Question Will a modern-gen CPU fit in a ThinkStation P520 (Lenovo-1036) CPU socket?

alikeobservant

Commendable
Jul 7, 2021
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I've got a ThinkStation P520, and I've been swapping components to get it running on modern gen games. I was worried that a modern-gen CPU would not fit in the CPU socket that the P520 has.
(p.s, any CPU recommendations for a 4070 ti)
 
No. It's hard to tell without exact specs, but I believe that was a Skylake-W/Cascade Lake-W platform. Platform generations don't last very long and I think the last ones even theoretically usable on that platform would be about four years old now. But you'll have to be specific with specs; prebuilt model names tend to be re-used constantly.
 
No. It's hard to tell without exact specs, but I believe that was a Skylake-W/Cascade Lake-W platform. Platform generations don't last very long and I think the last ones even theoretically usable on that platform would be about four years old now. But you'll have to be specific with specs; prebuilt model names tend to be re-used constantly.
I was thinking it was Haswell era. Show's what I know. Looks like it actually might be Cascade Lake. While not the fastest gaming CPU around, it should be fine for modern AAA games IMO.
 
No. It's hard to tell without exact specs, but I believe that was a Skylake-W/Cascade Lake-W platform. Platform generations don't last very long and I think the last ones even theoretically usable on that platform would be about four years old now. But you'll have to be specific with specs; prebuilt model names tend to be re-used constantly.

and also

if theres any other specs needed, lmn
 
Do you already own an RTX 4070 Ti? What CPU does your P520 have now?

What resolution are you gaming at?

With an Intel-based motherboard, you typically can only upgrade to the fastest CPU of your current-generation CPU or one generation ahead of it.
Yes, I do.

Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-2135 CPU @ 3.70GHz, 3696 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)

3840x1080

Yea...would I be able to just, kinda, replace the CPU slot with something that would accommodate a newer gen CPU? Or will I have to replace the motherboard?
 
Yes, I do.

Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-2135 CPU @ 3.70GHz, 3696 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)

3840x1080

Yea...would I be able to just, kinda, replace the CPU slot with something that would accommodate a newer gen CPU? Or will I have to replace the motherboard?
You would have to replace the motherboard, which would be difficult if not impossible to find a newer gen motherboard due to it likely being proprietary design by Lenovo to fit that exact case.

That W-2135 is a Skylake (2015-2017) processor. Not new by any means, but not useless. It can still play the latest games with fluidity. I think you went a bit overboard pairing it with an RTX 4070 Ti... With the $800 or so you spent on the GPU, you could have built a whole new mid-range gaming rig.

Anyway, your CPU should still get you somewhat mid-range performance. Do you have any specifics of where it wasn't doing what you wanted it to do?
 
Yup, there's no replacing the slot. It's still a usable CPU and should perform similarly in games to an i7-8700K. An upgrade would require a new case and a new PSU in addition to a new motherboard; while prebuilt workstations tend to have higher build quality than other prebuilts, they're still very lousy in terms of upgradeability.
 
You would have to replace the motherboard, which would be difficult if not impossible to find a newer gen motherboard due to it likely being proprietary design by Lenovo to fit that exact case.

That W-2135 is a Skylake (2015-2017) processor. Not new by any means, but not useless. It can still play the latest games with fluidity. I think you went a bit overboard pairing it with an RTX 4070 Ti... With the $800 or so you spent on the GPU, you could have built a whole new mid-range gaming rig.

Anyway, your CPU should still get you somewhat mid-range performance. Do you have any specifics of where it wasn't doing what you wanted it to do?
Physics calculations were pretty mediocre. My old PC had about the same, if not better physics calc than the the new one