Hi,
I know these Xeon E5-2xxx and E5-1xxx CPU series are rather old, but comparing to the setup that I'm currently having (Athlon 64 x2 4800+ and a pesky 4GB DDR2 RAM), they would be a massive improvement.
The plan is to purchase either of the 3 CPUs mentioned above, to go along with an HP Z420 and 8 x 8GB DDR3 ECC+registered RAM (PC3-10600R -- yes, very surprisingly registered/buffered 1333MHz DDR3 seems to work with Z420 even if their service manuals do not say so). From a highly-reputable e-bay store.
The E5-1650 v1 is priced for $110, E5-1650 v2 for $140 and E5-2650 v2 for $150.
The PassMark benchmark scores are:
E5-2650 v2 = 13,019
E5-1650 v2 = 12,658
E5-1650 v1 = 11,767
[And for reference, i7-3930K = 12,020]
Which one, in your opinion would you go for? I am inclined to go with the 2650 v2 or 1650 v2 (since they seem to be both a newer, 22nm technology).
And I have a decision paralysis, because:
- 2650 v2 is octa-core and 8 x 2.6GHz base clock = 20.8.
And an all-core boost freq = 8 x 3.4GHz = 27.2.
- 1650 v2 is hexa-core and 6 x 3.5GHz = 21.
And an all-core boost freq = 6 x 3.9GHz = 23.4.
2650 v2 has a lower TDP than 1650 v2. Lower clocked but higher number of cores. While 1650 v2 has base clock but lower number of cores (and lower L3 cache size).
In single-core benchmarks, the E5-1650 v2 seems to win?
My use case is this:
1. No intention to overclock (unless the HP Z420 bastardized bios would allow for that).
2. I am terrified by past experience with the Intel PresHOT, so I am fearful of thermal issues with Intel. Even though the HP Z420 towers have a state-of-the-art heatsink + fan (both maaaasive).
3. No intention to run server software/daemons etc.
4. It is a home use setup - HTPC-like, planning to also have an nVidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB installed. with Media Player Classic HC, LAV filters and 1080p HEVC video playing and a new thing for me to try - gaming.
5. I usually stay heavy-loaded in terms of web browser use: Pale Moon (a lightweight FireFox fork) or Opera 12 and constantly 50-75 tabs open almost all the time.
6. I might plan to do also HEVC / H.265 video encoding, but not sure.
So overall, the use case is HTPC activities + gaming. For software development (I'm an IT professional) I use a different PC at home (A used Asus All-in-One i3 with 6GB)
Which one would you personally go for?
=> The cost differential is minimal between all 3.
=> Is the single-core performance a key factor for gaming or apps that are not multithreading / HT affine?
=> Does the total boost freq constitute a relevant factor in the decision?
Thank you so much for your input.
I know these Xeon E5-2xxx and E5-1xxx CPU series are rather old, but comparing to the setup that I'm currently having (Athlon 64 x2 4800+ and a pesky 4GB DDR2 RAM), they would be a massive improvement.
The plan is to purchase either of the 3 CPUs mentioned above, to go along with an HP Z420 and 8 x 8GB DDR3 ECC+registered RAM (PC3-10600R -- yes, very surprisingly registered/buffered 1333MHz DDR3 seems to work with Z420 even if their service manuals do not say so). From a highly-reputable e-bay store.
The E5-1650 v1 is priced for $110, E5-1650 v2 for $140 and E5-2650 v2 for $150.
The PassMark benchmark scores are:
E5-2650 v2 = 13,019
E5-1650 v2 = 12,658
E5-1650 v1 = 11,767
[And for reference, i7-3930K = 12,020]
Which one, in your opinion would you go for? I am inclined to go with the 2650 v2 or 1650 v2 (since they seem to be both a newer, 22nm technology).
And I have a decision paralysis, because:
- 2650 v2 is octa-core and 8 x 2.6GHz base clock = 20.8.
And an all-core boost freq = 8 x 3.4GHz = 27.2.
- 1650 v2 is hexa-core and 6 x 3.5GHz = 21.
And an all-core boost freq = 6 x 3.9GHz = 23.4.
2650 v2 has a lower TDP than 1650 v2. Lower clocked but higher number of cores. While 1650 v2 has base clock but lower number of cores (and lower L3 cache size).
In single-core benchmarks, the E5-1650 v2 seems to win?
My use case is this:
1. No intention to overclock (unless the HP Z420 bastardized bios would allow for that).
2. I am terrified by past experience with the Intel PresHOT, so I am fearful of thermal issues with Intel. Even though the HP Z420 towers have a state-of-the-art heatsink + fan (both maaaasive).
3. No intention to run server software/daemons etc.
4. It is a home use setup - HTPC-like, planning to also have an nVidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB installed. with Media Player Classic HC, LAV filters and 1080p HEVC video playing and a new thing for me to try - gaming.
5. I usually stay heavy-loaded in terms of web browser use: Pale Moon (a lightweight FireFox fork) or Opera 12 and constantly 50-75 tabs open almost all the time.
6. I might plan to do also HEVC / H.265 video encoding, but not sure.
So overall, the use case is HTPC activities + gaming. For software development (I'm an IT professional) I use a different PC at home (A used Asus All-in-One i3 with 6GB)
Which one would you personally go for?
=> The cost differential is minimal between all 3.
=> Is the single-core performance a key factor for gaming or apps that are not multithreading / HT affine?
=> Does the total boost freq constitute a relevant factor in the decision?
Thank you so much for your input.