[SOLVED] Older Lenovo D30 workstation vs New Hp Consumer Desktop

[mckhb]

I presently have an old Dell T3500 workstation with an Intel W3670 6 core cpu. I am considering upgrading.

I have available a 6 year old Lenovo D30 workstation with dual Intel E5-2670 v2 10 core cpu and Nvidia K2000 card, 128 SSD, 1T HD, for under $400.

Also available is a new HP Pavilion TG01-2260xt Intel Core i5-11400, 256GB SSD+500GB HDD, 8GB RAM WifiBT with on cpu graphics, at under $500.

The PassMark scores for the dual E5-2670 v2 are 1574 and 19,870 ... turbo mode estimate would be 2100 and 24,000. PassMark scores for the single i5 11400 are 3047 and 17,146 ... turbo mode estimate would be 5000 and 22,000.

My dilemma ... although I have a general understanding of tech, I am not savvy about the relative long-term value of an old high-end Lenovo workstation compared to a new HP consumer product.

I run some multi-thread rendering occasionally on a hobby level only. I am mostly concerned about equipment reliability and power.

Help, your insights please !!!

 

[kanewolf]

I presently have an old Dell T3500 workstation with an Intel W3670 6 core cpu. I am considering upgrading.

I have available a 6 year old Lenovo D30 workstation with dual Intel E5-2670 v2 10 core cpu and Nvidia K2000 card, 128 SSD, 1T HD, for under $400.

Also available is a new HP Pavilion TG01-2260xt Intel Core i5-11400, 256GB SSD+500GB HDD, 8GB RAM WifiBT with on cpu graphics, at under $500.

The PassMark scores for the dual E5-2670 v2 are 1574 and 19,870 ... turbo mode estimate would be 2100 and 24,000. PassMark scores for the single i5 11400 are 3047 and 17,146 ... turbo mode estimate would be 5000 and 22,000.

My dilemma ... although I have a general understanding of tech, I am not savvy about the relative long-term value of an old high-end Lenovo workstation compared to a new HP consumer product.

I run some multi-thread rendering occasionally on a hobby level only. I am mostly concerned about equipment reliability and power.

Help, your insights please !!!

Power is pretty easy. The HP wins hands down.
Reliability is more difficult. The Lenovo has many more parts. Dual CPUs, more DIMMs, more fans, etc. It may also have dual power supplies which improves reliability. More complexity and more parts means a higher possibility of failure. But the part themselves were designed for more demanding uses. A new HP could have "infant mortality" problems. But since it is new HP will repair or replace.

The HP without a graphics card could be a limitation. 8GB of RAM is undoubtedly a single DIMM so performance will be impacted by that, plus the built-in graphics will take away RAM.
The Lenovo REQUIRES Windows PRO because it is a dual socket PC. The E5 CPUs are quad memory channel CPUs. But the memory is much slower than the HP. For best performance you would want 8 identical DIMMs in the Lenovo. You can probably find cheap used DDR3 server RAM for the Lenovo and have 64 or 128GB RAM if that is beneficial.

 

[mckhb]

Power is pretty easy. The HP wins hands down.
Reliability is more difficult. The Lenovo has many more parts. Dual CPUs, more DIMMs, more fans, etc. It may also have dual power supplies which improves reliability. More complexity and more parts means a higher possibility of failure. But the part themselves were designed for more demanding uses. A new HP could have "infant mortality" problems. But since it is new HP will repair or replace.

The HP without a graphics card could be a limitation. 8GB of RAM is undoubtedly a single DIMM so performance will be impacted by that, plus the built-in graphics will take away RAM.
The Lenovo REQUIRES Windows PRO because it is a dual socket PC. The E5 CPUs are quad memory channel CPUs. But the memory is much slower than the HP. For best performance you would want 8 identical DIMMs in the Lenovo. You can probably find cheap used DDR3 server RAM for the Lenovo and have 64 or 128GB RAM if that is beneficial.

Thanks for your knowledgable assistance.
If it were you, which one would you buy? I hope that is not an unfair question.

 

[mckhb]

Thanks for your knowledgable assistance.
If it were you, which one would you buy? I hope that is not an unfair question.

By the way, I forgot to mention that the Lenovo has 32 gig of memory ... all identical.

 

[kanewolf]

Thanks for your knowledgable assistance.
If it were you, which one would you buy? I hope that is not an unfair question.

It depends ... (I bet you LOVE that answer) ...
The Lenovo is probably more expandable but is hotter and probably noisier. Can you utilize all the CPU resources? If you can, what percentage of your usage will take advantage.
The HP will probably get simple tasks done faster IF you upgrade the RAM. Without a RAM upgrade, you will be unhappy, IMO.

By the way, I forgot to mention that the Lenovo has 32 gig of memory ... all identical.

You need to ask if that 32GB ix 8x4GB or 4x8GB.

 

[mckhb]

It depends ... (I bet you LOVE that answer) ...
The Lenovo is probably more expandable but is hotter and probably noisier. Can you utilize all the CPU resources? If you can, what percentage of your usage will take advantage.
The HP will probably get simple tasks done faster IF you upgrade the RAM. Without a RAM upgrade, you will be unhappy, IMO.

You need to ask if that 32GB ix 8x4GB or 4x8GB.

It is 4 x 8GB ... that is 16 GB for each cpu.

 

[kanewolf]

It is 4 x 8GB ... that is 16 GB for each cpu.

So, that is only 1/2 the memory performance. Adding 4 more DIMMs will improve performance.

 

[mckhb]

So, that is only 1/2 the memory performance. Adding 4 more DIMMs will improve performance.

Thanks again for your help.
So I get the impression that you are not sure if either computer is a good idea for the $400.

 

[kanewolf]

Thanks again for your help.
So I get the impression that you are not sure if either computer is a good idea for the $400.

Both of them have problems. Those problems can be fixed, but there will be additional costs. I can't answer which will be "best" for you. I can only identify strengths and weaknesses.

 

[mckhb]

Both of them have problems. Those problems can be fixed, but there will be additional costs. I can't answer which will be "best" for you. I can only identify strengths and weaknesses.

I understand. Thank you for your time and thoughtfulness.