2 x Intel Xeon Quad-Core E5620 (2.40GHz, 12MB L3 Cache)

[Hriso156]

is 2 x Intel Xeon Quad-Core E5620 (2.40GHz, 12MB L3 Cache) good for gaming ? im asking for a friend

 

[AbhiTheBoss]

Most games won't be able two use more than one CPU.
But anyways running one of them would be pretty fine for gaming if he buys a nice GPU to go with it

 

[Eximo]

I believe I saw a recent video where someone, I think it was Linus, had taken two old xeons, and proved that they perform quite well in newer titles like BF1 and Ashes of the Singularity. DX12 and the making of games more multi-thread friendly is breathing new life into those old beasts.

They did point out that it wasn't the most convenient system in the world, since that means a lot of OEM parts.

 

[AbhiTheBoss]

@Eximo , I think I saw that video too, but most games will not support dual-cpus and therefore you may not get the same performance

 

[King Dranzer]

That two Xeons are not good for gaming but if you manage to get used Xeon with good boost clock speed of 3.7-4GHz then yes it will perform greatly for gaming. Even 3.6 should be fine.

 

[Eximo]

Still quad core H/T, which is decent for contemporary gaming. Basically a 1st gen i7 in that regard, an i7-920 at stock. My friend is still borrowing my old i7-950 and plays all the latest titles with a GTX970.

Some of the later DX11 titles will be a bit difficult, but should still get playable framerates. 2017-2018 games might see a pretty marked improvement.

 

[Eximo]

That two Xeons are not good for gaming but if you manage to get used Xeon with good boost clock speed of 3.7-4GHz then yes it will perform greatly for gaming. Even 3.6 should be fine.

These CPUs run at 2.66Ghz at boost.

 

[bambiboom]

is 2 x Intel Xeon Quad-Core E5620 (2.40GHz, 12MB L3 Cache) good for gaming ? im asking for a friend

Hriso156,

A fast GPU can help the gaming performance quite a bit, but my suggestion is to replace the two Xeon E5620's with a single CPU with a higher single-thread performance, meaning a higher clock speed. The Xeon E5620 is a very competent and reliable server CPU, but the LGA1366 series has a number of choices that will be much better for gaming,

Xeon E5620 : 4-core @ 2.4 /2.66GHz, 32nm, DDR3- 800/ 1066,Memory bandwidth 25.6GB/s, 80W
[Passmark average CPU Mark = 4875 / Single-thread Mark = 1059

And, the fastest 4-core LGA1366 CPU,

Xeon x5687 : 4-core @ 3.6 /3.86GHz, 32nm, DDR3-600 / 1066 / 1333, Memory bandwidth 32GB.s, 130W
[Passmark average CPU Mark = 7190 / Single-thread Mark = 1577

Besides the much better CPU and single-thread rating, note that the memory bandwidth is better and the x5687 runs DDR3-1333 instead of 1066. Better in every way really.

Another candidate would be the:

Xeon x5677 4-core@ 3.47 / 3.73Ghz: 32nm, DDR3-600 / 1066 / 1333, Memory bandwidth 32GB.s, 130W
[Passmark average CPU Mark = 6996 / Single-thread Mark = 1517

I use an x5677 (cost $60, 12.15) in a Dell Precision T3500 (purchased for $53) with a Quadro 4000 for 2D and some 3D CAD- very good performance and has been perfectly reliable for a year.

If you use an x5687 or x5677, remember to use the uprated CPU heatsink. If this is a Dell Precision, the 80W E5620 will use a cast- Aluminum heatsink, whereas the proper one for the hotter 130W x5677 or x5687 is a stack of thin Steel plates with a Copper tube. If it's an HP z600 or z800, I think there are also different heatsinks.

Have 12GB of RAM- either 3X 4GB or 6X 2GB. The X58 chipset is triple channel so the RAM will work best in sets of 3 modules up to the maximum of 24GB for a single CPU. Add a good used GTX 770 or 780 or similar and that will perk the system up a bit as well.

The disk system for an LGA1366 will be SATAII, but it's posible to add a PCIE 6GB/s RAID controller. I added a PERC H310 (about $50 now) to a Dell PReicison T5500 and without any other change the Passmark disk score changed from 1940 to 2649. An SSD for the OS, programs and games will perk it up as well.

By the way, if the system is a Dell Precision T5500 or T7500, there will be a removable /plug-in CPU riser and these are sought after. I paid $150 for a T5500 one last year. the T7500 is more common and less expensive, but If the system will be for gaming on a single CPU, selling the CPU riser will buy the new CPU with some left over.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[King Dranzer]

That two Xeons are not good for gaming but if you manage to get used Xeon with good boost clock speed of 3.7-4GHz then yes it will perform greatly for gaming. Even 3.6 should be fine.

These CPUs run at 2.66Ghz at boost.

Yep that is why I said "That two Xeons are not good for gaming"