HP Proliant G6 for parents PC in tower case

[pcm81]

My parents are currently running a windows 10 pc on my old hardware (core2 duo 8600 with 8GB of ram on Asus Rampage mobo). Since windows 10 can be pretty power hungry, especially in the hands of "a parent" i think it's time for me to upgrade their PC this summer. I have an HP Proliant server that i am currently not using. Its a 2x xeon L5639s with 48GB of DDR3 ECC ram. I am considering sticking this mobo into a tower case, adding water blocks to the CPUs (or may be just huge heatsinks with low rpm large diameter fans). Goal is to make an overkill pc that even my parents windows 10 can't complain about. Probably will add modern gen low end video card.

My question is: What gotchas should i expect to run into trying to install a server mobo into a mid-tower ATX case like Antec 900?

Should I worry about the low GHz speed on xeons (2.13GHz)? I realize that L5639 has way more processing power than their current core2 duo 8600, but wondering about single core responsiveness which is what will drive their "speed perception"...


Another alternative would be a low end i7 build (up to $500 in parts for mobo, ram, cpu and video).

Thanks ahead

EDIT: Posting this in Networking, because i figured people here would be most familiar with proliant server hardware.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

While I can't tell you what issues you'll have installing that mobo, honestly a new i3 will smash that xeon for windows 10. I'd go with an i5 though for the 4 real cores along with 16GB RAM for ease of use. All that with an SSD will still be well under $500 as you don't need a GPU.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Aren't most dual Xeon boards larger than standard ATX format? SSI EB or E-ATX? I really doubt that it would fit.

Get them an i5 NUC, an M.2 PCI-E SSD of sufficient size (240GB or larger), and put Win10 on it for them.

 

[nerp]

For the 'rents just the general concept of a frankenbuild like this feels iffy to me. I think Larry is on the right track and you should think about a SFF machine or NUC.

 

[pcm81]

Reading the thread and looking at benchmarks i am leaning towards 6700K build with an SSD and 24GB of ram.

 

[XavierMace]

Aren't most dual Xeon boards larger than standard ATX format? SSI EB or E-ATX? I really doubt that it would fit.

Yes. They are typically either SSI-CEB, E-ATX, or a proprietary. All of which are too large for that case.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Reading the thread and looking at benchmarks i am leaning towards 6700K build with an SSD and 24GB of ram.

If you want to build that machine, feel free to. It's a beast machine.

But for daily usage the i5 6600 and 16GB RAM is more than enough. Also, I reccomend going for 16GB or 32GB of RAM as they split into dual channel so your don't use 3 sticks.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

While it is nice to have more than 2 threads anymore, I doubt most parents would ever use more than 4 threads, so I think an i7 is overkill. 8GB is also plenty of RAM. Simply upgrading the CPU to a Q9650 (4C @ 3.0GHz) with a mild overclock would put it close to 70% of the performance of a Core i5 6500. Q9650s are running $75 to $100 on eBay, and with any decent cheap heatsink 3.6GHz should be easy. Drop an SSD in and for less than $200 they'll be happy. Even the latest Pentium G4400 scores lower than the Q9650, and there are plenty of lesser Pentiums and Celerons being sold with Windows 10.

 

[VirtualLarry]

While it is nice to have more than 2 threads anymore, I doubt most parents would ever use more than 4 threads, so I think an i7 is overkill. 8GB is also plenty of RAM. Simply upgrading the CPU to a Q9650 (4C @ 3.0GHz) with a mild overclock would put it close to 70% of the performance of a Core i5 6500. Q9650s are running $75 to $100 on eBay, and with any decent cheap heatsink 3.6GHz should be easy. Drop an SSD in and for less than $200 they'll be happy. Even the latest Pentium G4400 scores lower than the Q9650, and there are plenty of lesser Pentiums and Celerons being sold with Windows 10.

NADA. Did you see the single-thread score of the Q9650, versus the G4400? That's what gives a "snappy" feeling in most apps. Then again, for certain apps, more MT grunt is useful too.

But on the whole, for the price you would spend on a used (and probably abused, given how easy it is to OC a Core2 rig with the right mobo), you could buy an ITX ASrock H110 board, and a brand-new G4400.

Ok, disclaimer, I did just that the other night. Looking forward to my nice, new, "snappy" ITX SKL rig.

I already have several other SKL rigs, including two Z170 rigs with G4400 CPUs. I switched one of them from my 7950 3GB card as my primary display output to the onboard HD 510, and un-overclocked the G4400 from 4.455Ghz back to stock 3.3Ghz, and quite frankly, I can barely feel any difference.

So, IMHO, unless they do something that requires heavy MT grunt, a G4400 is way more than enough for everyday apps.

Plus, with a Q9650, you need a hot, loud, power-sucking, expensive dGPU. Totally unnecessary for a parental rig, unless they are gamers.

 

[sdifox]

I don't think Proliant for your parents is a good idea.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

NADA. Did you see the single-thread score of the Q9650, versus the G4400? That's what gives a "snappy" feeling in most apps. Then again, for certain apps, more MT grunt is useful too.

Yep, I did. C2D/Q are still very capable, and the SSD would give more of a snappy feel than a single-thread boost.

But on the whole, for the price you would spend on a used (and probably abused, given how easy it is to OC a Core2 rig with the right mobo), you could buy an ITX ASrock H110 board, and a brand-new G4400.

$100 (C2Q+cooler) vs $200 (Pentium+mobo+RAM+case) for roughly the same performance. I doubt that cost matters to someone who was considering a new Core i7 build, but extra cores do. I do like mini/nano cases though, and would totally recommend a mini PC for non-gamers, but I still recommend a quad core (4 threads) minimum (eg, Core i3 or Core i5).

Plus, with a Q9650, you need a hot, loud, power-sucking, expensive dGPU. Totally unnecessary for a parental rig, unless they are gamers.

Their current system already has that, and doesn't seem to be much of a concern.

 

[pcm81]

Thank you all for an interesting discussion and a boatload of suggestions. I have been building my own PCs since 2001 and one thing that still scares me is a "less than fully open architecture". I am currently looking at building a pfsense box for myself and there the itx form factor would be perfect, but for my parents machine, which i will have to maintain in real time, i am still leaning towards an ATX+ sized solution in midtower case. It's kind of funny how i spent almost $4k building my current rig 5 years ago, and now i am speccing a sub $1K (yeah is panning out to be more than i originally thought) rig for my parents, which will probably match if not exceed performance of my rig.

 

[pcm81]

If you want to build that machine, feel free to. It's a beast machine.

But for daily usage the i5 6600 and 16GB RAM is more than enough. Also, I reccomend going for 16GB or 32GB of RAM as they split into dual channel so your don't use 3 sticks.

You right about 16GB. I am running tripple channel on my rig now, so got my numbers mixed up. 16GB would be the ram goal for parents rig.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I don't agree with VL too often, but when it comes to low-end rigs for non-techie people, he knows his stuff.

Do the thing(s) he told you to do.

 

[mxnerd]

server board for your parents is really way overkill and use too much power.

A simple SSD upgrade is all they need.

 

[MrDudeMan]

server board for your parents is really way overkill and use too much power.

A simple SSD upgrade is all they need.

That's what I was going to say as well. Home PCs are often 'fixed' with an SSD and it's a pretty trivial upgrade.

 

[pcm81]

That's what I was going to say as well. Home PCs are often 'fixed' with an SSD and it's a pretty trivial upgrade.

That is where i started. Already have ssd in-hand, but expecting more upgrades this summer.

 

[JackMDS]

I do not get it.

Win10 on core2 duo 8600 with 8GB does very well for at least 80% of regular mainstream users.

It is Not Good enough for modern Gamers, Heavy Graphic workers, Enthusiasts that experience unbreakable stress when they do not have the Best, etc.,etc.

The only info about the need of the user here is: Since windows 10 can be pretty power hungry, especially in the hands of "a parent" .

 

[MrDudeMan]

I do not get it.

Win10 on core2 duo 8600 with 8GB does very well for at least 80% of regular mainstream users.

It is Not Good enough for modern Gamers, Heavy Graphic workers, Enthusiasts that experience unbreakable stress when they do not have the Best, etc.,etc.

The only info about the need of the user here is: Since windows 10 can be pretty power hungry, especially in the hands of "a parent" .

I was in the middle of writing almost the same post. So, what he said.

I run W10 on much less powerful hardware with zero issues. If you're upgrading the computer because you want something to do, that's one thing, but you don't need to do anything other than format it and/or install an SSD to make the user experience appropriate for the target audience. W10 is not nearly as power hungry as you seem to be suggesting.

 

[pcm81]

I was in the middle of writing almost the same post. So, what he said.

I run W10 on much less powerful hardware with zero issues. If you're upgrading the computer because you want something to do, that's one thing, but you don't need to do anything other than format it and/or install an SSD to make the user experience appropriate for the target audience. W10 is not nearly as power hungry as you seem to be suggesting.

Fresh install of win10 on ssd would definitely fly even on that old hardware; but i do not want to have to reinstall all the apps that my parents collected and grew accustomed to over the years; so i figured i'd drive image their current system drive and restore to ssd. Then add more powerful hardware, so that all the bloating they did over last 5 years would still have room to grow for next 10 years. My parents are serious 12 o'clock flashers, so if an icon moved from one place on the desktop to another and they can't find it, my phone rings. You can imagine the burden I’d have to deal with if I do clean install...

 

[MrDudeMan]

Fresh install of win10 on ssd would definitely fly even on that old hardware; but i do not want to have to reinstall all the apps that my parents collected and grew accustomed to over the years; so i figured i'd drive image their current system drive and restore to ssd. Then add more powerful hardware, so that all the bloating they did over last 5 years would still have room to grow for next 10 years. My parents are serious 12 o'clock flashers, so if an icon moved from one place on the desktop to another and they can't find it, my phone rings. You can imagine the burden I’d have to deal with if I do clean install...

I've lived through that and I decided change was good for my parents, so I formatted their computers and then stopped answering the phone for two weeks. After the adjustment period, they became more self sufficient, their computers sucked less, and my life dramatically improved. Just my $0.02. Good luck either way.

Edit: The bloat is probably one of the main reasons the computer is currently struggling if I had to guess. An SSD can only do so much and imaging onto an SSD is unlikely to go off without a hitch. I imaged 25 workstations from a spinner to an SSD and I ended up formatting all of them in the end. RDP black screen of death, stuttering, slow performance, and various other issues were hitting one or more workstations at seemingly random intervals. What a pain that was. If you decide to image the drive, I hope it works for you, but I fear it will only compound your support calls and the issues will probably be much harder to diagnose.

 

[pcm81]

I've lived through that and I decided change was good for my parents, so I formatted their computers and then stopped answering the phone for two weeks. After the adjustment period, they became more self sufficient, their computers sucked less, and my life dramatically improved. Just my $0.02. Good luck either way.

Edit: The bloat is probably one of the main reasons the computer is currently struggling if I had to guess. An SSD can only do so much and imaging onto an SSD is unlikely to go off without a hitch. I imaged 25 workstations from a spinner to an SSD and I ended up formatting all of them in the end. RDP black screen of death, stuttering, slow performance, and various other issues were hitting one or more workstations at seemingly random intervals. What a pain that was. If you decide to image the drive, I hope it works for you, but I fear it will only compound your support calls and the issues will probably be much harder to diagnose.

I am going to use the ghost boot cd, so hopefully a drive image will be a 1-for-1 move to ssd. 500GB 5400rpm spinner to 500GB SSD. BUT if i do enup re-installing windows i definitely do not want to touch the machine for another 5-10 years, hence the planned hardware upgrade.

 

[sdifox]

I am going to use the ghost boot cd, so hopefully a drive image will be a 1-for-1 move to ssd. 500GB 5400rpm spinner to 500GB SSD. BUT if i do enup re-installing windows i definitely do not want to touch the machine for another 5-10 years, hence the planned hardware upgrade.

and install teamviewer

 

[pcm81]

and install teamviewer

They live 10 minutes away from my house and feed me dinner when i show up in person

 

[sdifox]

They live 10 minutes away from my house and feed me dinner when i show up in person

my brother is 2km away from me. I TV in all the time