Should I buy this used Xeon??

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Ali Tauseef

Ali Tauseef

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Hi everyone!
So I've been watching videos on used CPUs alot and it seems to work out for everyone. I have an i3 540 and I was thinking if I should get this Xeon X3440 I found on ebay for 26$. Since I don't actually live in America I'll be asking my cousin to buy it for me and bring it on his next visit to Pakistan. The seller seems to have a good rating.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-Xeon-CPU-X3440-2-53GHZ-8MB-LGA1156-SLBLF-USED-/182397067820?hash=item2a77b6622c:g:99MAAOSwux5YXAqa
What do you think?
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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It should be a worthwhile upgrade for a cheap price. It's not going to get you 'cutting edge' performance, but there should be enough gains to justify a $26 outlay.

Just make sure there are reports of people running an X3440 on the particular motherboard you have. I believe most P55 boards worked with it just fine (albeit not displaying the X3440 as 'officially' supported). H55 boards, not so much .
 
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Ali Tauseef

Ali Tauseef

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Don't know what you mean by "work" since I'm pretty sure the socket is the only thing that matters and it's the right one.



Hmm I understand that. I am afraid it will still bottleneck my 1060 compared to the i3 540.

Well you're right, I had a bad experience previously with an i5 760 so I am thinking now that that was the fault. I found some guy on YouTube a week ago I remember who said he ran it well on this same board. I'll have to clarify, thanks.
 
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VincentP

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You would have to check the CPU support list for your motherboard, and make sure you fitted a suitable CPU cooler if you wanted to use this.
The X3440 is a four core CPU with hyper-threading, but it has lower clock speed than your current CPU. I you run CPU intensive programs it might help, but I don't think it will be much different in games.
 
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captaincharisma

captaincharisma

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Xenon is a server CPU and motherboard manufacturers usually don't support Xenon CPU's on motherboard designed forcommercial intel Core CPU's . also the motherboard may have an old BIOS version that doesn't support certain CPU's
 
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James Mason

James Mason

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Basically, it'll be slower in regular windows tasks and many older games, but faster in select new games and CPU heavy programs.

And as others have said, you have to look make sure your motherboard is compatible with it, otherwise you're boned. Go to your motherboard manufacturer's product page and it should have a list of supported CPUs under there.
 
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Ali Tauseef

Ali Tauseef

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You're right and I checked the compatibility list many times and did again to make sure, to clarify to you guys.

And on an update I just found another video with a guy on the same processor and motherboard and I also asked which CPU cooler he has.
About the CPU cooler, since I am limited on space in my case I can only choose 150 mm or less so currently I have a plan for a Cryorig C7.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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And the Xeon shows o nthe compatibility list? As I mentioned, most P55 boards were fine (whether listed on the compatibility list or not), but best to do your homework and establish if others have got the pair working as intended - sounds like you've done that.

An X3440 is a 95W TDP, a Cryorig C7 should be more than capable.
 
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Ali Tauseef

Ali Tauseef

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Yes, don't know if you saw my previous comment but I did all that. I also messaged the guy to see if he oc'ed or not, let's see.

UPDATE: Found another video with the same motherboard. This guy has a Xeon X3470 which is just like a higher clocked version of the X3440.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=925ITmABVLw
 
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VincentP

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You only need to check it once. Are you saying the CPU is on the supported CPU list?
I would never trust a video or review showing one user got an unsupported configuration working.

Other than that, the xeon will be slower when only using two cores, faster in situations where you can utilize all four cores.
You would be better to get a Core i5 760, which has a higher turbo frequency. Games benefit very little from hyper threading on a 4 core CPU.

The CPU cooler doesn't need to be anything special, a Coolermaster 212 Evo would do the job. Whatever cooler you use, the main thing is to ensure it is installed correctly with new thermal paste (or a pad if that is what it comes with).


 
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Ali Tauseef

Ali Tauseef

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I just needed a double check, to make sure. Yes it is, actually all of the 1156 processors seem to be there: http://processormatch.intel.com/Processors/CompatibleProcessors?componentName=dh55tc

Yeah I actually play some older games so it would be a disadvantage. But I've wanted to play many of the newer titles but couldn't because the i3 kept letting me down. Nah I wouldn't, way more expensive compared to this and I've seen some benchmarks and not satisfied.

Yeah will check on that still not even sure about the C7.
 
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VincentP

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You are really fighting a losing battle if trying to improve performance on this platform. Intel made some pretty significant improvements in the second generation Core i3/i5/i7 processors (2XXX), and we're up to 7th generation now. Even the Core i3 7300 is a significant step up from these CPUs.
 
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Ali Tauseef

Ali Tauseef

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Look if I'm asking something here just answer it and if you don't have knowledge then don't come up opposing me like an idiot. I plan on upgrading to the next gen after this processor upgrade and I'm well aware of what's going on in the CPU market at the moment.
Thanks for your suggestion.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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@Ali Tauseef we can debate this, but avoid the personal attacks.

I don't think that was how VincentP intended it. Pretty sure they were simply pointing out that you're not going to see huge improvements with this "upgrade", as it's such dated technology.


James Mason hit the nail on the head earlier in the thread:



Only you can decide if the X3440 is right for you (and it appears you have if you've ruled out the 1st Gen i5's).
You're leaning towards the C7, which is a nice cooler - probably a little overkill, but it'll work just fine.


Is there anything else you haven't received an answer for?
 
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VincentP

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So what are you asking?
You didn't list your motherboard so we suggested you check the CPU support list.
You've been given advice on performance of this CPU relative to your current one.
What else do you want to know?

You are looking to upgrade one part of a six year old platform.
There are certainly no guarantees on how long it will keep working, and any performance gain will be minimal compared to a new platform.
The particular CPU you are asking about is a particularly poor choice as it will have lower performance in lightly threaded workloads, which includes many games.
 
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