Dual Intel Xeon X5650 for gaming

[SvenJansson]

Hello

I thinking of buying a refurbished HP Z800 with Dual Intel Xeon X5650 for running multipel virtual machines but will i be abel to run games like bf4.

Best Wishes,

Sven Jansson

 

[paul wu]

Hi BamibBoom, sorry i took so long for an update. i didn't have much time to take a closer look of my setup and thinking it through as the market has been quite volatile until the past couple days.

anyways, i had been thinking about future proofing, since the t7500 i was hoping to build was along that line (getting one x5675 and the other in the future with more ram expansion and other upgrades etc.. ). it comes in my mind that upgrading t7500 could be quiet costly and the limitation could be foreseeing. So then i took a look in t3610 and t5610 that u recommended earlier. the t3610 only had 4 ram slots which i will need to replace them if i wanted to upgrade later and there are other limitations that it seems. the t5610 is nice and all but quite expensive like you said earlier, so i looked at other options. i realized that i don't really need to buy a barebone, but instead build one from scratch. i did a primitive calculations that this setup would actually cost less than a t7500 and has better future proofing. my setups are as followings

MSI X79A-GD45 Plus motherboard
e5-2620
4*4gb 1600 ram
asus gtx760
ssd 120gb
dvdrom
case
(reusing my own 450w power supply)

this would cost about USD600 but i have a chance to upgrade my cpu to e5-26xx v2 and can get up to 48gb without replacing ram. however i do have concerns on the setup, like motherboards and cpus are used ones, i might need to replace powersupply for future upgrades, and stability on the motherboard (tried to search around but not much found about this board). any comments from u would be appreciated thx.

 

[bambiboom]

Hi BamibBoom, sorry i took so long for an update. i didn't have much time to take a closer look of my setup and thinking it through as the market has been quite volatile until the past couple days.

anyways, i had been thinking about future proofing, since the t7500 i was hoping to build was along that line (getting one x5675 and the other in the future with more ram expansion and other upgrades etc.. ). it comes in my mind that upgrading t7500 could be quiet costly and the limitation could be foreseeing. So then i took a look in t3610 and t5610 that u recommended earlier. the t3610 only had 4 ram slots which i will need to replace them if i wanted to upgrade later and there are other limitations that it seems. the t5610 is nice and all but quite expensive like you said earlier, so i looked at other options. i realized that i don't really need to buy a barebone, but instead build one from scratch. i did a primitive calculations that this setup would actually cost less than a t7500 and has better future proofing. my setups are as followings

MSI X79A-GD45 Plus motherboard
e5-2620
4*4gb 1600 ram
asus gtx760
ssd 120gb
dvdrom
case
(reusing my own 450w power supply)

this would cost about USD600 but i have a chance to upgrade my cpu to e5-26xx v2 and can get up to 48gb without replacing ram. however i do have concerns on the setup, like motherboards and cpus are used ones, i might need to replace powersupply for future upgrades, and stability on the motherboard (tried to search around but not much found about this board). any comments from u would be appreciated thx.

paul wu,

Thank you for the update.

Of course, it is your decision, but I feel that the new list of components is not a step forward as compared to the T7500- unless you can use a faster CPU:

1. The E5-2620 is 2.0 / 2.5GHz, whereas the X5670 is 2.93 / 3.33 xx5680 is 3.33 /3.6 , and X5690 is 3.47/.3.73GHz. The E5 is of course a more modern CPU and may be exchanged in the future to a faster v2, but I think the clock speed is too low. . Because the MSI motherboard may only use one CPU, it is much better for cost to use an E5-1600-series. The E5-2600-series is very expensive to allow the use of two processors. If you could find an E5-1650 v2 then I would say this system is much improved and would not need updating. You may also then use 1866 ECC RAM also- much better than 1333.

2. The MSI motherboard may only use one CPU whereas the T7500 may use two

3. The R5-2630 supports a maximum RAM speed of 1333Mhz- the same as Precision T7500
The Precision T7500 supports up to 192GB of RAM as compared to 48GB with the MSI

4. I believe that the 450W power supply is inadequate..

5. You have to collect the various parts, assemble and configure instead of merely plugging in the new parts to a working system as they are acquired. that is, if you buy a working system, you can change the CPU add RAM, the new GPU, add a second CPU and etc. while still working.

Again, if you are happier with the other specification, and especially if you can find an E5-1650 v2 that is fine, only I recommend that you have a 600W power supply.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[Reilloc1966]

Hi,

Sorry to hijack this thread but i think you guys can probably help me out.

I have been fortunate enough to have been given 3 custom built 19" servers based on the intel Server Board S5500bc with dual xeon 5650s and 32GB of RAM (appears to be the maximum memory size for this board).

I am probably going to use two of them as "home servers" to teach myself WinServer201x, AD, Exchange and, most importantly, SQL Server and Sharepoint, probably using vmware to run the appropriate server instances for this. I will probably also stick a virtual copy of ubuntu on there too.

Q1 would it be worth me upgrading the motherboard in one or both of these to increase the max ram?
Q2 are there any affordable four processor boards for this xeon? I have space constraints so it might be better to have one 4 processor system than two 2 processor rack mounted systems!
Q3 at what price point would it be worth upgrading the xeons to the 5670/75/80 chips? (Assuming the motherboard can take these?)

I am thinking of turning the third server into a workstation. The S5500bc is ssi-ceb form-factor board.

Q4 Would it be better to get a new motherboard in a more common form-factor (and possibly higher memory capacity, support for newer SATA revisions, etc) and have a wider choice of cases or stick with the (free) board i already have and get a case that accepts the CEB form-factor?

My main uses for this system will be programming, running computer aided algebra/mathematics/statistics software and models, undertaking (big) data analysis, using adobe CC 2015 mainly photoshop/lightroom and other digital photo manipulation packages and playing strategy simulation games such as Civilisation and Beyond Earth. I will probably want to use Windows 10 as the OS on this system and I know that i will need to add a DirectX11/12 compliant graphics card and some sort of sound card.
Q5 What graphics and sound cards are compatible with the S5500bc motherboard. I have done a few google searches but haven't found much to help me!

 

[bambiboom]

Hi,

Sorry to hijack this thread but i think you guys can probably help me out.

I have been fortunate enough to have been given 3 custom built 19" servers based on the intel Server Board S5500bc with dual xeon 5650s and 32GB of RAM (appears to be the maximum memory size for this board).

I am probably going to use two of them as "home servers" to teach myself WinServer201x, AD, Exchange and, most importantly, SQL Server and Sharepoint, probably using vmware to run the appropriate server instances for this. I will probably also stick a virtual copy of ubuntu on there too.

Q1 would it be worth me upgrading the motherboard in one or both of these to increase the max ram?
Q2 are there any affordable four processor boards for this xeon? I have space constraints so it might be better to have one 4 processor system than two 2 processor rack mounted systems!
Q3 at what price point would it be worth upgrading the xeons to the 5670/75/80 chips? (Assuming the motherboard can take these?)

I am thinking of turning the third server into a workstation. The S5500bc is ssi-ceb form-factor board.

Q4 Would it be better to get a new motherboard in a more common form-factor (and possibly higher memory capacity, support for newer SATA revisions, etc) and have a wider choice of cases or stick with the (free) board i already have and get a case that accepts the CEB form-factor?

My main uses for this system will be programming, running computer aided algebra/mathematics/statistics software and models, undertaking (big) data analysis, using adobe CC 2015 mainly photoshop/lightroom and other digital photo manipulation packages and playing strategy simulation games such as Civilisation and Beyond Earth. I will probably want to use Windows 10 as the OS on this system and I know that i will need to add a DirectX11/12 compliant graphics card and some sort of sound card.
Q5 What graphics and sound cards are compatible with the S5500bc motherboard. I have done a few google searches but haven't found much to help me!

Reilloc1966,

It's an interesting project. Before going into complex and possibly expensive upgrades though, my suggestion is to configure one of the units for use and test it. This may require improvisation with drives and borrow a GPU and etc, but it's critical to know the starting point. The important factor is that you are considering upgrading three systems having six CPU's so anything done- whether fantastic improvement or costly mistake might be duplicated- or it's possible the cost to benefit is not worth the time and costs..

The Xeon X5650 (6-core @ 2.66 / 3.06GHz) is excellent and was a higher specification for a sever when new- there were a lot of 1.8 and 2.0 CPU's then, but an X5670 and above would be better for the workstation system.

The Intel S5500BC motherboard is a lower specification board, but of the very highest quality. It's a pity that Intel has stated the intention or is already phasing out motherboard production as the build quality is the best.

However, unless it's a variant, the S5500BC does not, as far as I know, have a conventional PCIe x16 graphics card slot. The Intel S5500 chipset apparently runs 4 PCIe lanes and has has 3X PCIe 2 x8 slots and a PCIe 1 x4. I've read many comments that an x16 GPU "seems" to run perfectly well on x8, but that would be the very first thing I'd try. use a card you know and run Passmark, Cinebench, and Siemens and compare to other systems using dual X5650 and the same grahics card. and - There are for example many Precision T5500's and T7500 with dual X5650's and the.X58 chipset, but the S5500BC uses the Intel S5500 chipset so direct comparison will be difficult.

I suspect that these systems are excellent servers with ultra-reliability but they are optimized in that use and may not be very versatile for workstation tasks. changing the motherboards, necessitating changing the CPU's and RAM is in effect starting over, and I'd say you would be better off, rehabilitating one as a server- without spending a lot on very high performance and selling the two others to help purchase a very strong workstation. You might consider upgrading a Dell Precision T7500 with a pair of X5690's- 6-cores @ 3.47 /3.73GHz, and these systems may use up to 192GB of RAM and has dual PCIe x16 GPU slots and at least a pair of 6-pin power connectors for GPU's. I've upgraded three Precisions- 390, T540, and T5500 and the results are perfectly useable today- even the 390 running a Xeon X3230 @ 2.66GHz.

It's also entirely possible that you find these systems impossibly noisy to use anywhere near your workspace as servers force the maximum cooling air to protect from thermal shutdowns.

But, before doing anything except reading the user manual, give one a thorough test drive and that will focus your research.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID 1)

With Quadro K2200:
[ Passmark Rating = 4918 > CPU= 13941 / 2D= 823 / 3D= 3463 / Mem= 2668 / Disk= 4764

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15

with Quadro K4200:
[ Passmark system rating = 3585 / CPU = 9346 / 2D= 683 / 3D= 4708 / Mem= 1850 / Disk= 2202]

With Quadro 4000
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]

Pending upgrade: PERC H310 PCIe SAS /SATA RAID controller, 2X WD Black 1TB (RAID 1)(Converts disk system from 3GB/s to 6GB/s)

 

[jazilahmed]

Hey Guys!

Okay, so I am a noob when it comes to building a custom pc. Never built one yet, but with the help from you guys, now I'm planning to.

What I need is a COMPLETE solution for gaming. Whether I wanna use keyboard/mouse, gamepad, joystick or a steering wheel, I wanna be able to use all without any hassle. I am looking to run the latest games like DOOM4, FORZA6 etc. Also, how long after I'll have to upgrade, considering the upcoming games?

Kindly share your views on this config.
Dell Precision T7500
Intel Xeon x5670
16gb DDR3 ECC 1333
160 gb SSD (recommend brand)
1024 GB HDD SATA 2 (Western Digital/Seagate)
EVGA gtx 760 2gb Base Version
This is what I have in mind.

Now,
Should I go for Dell T5500/7500 or HP z600/800 and WHY?
Is any of the above mentioned MORE NOISY than other?
I have space constraints but WONT compromise on quality (if bigger is better)
I'm told that the processor does not REALLY count when it comes to gaming. What really counts is the Graphics Card & RAM. Is that true and should I go with SINGLE Physical Processor or DUAL Physical Processor?
The Intel 5520 chipset has 3-channel memory but I'm installing 4 modules of 4gb. Would it be okay or should I add 2 additional modules?
Is 160 gb SSD enough?
Can I convert my SATA-2 into SATA-3? (what would be the advantages)

TOTALLY open to suggestions as for the whole configuration.

Note- I live in a Tropical Country and boy does it get HOT in here and really HUMID too!

Thanks a bunch in advance to the entire community! Really looking forward to your support.
PEACE!

#ItsInOurBlood

 

[jazilahmed]

Hi,

Sorry to hijack this thread but i think you guys can probably help me out.

I have been fortunate enough to have been given 3 custom built 19" servers based on the intel Server Board S5500bc with dual xeon 5650s and 32GB of RAM (appears to be the maximum memory size for this board).

I am probably going to use two of them as "home servers" to teach myself WinServer201x, AD, Exchange and, most importantly, SQL Server and Sharepoint, probably using vmware to run the appropriate server instances for this. I will probably also stick a virtual copy of ubuntu on there too.

Q1 would it be worth me upgrading the motherboard in one or both of these to increase the max ram?
Q2 are there any affordable four processor boards for this xeon? I have space constraints so it might be better to have one 4 processor system than two 2 processor rack mounted systems!
Q3 at what price point would it be worth upgrading the xeons to the 5670/75/80 chips? (Assuming the motherboard can take these?)

I am thinking of turning the third server into a workstation. The S5500bc is ssi-ceb form-factor board.

Q4 Would it be better to get a new motherboard in a more common form-factor (and possibly higher memory capacity, support for newer SATA revisions, etc) and have a wider choice of cases or stick with the (free) board i already have and get a case that accepts the CEB form-factor?

My main uses for this system will be programming, running computer aided algebra/mathematics/statistics software and models, undertaking (big) data analysis, using adobe CC 2015 mainly photoshop/lightroom and other digital photo manipulation packages and playing strategy simulation games such as Civilisation and Beyond Earth. I will probably want to use Windows 10 as the OS on this system and I know that i will need to add a DirectX11/12 compliant graphics card and some sort of sound card.
Q5 What graphics and sound cards are compatible with the S5500bc motherboard. I have done a few google searches but haven't found much to help me!

Reilloc1966,

It's an interesting project. Before going into complex and possibly expensive upgrades though, my suggestion is to configure one of the units for use and test it. This may require improvisation with drives and borrow a GPU and etc, but it's critical to know the starting point. The important factor is that you are considering upgrading three systems having six CPU's so anything done- whether fantastic improvement or costly mistake might be duplicated- or it's possible the cost to benefit is not worth the time and costs..

The Xeon X5650 (6-core @ 2.66 / 3.06GHz) is excellent and was a higher specification for a sever when new- there were a lot of 1.8 and 2.0 CPU's then, but an X5670 and above would be better for the workstation system.

The Intel S5500BC motherboard is a lower specification board, but of the very highest quality. It's a pity that Intel has stated the intention or is already phasing out motherboard production as the build quality is the best.

However, unless it's a variant, the S5500BC does not, as far as I know, have a conventional PCIe x16 graphics card slot. The Intel S5500 chipset apparently runs 4 PCIe lanes and has has 3X PCIe 2 x8 slots and a PCIe 1 x4. I've read many comments that an x16 GPU "seems" to run perfectly well on x8, but that would be the very first thing I'd try. use a card you know and run Passmark, Cinebench, and Siemens and compare to other systems using dual X5650 and the same grahics card. and - There are for example many Precision T5500's and T7500 with dual X5650's and the.X58 chipset, but the S5500BC uses the Intel S5500 chipset so direct comparison will be difficult.

I suspect that these systems are excellent servers with ultra-reliability but they are optimized in that use and may not be very versatile for workstation tasks. changing the motherboards, necessitating changing the CPU's and RAM is in effect starting over, and I'd say you would be better off, rehabilitating one as a server- without spending a lot on very high performance and selling the two others to help purchase a very strong workstation. You might consider upgrading a Dell Precision T7500 with a pair of X5690's- 6-cores @ 3.47 /3.73GHz, and these systems may use up to 192GB of RAM and has dual PCIe x16 GPU slots and at least a pair of 6-pin power connectors for GPU's. I've upgraded three Precisions- 390, T540, and T5500 and the results are perfectly useable today- even the 390 running a Xeon X3230 @ 2.66GHz.

It's also entirely possible that you find these systems impossibly noisy to use anywhere near your workspace as servers force the maximum cooling air to protect from thermal shutdowns.

But, before doing anything except reading the user manual, give one a thorough test drive and that will focus your research.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 six-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz > 32GB DDR3 ECC 1866 RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z2300 > Linksys AE3000 USB WiFi > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440) > Windows 7 Professional 64 >
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15

Pending upgrade: HP /LSI 9212-4i PCIe SAS /SATA HBA RAID controller, 2X Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB (RAID 1)

With Quadro K2200:
[ Passmark Rating = 4918 > CPU= 13941 / 2D= 823 / 3D= 3463 / Mem= 2668 / Disk= 4764

2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) > Xeon X5680 six -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz, 24GB DDR3 ECC 1333 > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Linksys WMP600N PCI WiFi > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3490 / CPU = 9178 / 2D= 685 / 3D= 3566 / Mem= 1865 / Disk= 2122] [Cinebench 15 > CPU = 772 OpenGL= 99.72 FPS] 7.8.15

with Quadro K4200:
[ Passmark system rating = 3585 / CPU = 9346 / 2D= 683 / 3D= 4708 / Mem= 1850 / Disk= 2202]

With Quadro 4000
[ Passmark system rating = 3339 / CPU = 9347 / 2D= 684 / 3D= 2030 / Mem= 1871 / Disk= 2234]

Pending upgrade: PERC H310 PCIe SAS /SATA RAID controller, 2X WD Black 1TB (RAID 1)(Converts disk system from 3GB/s to 6GB/s)

Hey Guys!

Okay, so I am a noob when it comes to building a custom pc. Never built one yet, but with the help from you guys, now I'm planning to.

What I need is a COMPLETE solution for gaming. Whether I wanna use keyboard/mouse, gamepad, joystick or a steering wheel, I wanna be able to use all without any hassle. I am looking to run the latest games like DOOM4, FORZA6 etc. Also, how long after I'll have to upgrade, considering the upcoming games?

Kindly share your views on this config.
Dell Precision T7500
Intel Xeon x5670
16gb DDR3 ECC 1333
160 gb SSD (recommend brand)
1024 GB HDD SATA 2 (Western Digital/Seagate)
EVGA gtx 760 2gb Base Version
This is what I have in mind.

Now,
Should I go for Dell T5500/7500 or HP z600/800 and WHY?
Is any of the above mentioned MORE NOISY than other?
I have space constraints but WONT compromise on quality (if bigger is better)
I'm told that the processor does not REALLY count when it comes to gaming. What really counts is the Graphics Card & RAM. Is that true and should I go with SINGLE Physical Processor or DUAL Physical Processor?
The Intel 5520 chipset has 3-channel memory but I'm installing 4 modules of 4gb. Would it be okay or should I add 2 additional modules?
Is 160 gb SSD enough?
Can I convert my SATA-2 into SATA-3? (what would be the advantages)

TOTALLY open to suggestions as for the whole configuration.

Note- I live in a Tropical Country and boy does it get HOT in here and really HUMID too!

Thanks a bunch in advance to the entire community! Really looking forward to your support.
PEACE!

#ItsInOurBlood