Server mobo for gaming?

[Mrcrazed]

So, server motherboards with pci-e and LGA771 sockets are selling for dirt cheap on ebay right now, (around $30) And I was wondering, would they make good gaming machines? The socket type might be old, but they have two, so twice the processing power. When paired with a good gpu, would they be a better option for a gaming pc?

 

[DeadlyDays]

more processors means more threads. Not more clock speed and not more IPC, both of which are typically more important to games. Also, server boards don't have the same overclocking capabilities as gaming boards even cheap gaming boards. You might also need to use nonstandard ram types(FB, ECC, etc) and servers tend to be pickier over ram, doesn't like and mixing/matching quite as much. So you'd need to check compatibility list for certain before buying ram for it, and also for CPU's because they are just pickier in general.

But otherwise they work fine, can be a little slower in some cases. A gaming board is basically a drop safeguards and stability and let me push my hardware to the performance max, and server boards more reliability > all

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

Also, LGA 771 is really old. It's the same era as LGA 775. I'd at least move up to LGA 1366.

 

[beegmouse]

There is an argument to be had here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epIlB49SNTI
http://lifehacker.com/build-a-super-cheap-gaming-pc-with-old-server-parts-1747549635

performance per dollar you can get a very powerful server based system.

But it would be using the older PCI-E 2 standards so to get the most you'd need and SLI/Xfire solution with older GPUs.

This reduces it's game compatibility a lot. But those that support it will work like a train.