Old Xeon Workstation Comparison

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

So I live in Croatia and I found a seller listing off a few of his old Xeon Workstations. So I'm wondering if any of these can still be used today for E-sports gaming and Low/Mid AAA games. All of the computers are listed for 340$-400$ (around the same price for a brand new 1060 6 gb here). They all come with either a R7 370 4 gb or a R9 280 3 GB.

Here are the specs of the computers:

- Dell Precision T5400 Workstation 2x Intel Xeon X5460 (32 gb of Ram)
- HP Z400 Workstation X5672 (12 gb of Ram) (or one of the following processors: E5645, E5649, X5650)
- HP Z400 Workstation W3550 or X5647 (12 gb of Ram)

I know that there are a lot of processors here, but I honestly don't know a thing about Xeon processors. Considering that my only "Computer" right now is a Hp Notebook with a Celeron processor clocked at a blazing 1.7 GHz which has trouble running windows 7 and 1080p playback, I'd say that any of these would be an upgrade. Anyways, thanks for the help in advance!

kanewolf · Sep 12, 2017

If these really are servers and not workstation chassis, the will be very LOUD. Not something you would want in your bedroom for instance.

why_wolf · Sep 12, 2017

X5460 is a 4 core CPU, though I'm assuming its in a dual CPU motherboard so a total of 8 cores. But from 2007.

E5645, E5649, X5650 are all 6 core / 12 thread CPUs. All under 3.0 GHz too.

The X5672, W3550 and X5647 are 4/8 CPUs and all can go over 3.0 GHz.

They are all from the 2010-2011 cycle. So they are all quite old at this point.

The X5672 looks like the best to me. Base clock of 3.2 GHz and turbo to 3.6 GHz. Though if you are doing some production work (video, 3d modeling) having more core/threads can be more useful than the faster clock speed.

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

kanewolf :

Sorry I misused the terms, they are workstations but with server processors. I realize now that having a loud server 30 inches from my head would be "slightly" inconvenient.

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

why_wolf :

Well in the next year or so I should be graduating high school at the field of Mechatronics. (High schools in Croatia are really different than those in the states), so I will definitely need to do some modeling and programming.

why_wolf · Sep 12, 2017

Luka_36 :

If the programs you are going to end up using support multi-threading than the 6/12 CPUs are probably a better choice for you in the long run. I would also consider how much RAM you think Mechatronic programs may eat as well. Engineering programs love RAM so that 32 GB dual CPU model, even if it is from 2007, might be a good choice just to get that RAM if you think buying additional RAM for the others later on will be a problem.

why_wolf · Sep 12, 2017

Ah I also forgot to add what OS are these guys running. Last thing you want is old hardware and an old OS.

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

why_wolf :

Everything is running Windows 10 64-bit, and for the processors I'll try digging up some benchmarks from Youtube or just from browsing forums. The only problem is that all of the Youtube benchmarks are in the Cyrillic alphabet so I have absolutely no idea at what setting the person is running his games...

kanewolf · Sep 12, 2017

You will have to run Windows Professional or better with a dual socket motherboard.

XM Keeper · Sep 12, 2017

That Dell is on the ancient LGA 771 socket. That is dated.

I would definitely go for one of the Z400s. The CPUs this guy is including are Westmere, so those Z400s must be the 2nd version with 6 ram slots and support for the later Westmere CPUs, such as the W3670, W3680, and W3690 six core processors.

Those Z400 are probably more than good enough low end games. Some newer games are adding multi-threading to CPUs beyond 4 cores, giving these machines a lot more life. There are some limitations, though.

There really isn't an upgrade path beyond 6 core Cpus up to 3.46ghz or quads up to 3.6.

RAM is Triple channel DDR3 capped at 1333mhz. Also, these are workstations, non-ecc ram may not run.

No supported overclocking for CPU or RAM. I have heard of someone overclocking with SetFSB, but never actually seen it.

PCI-E gen 2. Not too big of a deal. But it is a downside.

I think you should go for one of the Z400s. But tell us, what specific games are you playing? Certain games like CSGO will favor higher clocked quads over slower six cores, while games that run on Frostbite will do much better on CPUs with more threads.

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

XM Keeper :

Games like Cs:go, overwatch, paladins, Call of duty 2 aka. The best call of duty, bioshock infinite, kerbal space program, some indie strategy games like Rimworld, and maybe a random AAA game that I find interesting. Also in the case of cs:go though I'm aiming at 60fps 1080p with medium/high settings, and I think that should be achievable.

XM Keeper · Sep 12, 2017

Luka_36 :

Given your game library is on the older side, I would recommend the HP Z400 with the X5672, as it has the highest clock speed of the bunch and is a Westmere, which means that Z400 is the later revision. It comes with 12gb of RAM, which should be running in triple channel. That should definitely be enough RAM for those games. I'm not too familiar with AMD video cards, but that R9 280 looks like more than enough for those games, again.

If at any point in the future, you need to upgrade, a Six core Xeon W3680 or W3690 would make a decent choice, especially if you get in to 3D rendering or anything that favors multithreading (I don't know what CPU cooler yours comes with, so you may have to upgrade that too). That Z400 supports up to 24gb of RAM. It would be a good idea to get another 12gb of the exact RAM that is already in there, but we have no idea what that is anyway. Graphics card upgrade would be anything you wanted, but I don't think anything much higher than a GTX 1060/1070 or RX 480 would be ideal, it would likely begin to get bottlenecked by even the best CPU the Z400 supports.

It seems that where ever you are, computers and parts are a little more expensive than in the US or other markets. I don't know how much it would cost to build a computer where you are, but I'm pretty sure it would cost quite a bit more than $400. I think the Z400 is a good enough deal. I know in the US you can find a barebones one (no cpu or gpu) on ebay for under $100.

You also never mentioned what kind of hard drive it came with or if it came with an operating system. If those are included, I'd like to say go for it.

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

XM Keeper :

Luka_36 :

Given your game library is on the older side, I would recommend the HP Z400 with the X5672, as it has the highest clock speed of the bunch and is a Westmere, which means that Z400 is the later revision. It comes with 12gb of RAM, which should be running in triple channel. That should definitely be enough RAM for those games. I'm not too familiar with AMD video cards, but that R9 280 looks like more than enough for those games, again.

If at any point in the future, you need to upgrade, a Six core Xeon W3680 or W3690 would make a decent choice, especially if you get in to 3D rendering or anything that favors multithreading (I don't know what CPU cooler yours comes with, so you may have to upgrade that too). That Z400 supports up to 24gb of RAM. It would be a good idea to get another 12gb of the exact RAM that is already in there, but we have no idea what that is anyway. Graphics card upgrade would be anything you wanted, but I don't think anything much higher than a GTX 1060/1070 or RX 480 would be ideal, it would likely begin to get bottlenecked by even the best CPU the Z400 supports.

It seems that where ever you are, computers and parts are a little more expensive than in the US or other markets. I don't know how much it would cost to build a computer where you are, but I'm pretty sure it would cost quite a bit more than $400. I think the Z400 is a good enough deal. I know in the US you can find a barebones one (no cpu or gpu) on ebay for under $100.

You also never mentioned what kind of hard drive it came with or if it came with an operating system. If those are included, I'd like to say go for it.

Well the more expensive parts are the 1366 motherboards, and ebay isn't really an option since no one really ships from the US to Croatia, and even if they did the import fees and VAT would rank the price upwards of 35%-45%. And considering the average wages are around 800$ you could see how that's a slight issue. But anyways thanks for the help, much appreciated!

XM Keeper · Sep 12, 2017

You're welcome.

If you ever do pull the trigger and buy something, it would be cool if you could update us and tell us how it worked out.

Luka_36 · Sep 12, 2017

XM Keeper :

Definitely, I'll probably go for the Z400, but I'm still looking around. When I buy something I'll post some benchmarks as well.

Luka_36 · Sep 19, 2017

Update:
Just received the Z400 Workstation. On first hand I'm quite happy with it. It does all the stuff that I need it to do. In Cinebench R15 it got a score of 472, and i didn't do any more benchmarks. If anyone would like me to do any feel free to ask.

XM Keeper · Sep 19, 2017

Luka_36 :

Which CPU and GPU did it come with?

Luka_36 · Sep 19, 2017

XM Keeper :

The CPU is the X5672 and the GPU is the R7 370, sadly the R9 was sold

Old Xeon Workstation Comparison

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