T5500 CPU Recommendatoins

Brian001 · Nov 4, 2017

My son and I have upgraded two Dell T3500 systems in the past and have received help from this forum in getting really good recommendations. (So far these computers have been incredible for just about everything we have thrown at them) Our next project is to upgrade a T5500. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on which 2 Xeons to chose for the CPU. I was thinking of gong with the X5675 but was not sure if this is enough for gaming. Our T3500's have W3690's installed and have a higher clock speed. I was considering the X5675 or X5679 or maybe even the X5680. Does anyone have any recommendations and why one would be better than the others? Thanks in advance for any help you can give us.

Kasper Jorgensen · Nov 4, 2017

To be honest, for games I wouldn't even consider a Xeon CPU. Intel Coffee Lake or a Ryzen platform will both wipe their bottom end with a Xeon when it comes to gaming. Games can do with more than 1 core yes, but i'm not sure if they can use more than 1 CPU.

10tacle · Nov 4, 2017

Yeah Xeons are not designed for gaming. And the series you are looking at is seven years old at least so it is old architecture by today's standards. For most games, the core/thread count is not as important as is clock speed per core. If replacing all components to say a new 8th generation Intel i5 or i7 is out of the question then I'd suggest going with the fastest base clock speed Xeon which would be the X5680 at 3.33GHz. But the games will not be utilizing anywhere near those 12 cores/24 threads of the two CPUs. With that said, it would still not be anywhere near the same level of performance in gaming compared to say the new i7 8700K.

Brian001 · Nov 4, 2017

Good answers and thanks to both of you for the replies.

As of today we have not found any game that does not work well on the T3500 we made,, although we did have to upgrade the CPU (W3690), GPU (1060 6gb), SSD and add in usb 3 for VR. The t3500 runs all the games we can throw at it at max or ultra. Maybe not much room for the future but they are fun to put play with. I was hoping for recommendations on the different processors as there are so many but it seems that the X5680 would be the way to go. If anyone has any different advice just let me know but it seems that I'll be looking into a X5680. Thanks to all.

10tacle · Nov 4, 2017

Brian001 :

A vendor on NewEgg has the X5680 for $172 each. Considering that was once a $1,000 CPU, that's pretty amazing. That would be my recommendation. You need the fastest CPU speed as possible for gaming.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117228

Brian001 · Nov 4, 2017

Just logged back in and read your response 10tacle. LOL.. They are sold out. Maybe that quick from when you checked it and now. Ok, so one quick question. I was also looking at the X5677. High clock speed like your talking about. 4 core.. but I could get two. Good idea or stay with the X5680? I just checked and I can get the X5680 new from another source but will be a little more than the 172.00 you found.

10tacle · Nov 4, 2017

Brian001 :

Now that is funny. I guess NewEgg saw me shopping it (I was logged in with my account) and figured they no longer had them available. If you are logged in on NewEgg, they monitor your activity. eBay and Amazon vendors have them for not much more.

Regarding the X5677, it's only 100MHz or so faster with two fewer cores, so I would not recommend it over the X5680. That small of a speed increase won't make any difference. You'd need to get closer to 4GHz to see a real improvement in gaming performance when it comes to CPU core speeds.

Brian001 · Nov 4, 2017

Thank you 10tacle. I'm going to go with the X5680. Thank you for all your help. Really appreciate it.

Susquehannock · Nov 8, 2017

If your primary goal is gaming I would not choose six-core or dual CPUs. No real advantage.

Fastest chip for these machines is the 4-core X5687 which can often be had for $40-$50. Have installed them in several T3500 and a few T5500.

Brian001 · Nov 8, 2017

Susquehannock,

I have not heard from you in a awhile. I was hoping you would answer. Your name actually came up a few times with T5500 in other threads I've been researching. I'm guess that you did switch over from the t3500 to the t5500? Any advice? We will be getting in the 5500 this weekend and unfortunately I already ordered the X5680s.

What did you go with for a graphics card? 1060 or the 480? How did they install and did you have to modify anything inside the case?

Also, I already have ram from the T3500 (24gb) that I plan to use in the 5500 but it's not Registered Ram. Will this work?

Thanks.

Susquehannock · Nov 9, 2017

Brian001 :

Hi Brian

1] - RAM
Looking at the T5500 manual right now. It says: "uses 1066 MHz and 1333Mhz DDR3 unbuffered or registered ECC SDRAM memory."
Unbuffered being same as non-registetred, you should be fine. Have not tried it personally. Just stuck with the registered modules they came with.

2] - graphics card
Typing this post with T3500 running the RX 480 shown in my signature below. Been absolutely flawless for just short of a full year now.
Have installed a few full length 1060 in these as well. All that is needed is remove the small square piece of the HDD swing panel (two screws). Will lose a drive spot, which can be moved to the optical bay up top.

3] - T5500
Have set up a few without the 2nd CPU riser and they are pretty much same as T3500. Tried a spare T5500 board in a T3500 case but it would not boot. Corrupted BIOS. Probably why it was free. And I am sure that running the 2nd CPU riser requires more power and is why T5500 has 850w PSU.

These T3500 do fairly well as gaming systems. I know a few people running Oculus Rift VR with them after installing USB-3 cards. Better transfer speeds than the USB-2 from the board connectors as well.

Hope that helps.

Brian001 · Nov 10, 2017

Susquehannock :

Brian001 :

Hi Brian

1] - RAM
Looking at the T5500 manual right now. It says: "uses 1066 MHz and 1333Mhz DDR3 unbuffered or registered ECC SDRAM memory."
Unbuffered being same as non-registetred, you should be fine. Have not tried it personally. Just stuck with the registered modules they came with.

2] - graphics card
Typing this post with T3500 running the RX 480 shown in my signature below. Been absolutely flawless for just short of a full year now.
Have installed a few full length 1060 in these as well. All that is needed is remove the small square piece of the HDD swing panel (two screws). Will lose a drive spot, which can be moved to the optical bay up top.

3] - T5500
Have set up a few without the 2nd CPU riser and they are pretty much same as T3500. Tried a spare T5500 board in a T3500 case but it would not boot. Corrupted BIOS. Probably why it was free. And I am sure that running the 2nd CPU riser requires more power and is why T5500 has 850w PSU.

These T3500 do fairly well as gaming systems. I know a few people running Oculus Rift VR with them after installing USB-3 cards. Better transfer speeds than the USB-2 from the board connectors as well.

Hope that helps.

Brian001 · Nov 10, 2017

Susquehannock,

Thank you for the reply. I received the T5500 last night and the Ram from the t3500 worked perfect after I upgraded the bios.
The computer did not come with the Riser card so I'm still on the fence about purchasing one. (I guess it would not do much in the ways of improving gaming but it would be really cool to see 12 cores and 24 threads running)
As far as the cpu's I am still waiting for these to come in. I also ordered used two of the X5687's and if they perform better then the X5680s then I'll sell the 5680s off on ebay. How are temperatures with these? I know you had a great mod I used for the fans on the cpus' but is there enough room with the riser to go with this same mod?
I have the usb 3 card in my T3500 and rift runs great. I'll try it again when I get the T5500 set up.
Would you recommend the 1060 or the 480? My other systems have the 1060 minis and I've never tried a 480. Might give that a shot and mod out the case like you mentioned.
As always thanks for your reply, really appreciate it.

Susquehannock · Nov 11, 2017

Twenty four threads would be cool indeed. Noticing the X5680 on eBay have dropped in price last few months. Should have expected that since the X5687 have too.

Temps with these X5687 is good. Done some experimenting. Fan on the sink really does help immensely. Screen shot below while running extreme stress test with Prime95. Temps do not get that high while gaming.

https://i.imgur.com/HBLnBMA.jpg

They have moved onto the 580s now. I would definitely choose the 1060 over that. Comparable or slightly better performance, less power & heat, and lower price. The AMD cards are really expensive because of low inventories coupled with popularity of Bitcoin mining.

Amazing to see how the graphics card price structure has changed in the last year. Got my RX 480 for $159 during a black friday sale. $50 less than a comparable 1060 at the time. Whole different story now.

Brian001 · Nov 12, 2017

Thanks Susquehannock for all the help.

I'm still waiting on the processors to come in. I'm going to get another 1060 for this system per your recommendation. I thought about trying the 480 but when you said heat and power issues... I'll skip it. I know the 1060 is a winner as it's in our other two t3500 systems. I'm going to look around and see if anyone mounted a normal size one without modifications to the case. We have mini's and they fit perfect but it would be nice to get a card with dual fans to keep the temperatures down.

Are you running a SATA III Controller card for SSD? I'm still kind of confused if this is worth the effort and I'm not running Raid so I've been trying to find a good priced card. I know the cards improve the boot times but from my reading it seems that there are issues with the cards loosing connection. Do you think it's worth the upgrade? Maybe you have done it and can recommend a card?

USB 3 is a must upgrade for us as we do use the VR. Which just reminded me I need to order another card or swap the old one from one of the other systems.

The temperatures for your CPU are really good. I know you have the fastest CPU for gaming but I also heard it produces more heat. If you got the temperatures down to what I am reading then it's a no brainier to go with the CPU and the fan mod. I'm going with your fan mod right from the start. Just ordered another LED fan and will install it while I am doing the cpu upgrade. I'm going to do the window case mod as well.

My last question is about the fire wire. Did you use this and keep it connected? I don't see any real reason t have it and was thinking of just removing it from the T5500 to free up the slot.

As always thanks for your input.

Susquehannock · Nov 12, 2017

No way to run a full length card with no mods. Never be able to close the case. Remove that piece of the HHD swing arm and full cards fit nicely. Three screws - shown below

>> https://i.imgur.com/6iM1YIt.jpg

Not running any SSD in my personal systems. Know a couple people who do, and some of the later T3500 came from Dell with SSD. Programs & games load almost instantly.

Don't know anyone who uses Firewire any more. Have five of those cards & front panel cables in a box. First thing I remove when opening these.

Brian001 · Nov 12, 2017

Thanks Susquenhannock,

I'm on my way now. I have one of those cards from Dell but I thought those were only for the Raid. Will have to look into it.

I'll be modding the drive. Give me something to do until the CPU's get here.

Thanks for the advice and as always I really appreciate it.

Redangel 1 · Apr 3, 2018

Hello,

I want to buy new computer for Graphic work and gaming and I intend to buy GTX 1060

the problem that I am on budget, many people advised with new i5 8400 CPU but to build machine with it will require lots of money as I think

some one offered me these two workstation
T5500 X5655 32 GB Ram = 7000 EGP = 400 U.S. dollars
T7500 X5670 32 GB Ram = 10000 EGP = 570 U.S. dollars

I already had EVO 850 256 GB and 2 tb Hard disk and power seasonic 480 W

Now should I go with new build or these workstation will be good with GTX 1060?

Brian001 · Apr 3, 2018

Redangel 1 :

Hello,

I want to buy new computer for Graphic work and gaming and I intend to buy GTX 1060

the problem that I am on budget, many people advised with new i5 8400 CPU but to build machine with it will require lots of money as I think

some one offered me these two workstation
T5500 X5655 32 GB Ram = 7000 EGP = 400 U.S. dollars
T7500 X5670 32 GB Ram = 10000 EGP = 570 U.S. dollars

I already had EVO 850 256 GB and 2 tb Hard disk and power seasonic 480 W

Now should I go with new build or these workstation will be good with GTX 1060?

Brian001 · Apr 3, 2018

Redangel,

For a mid grade system I would recommend the T5500 but I would wait until you found a cpu with a higher processor. (Ebay is a good place to look but take your time and get what you want.) The X5687 that Susquehannock recommended above is the fastest cpu and is pretty cheap. I also think you could find a better deal than what is listed above if you looked around ebay and took you time.

I have 2 systems. My Dell T5500 has dual X5680's with a GTX 1070 ti and my other has been upgraded to a W3690 with a GTX 1060. We use to have a W3670 that also was a great cpu.
Both systems run almost all current games at 60fps at 1080 which is pretty good considering the age of the computer. The T5500 is absolutely awesome when it comes to gaming.

The GTX 1060 is pretty good when it comes to gaming but you might want to hold off a bit and see if Nvidia starts their new line of GPU's soon.

If you do decide to get a used system just let me know and I'll help out. Hopefully Susquehannock will chime in on this. He helped me out with advice on reconfiguring my systems.

Things you might want to consider if you get a T5500 or T7500:

Upgrading to Windows 10 will add to the price
Only buy a T5500 or T7500 that originally had windows on it. (made the mistake of getting one that orignally has Linx on it and it was a nightmare)
If you want USB 3 you will need to add in a card
T5500 and T7500 only have sata 2
You will want to purchase a SSD for Windows
T5500 comes with a 875 psu and the T7500 comes with a 1000 psu. The 875 only has 2 6 pin power connectors for the GPU. The T7500 has two 6 pin and one 8 pin power connectors for the gpu. (You can add a aftermarket into either system but it will take some reconfiuration to fit it in.)

Good luck and agan if you need any help just let me know.

Susquehannock · Apr 4, 2018

Not much I can add to the ^^above post except consider bulk when deciding which system to get.

The T7500 is much larger than T3500/T5500 (comparison below) and weighs 55-lbs (25 kilos). Whereas the smaller systems are 40-lbs (18 kilos) each.

T5500 vs T7500

T5500 CPU Recommendatoins

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