Best used Xeon? (1366)

Bloo42 · May 26, 2017

I have a 1366 motherboard in my primary pc. My current rig goes:
•Asus Strix GTX 950
•8GB DDR3 1600 (Actually 16, but the motherboard only supports 2GB per DIMM)
•Intel Xeon W3550 4C/8T @3.1GHz
I want to know if there is any of those famous "dirt cheap" used Xeons I can upgrade to that will maximize the usage of the rest of my hardware. I've found that the performance of the W3550 is a tad bit less than an i5 3470, and I know that's not as far as my GPU will go.

MrN1ce9uy · May 26, 2017

There is the X5670, but it's only 1 gen newer and the same boost clock speed (actually lower base clock speed). Not a lot of difference as far as gaming goes, maybe a slight boost in fps.

I would suggest going for a new CPU/Mobo/RAM combo.

tomgang · May 27, 2017

If your motherboard can support (google it) Xeon X5650/60/70, then they are the xeons for you with 6 cores. They overclock great and are very cheap on ebay.

But about your memory. 8 GB? You do know that X58 is triple channel memory support right. That means for bedst performence you shut use 3 or 6 stick of memory and that is normaly 6 or 12 GB of ram. Just a hint for better performence.

bambiboom · May 28, 2017

Bloo42 :

Bloo42,

The Xeon LGA1366's were a great series. The top performing 4-core is the Xeon X5687 4C@ 3.6 /3.86GHz ,130W. Passmark CPU Mark = 7138 / Single Thread Mark = 1572. For comparison, the figures for the W3550 are: 5731 / 1357. Today, the X5687 is available for less than the orignal $1,663:

XEON CPU X5687 12M 3.60GHZ 40 QPI SLBVY > $48

For the 6-core, use a "W" instead of an "X" designation as the X-series are for dual configurations and lose a small amount of performance. For 6-core, the Xeon W3690 6C@ 3.46 /3.73GHz, 130W is the top performer. Passmark CPU Mark = 9435 / Single Thread Mark = 1560. :

Intel Xeon W3690 SLBW2 3.46 GHz Six Core (AT80613005931AB) > $115

The choice is of course whether the extra cores are of use, or is the single thread performance the key.

If you do upgrade the CPU- especially a 6-core, consider also improving the CPU cooling.

I have two LGA1366 systems:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X Xeon X5680 (6-core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB + WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 > CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)

Dell Precision T3500 (2011) (Rev 2) Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz > 12GB (6X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > Quadro 4000 (2GB) > PERC 6/i + Seagate 300GB 15K SAS ST3300657SS + WD Black 500GB > 525W PSU> Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell 19" LCD
[Passmark system rating = 2751> CPU = 7236 / 2D= 658 / 3D=2020 / Mem= 1875 / Disk=1221]

The Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz is another to consider,

Build Your Own Dell T3500 Workstation 4-Core 3.46GHz X5677, 12GB, NO GPU, No OS Wholesale > $175

These perform completely adequately on current software and have been 100% reliable.

If you have demanding visualization applications though be aware that first series Xeon E5-1600 and 2600 series can also be very reasonable and will have significantly better single-thread performance of the same clock speed: Xeon E5-1620 (4C@ 3.6/3.8GHz) = 9091 / 1933 :

Intel Xeon E5-1620 Quad-Core 3.6GHz SR0LC > $44.50

So, a bit less than the cheapest X5687.

And if you have an LGA2011 motherboard, will support up to 8-core CPU's- the v2 supports up to 14-core, runs 64GB of DDR3-1600 instead of 24GB of DDR3-1333 and has SATAIII and USB 3.0.

How about:

HP Workstation Z420 (320GB, Intel Xeon E5-1620, 3.6GHz, 16GB) > $220

I have two HP z420 and these are extremely quiet and ultra reliable.

Just to put the upgrade into perspective in terms of benefit for the cost.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z620_2 (2017) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8-core@ 4.1GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1866 ECC Reg / Quadro P2000 5GB / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB + Intel 730 480GB + Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB / ASUS Essence STX PCIe sound card / 825W PSU / Windows 7 Prof.’l 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) / Logitech z2300 2.1 Sound

[Passmark Rating = 6166 / CPU rating = 16934 / 2D = 820 / 3D= 8849 / Mem = 2991 / Disk = 13794] 4.24.17 Single Thread Mark = 2252

HP z420 (2015) (Rev 5) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.2GHz) / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM / Quadro P2000 (4GB) / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> Creative SB X-Fi Titanium + Logitech z2300 2.1 speakers > 600W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)
[ Passmark Rating = 5920 > CPU= 15129 / 2D= 855 / 3D= 8945 / Mem= 2906 / Disk= 8576] [6.12.16] Single-Thread Mark = 2322 [4.20.17]

Bloo42 · May 28, 2017

bambiboom :

Bloo42,

The Xeon LGA1366's were a great series. The top performing 4-core is the Xeon X5687 4C@ 3.6 /3.86GHz ,130W. Passmark CPU Mark = 7138 / Single Thread Mark = 1572. For comparison, the figures for the W3550 are: 5731 / 1357. Today, the X5687 is available for less than the orignal $1,663:

XEON CPU X5687 12M 3.60GHZ 40 QPI SLBVY > $48

For the 6-core, use a "W" instead of an "X" designation as the X-series are for dual configurations and lose a small amount of performance. For 6-core, the Xeon W3690 6C@ 3.46 /3.73GHz, 130W is the top performer. Passmark CPU Mark = 9435 / Single Thread Mark = 1560. :

Intel Xeon W3690 SLBW2 3.46 GHz Six Core (AT80613005931AB) > $115

The choice is of course whether the extra cores are of use, or is the single thread performance the key.

If you do upgrade the CPU- especially a 6-core, consider also improving the CPU cooling.

I have two LGA1366 systems:

Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X Xeon X5680 (6-core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB + WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 > CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)

Dell Precision T3500 (2011) (Rev 2) Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz > 12GB (6X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > Quadro 4000 (2GB) > PERC 6/i + Seagate 300GB 15K SAS ST3300657SS + WD Black 500GB > 525W PSU> Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell 19" LCD
[Passmark system rating = 2751> CPU = 7236 / 2D= 658 / 3D=2020 / Mem= 1875 / Disk=1221]

The Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz is another to consider,

Build Your Own Dell T3500 Workstation 4-Core 3.46GHz X5677, 12GB, NO GPU, No OS Wholesale > $175

These perform completely adequately on current software and have been 100% reliable.

If you have demanding visualization applications though be aware that first series Xeon E5-1600 and 2600 series can also be very reasonable and will have significantly better single-thread performance of the same clock speed: Xeon E5-1620 (4C@ 3.6/3.8GHz) = 9091 / 1933 :

Intel Xeon E5-1620 Quad-Core 3.6GHz SR0LC > $44.50

So, a bit less than the cheapest X5687.

And if you have an LGA2011 motherboard, will support up to 8-core CPU's- the v2 supports up to 14-core, runs 64GB of DDR3-1600 instead of 24GB of DDR3-1333 and has SATAIII and USB 3.0.

How about:

HP Workstation Z420 (320GB, Intel Xeon E5-1620, 3.6GHz, 16GB) > $220

I have two HP z420 and these are extremely quiet and ultra reliable.

Just to put the upgrade into perspective in terms of benefit for the cost.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z620_2 (2017) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8-core@ 4.1GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1866 ECC Reg / Quadro P2000 5GB / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB + Intel 730 480GB + Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB / ASUS Essence STX PCIe sound card / 825W PSU / Windows 7 Prof.’l 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) / Logitech z2300 2.1 Sound

[Passmark Rating = 6166 / CPU rating = 16934 / 2D = 820 / 3D= 8849 / Mem = 2991 / Disk = 13794] 4.24.17 Single Thread Mark = 2252

HP z420 (2015) (Rev 5) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.2GHz) / 32GB DDR3 -1866 ECC RAM / Quadro P2000 (4GB) / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB AHCI + Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) + Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> Creative SB X-Fi Titanium + Logitech z2300 2.1 speakers > 600W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)
[ Passmark Rating = 5920 > CPU= 15129 / 2D= 855 / 3D= 8945 / Mem= 2906 / Disk= 8576] [6.12.16] Single-Thread Mark = 2322 [4.20.17]

Thank you so much! My primary task is gaming and video editing, but I also do 3D rendering so both multithreaded and single threaded performance is required.

I have the HP z400 which is what I put my parts in. I'm probably going to be investing in the X5687 or the E5-1620.

bambiboom · May 28, 2017

Bloo42 :

Bloo42,

To clarify, the X5687 is LGA1366 and the E5-1620 is LGA2011.

If the applications include video editing, CPU rendering, and gaming, consider selling the HP z400, adding the upgrade budget, and buying an HP z420 with a Xeon E5-1650 6-core @3.2/2.8GHz), or better, an E5-1650 v2 (6-core @ 3.5/3.9GHz).

HP Z420 WORKSTATION Hexa Six 6 CORE XEON E5-1650 V2 3.50GHz/32GB/250Gb/Win 7 A2D > $549

=And that has 32GB of RAM. That will need a GPU and I'd suggest a used Quadro K620 2GB or GTX 1050Ti.

Either of those will have higher compute rates (Passmark 11803 or 12656) and very good single-thread performance (1924 / 1967). Importantly, the RAM will be DDR3-1600 or DDR3-1866, the disk is SATAIII 6GB/s and USB 3.0. Having an E5-1650 v2 series system could add another two or three years to the system life as you could change the E5-1620 V2 to an fast 8-core like the E5-2667 v2 8-core @ 3.3 / 4.0GHz). By that time, those should be reasonably priced.

If the budget is tight though, a z400 with a Xeon X5687 should be quite good. Have the full 24GB of RAM if possible- video editing and rendering both need all you can supply. I tried to run a 3180 X 2460 VRay rendering on an HP z420 /E5-1660 v2 /32GB RAM system and there was not enough RAM to set it up- it needed 37.1GB. That's one reasons I now have an 8-core z620 with 64GB of RAM that also has a Single Thread Mark of 2252.

As mentioned, I like LGA1366 very much, but if this is for professional-level applications, an LGA2011 system will be a much better - and longer term investment for the cost and effort.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

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