Xeon for a gaming PC

[Xavier Wells]

After Significant research, I've decided that it would be best to put a xeon in a gaming pc, because for the price $203 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084NUZX2/?tag=pcpapi-20, you could maybe pick up a lower end I5 that would still not have the power of this xeon. So say we were to put everything aside, would you prefer a lower end I5 or a xeon e3 1240 v2. Just a raw comparison between two cpus in an equal spec computers w/ graphics card. Just food for thought. Leave your opinion for I am curious.

 

[napster100]

I've always thought of the Xeon series being more for server side. But it could work.

 

[Xavier Wells]

Yes I have too, but just think of the possibility, as it is theoretically more powerful than an i5 at the price point. I just don't want to waste money to try it

 

[Xavier Wells]

Also hyperthreading could be useful to some users

 

[Beezy]

while xeons make great server solutions, i think it should do just fine for gaming too. I thought a v3 1230 xeon was = to an i7 4770 without the integrated graphics. im guessing a v2 1240 is similar..

the most notable difference with the xeons/things to consider are:
-lower silicon quality and no overclockability.
-motherboard compatibility.
-no iGPU

 

[napster100]

Well people run servers (more so game hosting servers) on i7's lol, and oddly SSDs despite it's low R/W count haha, so why could't it work the other way around?

 

[napster100]

while xeons make great server solutions, i think it should do just fine for gaming too. I thought a v3 1230 xeon was = to an i7 4770 without the integrated graphics. im guessing a v2 1240 is similar..

the most notable difference with the xeons/things to consider are:
-lower silicon quality and no overclockability.
-motherboard compatibility.
-no iGPU

May I ask, what is an iGPU?

 

[Xavier Wells]

Well people run servers (more so game hosting servers) on i7's lol, and oddly SSDs despite it's low R/W count haha, so why could't it work the other way around?

Right you understand (I accidentally picked it as top answer in a moment of someone understanding)

 

[Xavier Wells]

while xeons make great server solutions, i think it should do just fine for gaming too. I thought a v3 1230 xeon was = to an i7 4770 without the integrated graphics. im guessing a v2 1240 is similar..

the most notable difference with the xeons/things to consider are:
-lower silicon quality and no overclockability.
-motherboard compatibility.
-no iGPU

May I ask, what is an iGPU?

Integrated graphics processing unit (a fancy way of saying integrated graphics)

 

[Beezy]

Also hyperthreading could be useful to some users

while xeons make great server solutions, i think it should do just fine for gaming too. I thought a v3 1230 xeon was = to an i7 4770 without the integrated graphics. im guessing a v2 1240 is similar..

the most notable difference with the xeons/things to consider are:
-lower silicon quality and no overclockability.
-motherboard compatibility.
-no iGPU

May I ask, what is an iGPU?

integratedGraphicsProcessingUnit

basically built in graphic ability. FX chips for example have no iGPU, just like the Xeon. They need a dedicated graphics card to run like an r9 270X or gtx 780ti or whatever graphics card you get your hands on

 

[napster100]

Well people run servers (more so game hosting servers) on i7's lol, and oddly SSDs despite it's low R/W count haha, so why could't it work the other way around?

Right you understand (I accidentally picked it as top answer in a moment of someone understanding)

Yes haha, it's not a definite answer to your question. So I thought it might have been a mistake.

 

[napster100]

Also hyperthreading could be useful to some users

while xeons make great server solutions, i think it should do just fine for gaming too. I thought a v3 1230 xeon was = to an i7 4770 without the integrated graphics. im guessing a v2 1240 is similar..

the most notable difference with the xeons/things to consider are:
-lower silicon quality and no overclockability.
-motherboard compatibility.
-no iGPU

May I ask, what is an iGPU?

integratedGraphicsProcessingUnit

basically built in graphic ability. FX chips for example have no iGPU, just like the Xeon. They need a dedicated graphics card to run like an r9 270X or gtx 780ti or whatever graphics card you get your hands on

Oh okay. The last I knew about onboard graphics was the chip being on the mobo?

 

[Damn_Rookie]

That Xeon you mentioned (E3-1240V2) is basically an i7-3770 but with the integrated graphics fused off (there are a few other differences). They're recommended quite often for certain users here on Tom's Hardware.

If you're not planning to overclock either way, the Xeon is a better choice for certain uses than a low end i5, as you get the benefit of hyper-threading. Yes, there are some that will say that hyper-threading isn't of any use in games, but it's not as simple as that.

You only have to compare the gaming performance of a pentium (2 core) to an i3 (2 core plus hyper-threading) to see just how much of a difference it can make. The reason the i5-4670K (4 core) is normally recommended over the more expensive i7-4770K (4 core plus hyper-threading) isn't due to hyper-threading 'not being useful for games', it's due to the fact that only a relatively small number of games scale to more than four cores, so the increased cost doesn't seem worth it for the currently very limited benefit to gaming

Are games going to use more cores as time goes on? Who can say? But if they do? Well, the Xeon would be a good choice. Plus the hyper-threading will come in handy for any multi-threaded productivity applications you may use in the future.

(Just keep in mind that that particular Xeon is a socket 1155 chip, so needs an older generation motherboard).


EDIT: Whoops, didn't see all the other answers when I submitted mine! Had the question open for a bit before answering it! :-S

 

[napster100]

That Xeon you mentioned (E3-1240V2) is basically an i7-3770 but with the integrated graphics fused off (there are a few other differences). They're recommended quite often for certain users here on Tom's Hardware.

If you're not planning to overclock either way, the Xeon is a better choice for certain uses than a low end i5, as you get the benefit of hyper-threading. Yes, there are some that will say that hyper-threading isn't of any use in games, but it's not as simple as that.

You only have to compare the gaming performance of a pentium (2 core) to an i3 (2 core plus hyper-threading) to see just how much of a difference it can make. The reason the i5-4670K (4 core) is normally recommended over the more expensive i7-4770K (4 core plus hyper-threading) isn't due to hyper-threading 'not being useful for games', it's due to the fact that only a relatively small number of games scale to more than four cores, so the increased cost doesn't seem worth it for the currently very limited benefit to gaming

Are games going to use more cores as time goes on? Who can say? But if they do? Well, the Xeon would be a good choice. Plus the hyper-threading will come in handy for any multi-threaded productivity applications you may use in the future.

(Just keep in mind that that particular Xeon is a socket 1155 chip, so needs an older generation motherboard).


EDIT: Whoops, didn't see all the other answers when I submitted mine! Had the question open for a bit before answering it! :-S

I agree completely with this Why spend more if it's not going to be wasted?

 

[leeb2013]

I would definitely get the Xeon. You would basically get I7 performance. I've just switched from an I5-3570k to a Xeon. My I5 overclocked very well and ran at 4.4GHz 24/7, but the Xeon at 3.4GHz beats it at almost everything whilst running 15C cooler and only consuming around 45W. Games are now using 8 cores/threads, BF4, Thief, Watchdogs will and many more upcoming games. I found a big difference in BF4, the demand on the CPU dropped by nearly 50%.

 

[EpicWindz]

Well, i salvaged an Xeon E3-1245v2 out of an old computer I Found laying around, so, I plan on buying a motherboard with the LGA1155 socket type to fit this CPU. Also, the 1245v2 is apperently the same as a i7 2700k. So, if the Xeon turns out to be fried, I will buy a i5 3579K, i7 2700k, or a i7 3770K. But, it all depends on prices, and performance. But, my build has about $900 remaining, so, in anywhere from 5-10 weeks, I'll be able to tell you how the Xeon preforms in games!! (with whatever gpu that I choose)