 'Try and See' type learning process with these server type boards.
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Ironsounds

Ironsounds

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Jul 31, 2011
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Hello.. here is a Performance chart for Multi-CPU's http://www.cpubenchmark.net/multi_cpu.html I have a E3 1240 v2 ( i7-3770 ) here is my chart https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E3-1240+V2+%40+3.40GHz&id=1190
You need to becareful with the Xeon name... There are so many 3.0ghz models, but are real slow compared to new consumer CPU's.
Current intel models have THE memory controller now in the CPU it self, and 1600 DDR3 is the current design Spec. Older models ( DDR2 ) used a seperate Memory controller mounted on the MB... this new intergration has improved the speed of memory and overall performance.
I bought my E3 1240 v2 for $200, the only difference is you will not get onboard CPU/IGT or Graphics... but other model Xeon's do have IGT too.
Here is BIG long list of Xeon History and specs if you want to shop other possible models... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors
The V2 model will be 1155 MB the V3 model will be 1150 MB... http://www.ebay.com/itm/SR0P5-Intel-Xeon-E3-1240V2-8M-Cache-3-40-GHz-5-GT-s-FCLGA1155-/111500009243?pt=CPUs&hash=item19f5eb1f1b
Most the DELL you are referring too, are off rental/lease contracts, If you Google your software You might see HT is enabled in them and there will be forums with discussions on this very Same subject... as I have too investigated the same upgrade path before getting my E3 1240 v2. I am a Sonar user, and HT is enabled in the 64 bit software... and the software see's and uses 8 cores in processing.
 
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Shadow12347

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Sep 19, 2012
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I see. I was not aware of that change haha.
Well, after looking at that chart, if I still wanted to go the dual xeon route I would have to invest a little bit more. I'm sure I could find a good deal for one that is DDR3, but I am not sure which would be a better option there...
And I don't mind about not having internal graphics, because it just wastes power and creates extra heat if you use a dedicated card ;)

Edit:
What if I bought these and stuck them in my existing computer?

2 of these processors:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SLBV6-INTEL-XEON-SIX-CORE-X5660-2-8GHz-12MB-6-4GT-s-PROC-/131184537717?pt=US_Server_CPUs_Processors&hash=item1e8b353075

1 set of this ram (for now):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Server-RAM-16GB-4x-4GB-PC3-10600R-ECC-Registered-DDR3-1333-2Rx4-DIMM-Memory-LOT-/301380195671?hash=item462ba8d557

and this motherboard:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/X8DTi-F-SuperMicro-Motherboard-Dual-Socket-LGA1366-2-heatsinks-2-Fans-I-O-/201102102526?pt=Motherboards&hash=item2ed29e8ffe

This seems to be a relatively cheap option for a quite significant upgrade in power.
 
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Ironsounds

Ironsounds

Champion
Jul 31, 2011
10,403
4
56,960
Hello... 1) http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5660+%40+2.80GHz&id=1305&cpuCount=2 $194
2) I would be sure that a 2Rx4 ECC sticks will work in your MB... they make so many types ( 1R 2R, x4 x8 ECC non-Ecc ) My MB uses 2Rx8 HIGH density Non ECC 8gb per slot type memory, Typical consumer available Memory. Not all memory communicates and operates the same, even tho they look and Fit the same.
3) As I said earlier Memory Compatability is the hardest thing to research and is my only concern here... so you don't go through a 'Try and See' type learning process with these server type boards.
 
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Solution
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Shadow12347

Honorable
Sep 19, 2012
9
0
10,510
Yeah, that definitely seems to be a great option. It sucks that I have to buy the motherboard and ram for it too, but buying all three is only about 100 more expensive than the price of the original Dell that I found, and it has a score of over 4000 higher than that computer lol. I think I have found my solution. Thank you very much!

Edit:
Oh, yes, I will be careful about the ram as well. I will look into that before purchasing any :). Thanks for the heads up.
 
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