Add a 2nd CPU. Is it worth it?

[ArisVer]

The system in my sig. I only use my computer for the internet, movies, communication. No heavy use such as games or encoding.
I can add a second CPU but what will be my gain? Will it more responsive, and how much? As it is it's fast enough even I do have some slow responses but mostly because of a page loading in the browser.
The CPU usually gets around 30% during some uses and between 50-70% when I have a VM on, something that I don't do often.

The cost of the second CPU is not much as they are old; I do have a pair of E5450 but will get another L chip. I will need another OS since I made the mistake of getting the home version which only supports one CPU.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Honestly? Unless you decide to get into DC, I'd say no. The need to purchase and re-install the OS is really the nail in the coffin, even if the CPU is cheap. That said, depending on how cheap the CPU really is, you could purchase it now when it is cheap and available, and upgrade the OS later. (I'm going to assume here that Home Windows will boot on a multi-CPU system, you just won't be able to make any use of the 2nd CPU. This may be incorrect.)

 

[NTMBK]

You would be better off with one E5450 than two L5420 for your usage. 4 cores is plenty, but you need more single threaded performance.

 

[ArisVer]

I prefer to stick with the L model but I will keep in mind of what you said. Will an extra 0.5 GHz make much difference? There is also the L5430 at 2.66GHz but is usually more expensive at around 40 euro compared to about 20-25 euro for the L5420.

I installed the Home version with the two E CPUs in there, and had no problems, FYI. As far as the cost of the OS I might switch to Debian.

Right now I will leave it as it is, but I am also thinking of the future. IIRC I should get a matched pair or find a compatible second CPU for my current one. What information I should be looking at and how do I retrieve that info?

 

[NTMBK]

Why use the L model? Its only benefit is lower power consumption, but two L models will still use significantly more power than one E model.

 

[sm625]

I wouldnt buy an L model if you already have a pair of E5450 that you can use. In actual usage, you really arent going to be saving 60 watts as the TDPs suggest. You will probably only save 30W at full load. And at 30% load you will only save maybe 15 watts. I believe these are dual core cpus that are bolted together by a fsb. So you're really talking about having 4 dual core cpus. You're going to lose a lot of performance due to the caches not being shared. I wouldnt put any money at all into this system.

 

[VirtualLarry]

These are Core2-era CPUs, are they not? I didn't initially realize that, I thought that they were Nehalem / Westmere. If they're Core-era, then I would be reticent to spend any more money on that rig.

If you're really concerned about power consumption, get a Haswell i3 CPU, possibly with an 'S' designation.

 

[ArisVer]

The system is old by today's standards but serves me well for what I do. I am not retiring it anytime soon and when I do it will be a backup file server system. I really don't see any benefit to justify the spending of 500-1000 for something new. I might just throw another 4GB of RAM in, which at around 20 is not much.
From your answers I believe I will switch to a single E CPU on next cleanup.

 

[NTMBK]

Got to agree with you actually- no need to throw out old hardware if it still does the job fine. Exact same reason I still have a Phenom II X4 in my desktop, and why I used to have an old dual socket workstation I upgraded to 3GHz Xeons. (Old Pentium 4 based Xeons though, nothing as nice as yours!)

Out of curiosity, how is your memory configured? Is it 2 x 2GB + 2 X 1GB, or 1 x 4GB + 1 x 2GB? You should always aim to have matching memory in your two memory channels, to get the most bandwidth out of your system. (Also, make sure you have some spare DIMM slots to put your extra memory into- doesn't your motherboard only have 4 slots in total?)

Hope your PC serves you well for a few more years

 

[Rakehellion]

I only use my computer for the internet, movies, communication. No heavy use

No.

 

[ArisVer]

It came with 2x1GB, and I added 2x2GB, different brands and has no problems at all. I still have another 4 slots empty and wouldn't dream of installing 4GB sticks as they are very expensive. With 6Gb total is more than enough unless I start VMs. Even if I leave it on for days I rarely pass the 4GB mark since the usage is light.

 

[ArisVer]

No.

No? Meaning?

 

[Morgoth780]

No? Meaning?

You won't really see a performance improvement from a second CPU unless you're doing something that will leverage the extra cores, which, based off your uses, nothing will.

There is a case to be made for getting a second CPU because "why not?" or bragging rights. Or just for fun. But from a usefulness standpoint, I don't really think it's a good idea.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Got to agree with you actually- no need to throw out old hardware if it still does the job fine.

From his comments, his primary concern seems to be power consumption. If you want to significantly reduce power usage, switching to a newer CPU / platform, with an IGP instead of discrete, will save the most power.

He already owns two E- CPUs that will drop in, he's not really asking if he should get a second CPU, he already owns two that will work in that board.

 

[ArisVer]

For power consumption I dropped in the L CPU because I thought it was adequate for my needs, and it is. I am not sure when I will get back my 20 from the power bill; maybe in a few years. The motherboard itself probably burns more watts than an average one. If I was really concerned I would get a newer system specifically for low power use.

Edit. Just for fun is a good enough reason to install the second CPU. But if it's sitting there idling with nothing to do it has no meaning.

 

[crashtech]

An E5472 is one of the few LGA 771 CPUs still worth messing with.

 

[ArisVer]

My FSB is 1333MHz.

 

[crashtech]

Whoops, that's right. And I see you are in Cyprus, so I can't presume to know where you source your parts, either. The correct CPU is an X5470, and they are available but more expensive.