dual CPU workstation

[richardaoakes]

dual CPU workstation compatibility. im out of my depth 😛

im planning on building a workstation for 3D rendering/simulation etc. to get the best possible price to performance im looking at LGA1366 era hardware. this is looking great in terms of price but im unsure of compatibility on this server hardware. main problems are: I cant see SATA ports on the mother board im thinking of buying (I will link all parts bellow) so im not sure if Im just being blind or if at the time they used a different standard. Im also not sure how to check if a PSU supports multiple CPUs. (I need about 600 to 750w, 2 CPU connecters and a 6pin for GPU). I have a 500w already. would I be able to run most of the system(1CPU+GPU+mobo) off of that and then buy a weaker but cheap power supply for the other CPU?

this will be an extremely ghetto build with used parts off ebay and borrowing parts like ram and GPUs from old machines to cut down on costs. havnt done anything this cheaply before so unsure of myself and worried im going to brick it, so any help would be much appreciated.

potential parts:
mobo:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163289983190
ram:standard DDR3
CPU(s):https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MATCHED-PAIR-2X-Intel-Xeon-Processor-X5675-3-06GHz-CPU-6-HEX-CORE-SLBYL-12M/142217269733?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D54618%26meid%3Db3b5defef0ff4e95a6fc3a0470d421f3%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D273488662693%26itm%3D142217269733&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

[ElectrO_90]

You want the best possible workstation for a price and you are going for an old system that isn't supported anymore?
You are going down a long and slippery road.
Any modern CPU should own anything that old, give your budget and I am sure someone can build you a killer system, unless its like $200 you have.

 

[richardaoakes]

You want the best possible workstation for a price and you are going for an old system that isn't supported anymore?
You are going down a long and slippery road.
Any modern CPU should own anything that old, give your budget and I am sure someone can build you a killer system, unless its like $200 you have.

that's what I thought too, I started out looking at ryzen.
I currently use an i5 7400, quad core 3ghz worth about £200.
for about £110 I can get a dual socket mobo and two 3ghz 6core CPUs that can be overclocked between 4.5 and 5ghz. that is a huge performance gap in rendering tasks, so I am very confident that for my uses this is far better value. ive seen people on you tube highly recommend the 1366 platform because many of the things it lacks (like usb3) can be fixed with pcie cards. also, with current price increases on ram and GPUs, buying old tech is far more appealing.

 

[jaslion]

dual CPU workstation compatibility. im out of my depth 😛

im planning on building a workstation for 3D rendering/simulation etc. to get the best possible price to performance im looking at LGA1366 era hardware. this is looking great in terms of price but im unsure of compatibility on this server hardware. main problems are: I cant see SATA ports on the mother board im thinking of buying (I will link all parts bellow) so im not sure if Im just being blind or if at the time they used a different standard. Im also not sure how to check if a PSU supports multiple CPUs. (I need about 600 to 750w, 2 CPU connecters and a 6pin for GPU). I have a 500w already. would I be able to run most of the system(1CPU+GPU+mobo) off of that and then buy a weaker but cheap power supply for the other CPU?

this will be an extremely ghetto build with used parts off ebay and borrowing parts like ram and GPUs from old machines to cut down on costs. havnt done anything this cheaply before so unsure of myself and worried im going to brick it, so any help would be much appreciated.

potential parts:
mobo:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163289983190
ram:standard DDR3
CPU(s):https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MATCHED-PAIR-2X-Intel-Xeon-Processor-X5675-3-06GHz-CPU-6-HEX-CORE-SLBYL-12M/142217269733?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D54618%26meid%3Db3b5defef0ff4e95a6fc3a0470d421f3%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D273488662693%26itm%3D142217269733&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

That mobo is NOT something you can use. It's designed to slide into a server and only work in that specific config. You are looking at an 8 year old cpu config for rendering and whatnot and that is fine but in all honesty unless you can find a really good deal on a regular workstation that has the connectors to support a modern gpu (since most redering is now done on the gpu anyways or at least partly ofloaded onto it).

However a simple ryzen 2600 outperforms that dual xeon setup by about 20% (if perfect scaling between 2 cpu's is considered and the software you are using doesn't get confused by dual cpu's).

So all in all I do not recommend going with lga 1366 and just get something new.
You are also wanting to cheap out on a psu with LGA 1366 and basically cheap out on everything which is simply just going to end up in a disaster considering how much power you'll end up using with the lga 1366 option.

Also depending on the motherboard you'll need ecc ddr3.

 

[william p]

The Dell Precision T5500 is dual CPU capable. LGA1366 and mid tower sized. Comes witha dual CPU rated PSU, and had a dual GPU option PSU also. Those old CPUs don't have AVX support whatever that is. Other than that the 3 channel DDR3 RAM helps them keep up fairly well.
Fastest CPU is X5687 4C/8T 3.6GHz 3.89 Turbo, The X5690 is popular 6C/12T 3.46 3.73 Turbo.
DDR3 RDIMMs are $30 for 8GB modules new. The MB has native support for RAID, SATA,SAS and 4-PCIe 16x slots.
You can configure one here to get an idea of price.
http://www.ebaystores.com/PC-Servers-and-Parts-Inc_W0QQ_sasiZ1
Whether it's better or worse than getting something newer IDK.
You can see how various setups perform here.
http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-Precision-WorkStation-T5500/78

 

[richardaoakes]

dual CPU workstation compatibility. im out of my depth 😛

im planning on building a workstation for 3D rendering/simulation etc. to get the best possible price to performance im looking at LGA1366 era hardware. this is looking great in terms of price but im unsure of compatibility on this server hardware. main problems are: I cant see SATA ports on the mother board im thinking of buying (I will link all parts bellow) so im not sure if Im just being blind or if at the time they used a different standard. Im also not sure how to check if a PSU supports multiple CPUs. (I need about 600 to 750w, 2 CPU connecters and a 6pin for GPU). I have a 500w already. would I be able to run most of the system(1CPU+GPU+mobo) off of that and then buy a weaker but cheap power supply for the other CPU?

this will be an extremely ghetto build with used parts off ebay and borrowing parts like ram and GPUs from old machines to cut down on costs. havnt done anything this cheaply before so unsure of myself and worried im going to brick it, so any help would be much appreciated.

potential parts:
mobo:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163289983190
ram:standard DDR3
CPU(s):https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MATCHED-PAIR-2X-Intel-Xeon-Processor-X5675-3-06GHz-CPU-6-HEX-CORE-SLBYL-12M/142217269733?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D54618%26meid%3Db3b5defef0ff4e95a6fc3a0470d421f3%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D273488662693%26itm%3D142217269733&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

That mobo is NOT something you can use. It's designed to slide into a server and only work in that specific config. You are looking at an 8 year old cpu config for rendering and whatnot and that is fine but in all honesty unless you can find a really good deal on a regular workstation that has the connectors to support a modern gpu (since most redering is now done on the gpu anyways or at least partly ofloaded onto it).

However a simple ryzen 2600 outperforms that dual xeon setup by about 20% (if perfect scaling between 2 cpu's is considered and the software you are using doesn't get confused by dual cpu's).

So all in all I do not recommend going with lga 1366 and just get something new.
You are also wanting to cheap out on a psu with LGA 1366 and basically cheap out on everything which is simply just going to end up in a disaster considering how much power you'll end up using with the lga 1366 option.

Also depending on the motherboard you'll need ecc ddr3.

after checking benchmarks im pretty sure that's not the case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBYBMQrK7XE
the 2600 clearly outperforms the xeon but only if its 1cpu vs 1cpu. if there were 2 xeons (as my setup would have) they would outperform the 2600, and at almost half the price.
im aware using old hardware is risky but I enjoy tinkering and fancy a challenge. the software is blender, so It will have no problem with using both CPUs. thank you for the warning about the mother board. after some more digging Ive found this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-PowerEdge-R510-Motherboard-Dual-Socket-LGA1366-DDR3-DPRKF-0DPRKF/323468495199?hash=item4b5039895f:g:0lUAAOSwHI5bq3-z:rk:18😛f:0
it looks like it is closer to a normal board, has sata, or will this not work either?

 

[william p]

Dell T5500 MB sell for $40, and PSUs about the same. Not a whole lot of risk there.
You can ask these guys any questions about them.
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/dell-workstation-owners-club.243124/#post-3830958