Workstation as a gaming Pc

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Gtkill

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Feb 13, 2013
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So i Want to Build i gaming pc
and i found a workstation on sell and i think it's has a good value 830$ (my budget is around 1500$)
so here's the specs

Hp xw8600
Cpu: 2 Xeons X5460 / 3.16 12Mb cache
Ram : 8Gb DDr2 ECC (up to 128 Gb)
Vga :Quadro FX 5600
Psu : 800W 80+
Storage : 2 Sas 300Gb 15K
optical drive : hp Dvd rw 16x

i'm planing on selling the quadro since my only use is Gaming and i'll get a vga like GTX 680 or 7970 Ghz
and will be cheaper than a regular i5 or i7 build
what do you think ?

here's a link for more info: http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12849_na/12849_na.pdf
 
You're better off building one. That has a server cpu, so you'll have to sell both the cpu and gpu, which won't be easy.
Not sure if you needed a monitor, os or wanted to overclock so I included everything in.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($60.81 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1473.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-17 03:34 EDT-0400)
If you're not overclocking then you could drop the cpu to a i5-3470/3570 (which ever is cheaper) and get the ASRock H77 micro-atx mobo.
 

That's my exact same build i was planing to take before seing that offer !!
but is that build really that bad ?
i mean i will still have some money to upgrade it

 
First off, getting rid of the server cpu and workstation gpu is going to be a pain. We don't even know the model of the psu, unless it states in the quick specs thing that I didn't even bother to read. I can only assume it's a generic one, which is bad. DDR2 RAM...really? Building your own is much more better, and you get everything you want. None of that extra junk.
 
No, this rig is just too old. It may have been decent workhorse at the time, but compared to modern chips its too weak.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/48?vs=701
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/48?vs=677
The Core 2 Extreme QX9770, $1000+ back in 2008 being smashed by a $200 3570k and just edging out a $100 i3-3220. I imagine with Haswell, an i3 would trump the Core 2 Extreme.
Those Xeons were released roughly the same time, and they weren't exactly top of the line.

Build yourself a modern rig, you have the budget for it and it will be far more upgradable. For instance, DDR3 vs DDR2 RAM, SATAIII versus whats likely SATAI and IDE.
 
Thanks guys for your replies,
just wondering is this build can run a high end gpu like a 680 GTx or 7970 Ghz ?
is games gonna make use of that cpu cores ?
 
Nope, in general games dont benefit much from greater multi-threaded (More cores = More threads) performance. That's why there's little difference in gaming performance between a quad core i5 and a hex-core (with Hyper-threading, so 12 threads) 3930k.
Single threaded performance is what drives games nowadays, and even then only to a point as the GPU will always be the bottleneck to gaming performance.
 


Games are starting to use more cores. Crysis 3 and I think Farcry 3 are taking advantage of multiple cores. And with ps4 using 8cores, you could except games running smoother on a 8core cpu rather than a 4core cpu.
==
 
I know there are some exceptions like BF3 that can utilize additional threads well, but performance is still largely driven by single threaded performance.
Also that argument was made back when the Xbox 360 and PS3 were released 6 years ago, the 360 uses a Tri-Core and the PS3 had something like 5 or 6 (not sure on this). Only starting to happen now.
 
So the i5 3570k is way better than two xeon x5460 .
but is this build can run a high end gpu like a 680 GTx or 7970 Ghz ?
 
The old build, based purely on CPU performance it probably could, but not for much longer and it might already be held back by factors like the DDR2 RAM and storage solution.

The build that RealChaos made (and anything roughly similar) will do it without doubt and is good for maybe 1.5-2yrs of maxing games at 1080p (barring any rapid advances in graphics following the new console gen). As well as being easily upgradable in the future, which is a definite issue with the older rig.
 
one last thing guys ,
what Gpu is better and has a good value 7970, 670 or 680 ?
and what psu should comfortably handle 7970 crossfire /680 SLI ?
 
thanks Guys i think i'm gonna take this :

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Case: ZALMAN Z11 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:CORSAIR HX1050 ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1537.59
 
Get 2x4GB, or up the RAM amount to 2x8GB. On dual channel boards (ie, every mainstream mobo) having multiples of two of RAM sticks leads to the best performance.

Do you plan on Crossfiring three of those cards with that PSU, inside that mid-tower case on an ATX size board that cant properly support Tri-SLI/Crossfire, to power a single 1080p monitor?
Also the Vapor-X isn't the best card for multi-GPU configs, the cooler is large enough that it impedes on a 3rd slot, which has caused issues on much larger boards.
 


For the ram i'm taking the 1 x 8Gb because i'm planing to add another later because if i take 2 x 4 Gb i will have to change them when i will need more than 24 Gb (i know that's a lot of ram but who knows )
and for the PSU yes i'm willing to crossfire later and maybe even overclock both when needed also i know a friend who have 1000W Psu for 6 years and he upgrades a lot without changing it and it's the only thing that isn't
changing a lot and i can even tri Sli/cf but not with that board.

 
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