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Need cores, new PC at 500$ Is the Xeon L5639 a smart choice?

EliteRetard

EliteRetard

Diamond Member
My dad has an old C2D system, ~3GHz dual. He runs a few small business (or tries to) and has crap tons of software running all day every day. The poor thing has been running 100% for like 2 years at 90c+. I know he wants to do more with his PC but can't.

He needs a new PC, and he needs more cores. Unfortunately his budget aint very big and Intel doesn't make low cost multi core CPUs. I suggested AMD but he is strongly in favor of Intel.

I've seen the thread on the old (new?) X58 Xeon L5639...100$ for a 6c 12t CPU and 100$ for a MOBO. This sounds promising!

Possible CPU:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-XEON-...BZJ-/310722826953?pt=CPUs&hash=item48588612c9

Possible MOBO:
http://3btech.net/msix5coi713m1.html

I was thinking:
Win7 64bit 100$ (is there a legit way to get it cheaper?)
Xeon L5639 100$
MSI X58A-GD45 110$
3x4GB DDR3 (what speed for X58 OC?) 100$
Have an old ATX case with 80mm fans...will this work?
What about CPU cooler, good for the 6c X58 + OC?
PSU Would one of the 30$ cheap jobs work?
Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194091
Or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339012

I think we can come up with another 100$ max for a budget of 600$ if we must.
I'd really like to get him a 256GB SSD (as the only drive, 128 is to small). Is there a good one under 200$?

The question is, is this a viable option for an office PC? Will it last running 24/7 for another 2-5 years (overclocked)? I'm hoping to hit at least a similar 3GHz that his C2D is running. This chip has a 16x multi, and 133MHz FSB? For 2.13GHz. Can I certainly hit ~175MHz FSB for 2.8GHz?

I saw in the other thread some people with 200FSB, but one stuck at 150.
I've never used anything newer than Win XP 32bit and C2D myself...so I don't know anything about X58 overclocking etc. Is this difficult to setup/maintain? What kind of power supply am I going to need? Will X58 play nice with Win 7 64bit and an SSD?

Is there an IGP for X58? He has an old ATI 3850, but it may be dieing.

Is there anything I'm missing or overlooking?
 
Unless, you have a specific goal, investing into old tech is never a good thing.

While that Xeon is power-efficient, the board is not. I'd get the cheapest Haswell i5 w/ ondie graphics and a B85 board instead. Less cool, but more practical and definitely more "suitable" for 24/7 operation.
 
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What does your dad run on this computer? Is it really using all cores 100%? If so, that Xeon would be better than the Haswell i5. Need more info on what software the computer runs and how often.
 
Is the Xeon L5639 a smart choice?
Click to expand...

Not remotely, especially if there's going to be a need for further upgrades down the line. He'd be better off spending more now and getting LGA2011 or one of the newer mainstream platforms (1155/1150).
 
EliteRetard said:
My dad has an old C2D system, ~3GHz dual. He runs a few small business (or tries to) and has crap tons of software running all day every day. The poor thing has been running 100% for like 2 years at 90c+. I know he wants to do more with his PC but can't.

He needs a new PC, and he needs more cores. Unfortunately his budget aint very big and Intel doesn't make low cost multi core CPUs. I suggested AMD but he is strongly in favor of Intel.

I've seen the thread on the old (new?) X58 Xeon L5639...100$ for a 6c 12t CPU and 100$ for a MOBO. This sounds promising!

Possible CPU:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-XEON-...BZJ-/310722826953?pt=CPUs&hash=item48588612c9

Possible MOBO:
http://3btech.net/msix5coi713m1.html

I was thinking:
Win7 64bit 100$ (is there a legit way to get it cheaper?)
Xeon L5639 100$
MSI X58A-GD45 110$
3x4GB DDR3 (what speed for X58 OC?) 100$
Have an old ATX case with 80mm fans...will this work?
What about CPU cooler, good for the 6c X58 + OC?
PSU Would one of the 30$ cheap jobs work?
Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194091
Or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817339012

I think we can come up with another 100$ max for a budget of 600$ if we must.
I'd really like to get him a 256GB SSD (as the only drive, 128 is to small). Is there a good one under 200$?

The question is, is this a viable option for an office PC? Will it last running 24/7 for another 2-5 years (overclocked)? I'm hoping to hit at least a similar 3GHz that his C2D is running. This chip has a 16x multi, and 133MHz FSB? For 2.13GHz. Can I certainly hit ~175MHz FSB for 2.8GHz?

I saw in the other thread some people with 200FSB, but one stuck at 150.
I've never used anything newer than Win XP 32bit and C2D myself...so I don't know anything about X58 overclocking etc. Is this difficult to setup/maintain? What kind of power supply am I going to need? Will X58 play nice with Win 7 64bit and an SSD?

Is there an IGP for X58? He has an old ATI 3850, but it may be dieing.

Is there anything I'm missing or overlooking?
Click to expand...

I was one of the people who jumped in both feet on a L5639 rig, got fairly lucky with a 210FSB stable overclock.

And I will be the first one to tell you this is not a rig for everyone. You have to understand the differentiation between Intel's mainstream line and their enthusiast line.

This is not an office machine. Don't do this to your dad. He looks like a strong candidate for an AMD APU, explain the advantages to him.
 
jhu said:
What does your dad run on this computer? Is it really using all cores 100%? If so, that Xeon would be better than the Haswell i5. Need more info on what software the computer runs and how often.
Click to expand...

+1

need more info on what type of software your dad does...

there is no IGP on LGA1366 period even server boards has a onboard video on the board and not the cpu.
 
You can get a rackmount dual L5639 server with a PCI-E x16 slot for $599

google L5639

btw, offer for $70 qty 2-10 and you will win! on cpu
 
Emulex said:
You can get a rackmount dual L5639 server with a PCI-E x16 slot for $599

google L5639

btw, offer for $70 qty 2-10 and you will win! on cpu
Click to expand...

Not anymore. Every single seller currently on ebay has declined $70 offers today.

edit: Should note that these were quantity offers too.
 
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definitely going to have to spend more than youre hoping, don't skimp on your psu, especially considering you intend to overclock. good quality 600w is what I would suggest. for memory again, good 1600 ram, im sure you can find a decent triple channel memory kit on ebay or even on the buy/sell here. cooling again don't skimp on it, get a good one. personally im using an h70 in me system and it works just great, possibly grab a h60? not sure what option for air cooling would be suitable for overclocking the l5639.
 
Don't overclock a business machine. If anything, he may need ECC especially if he is running financial software. Numbers changing randomly is no joke when money is involved.

If he's using an old dual core C2D, then I'd look at a lower end quad xeon and throw some ECC memory in there.

Actually a W3570 can be found for around $100 on ebay. That would be a pretty rocking chip if you can find a decent board.
 
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Just get a regular Haswell i5, or i7. (Don't bother with a K series.) It may have fewer cores than the old Xeon, but per-thread performance will be significantly higher- and the newer motherboard platform will play much more nicely with an SSD, which should be the main upgrade.
 
NTMBK has it right and a more up to date motherboard makes it easyer to upgrade later.
Another +1 on knowing what is run on said PC, Not knowing if the software you intend to run even supports more then 2 or 4 cores first would be a waste of money when a I5 or I7 higher frequency could be a better benefit.
 
I think it's important to know exactly what is expected to run on this machine.

Who knows, it might be better to score a used C2Q, more memory, and buy a big SSD. That might tide him over until more money is available for a better upgrade, and the SSD could be reused at that time.
 
Why a cheap xeon. Get a cheap 100mobo and 100 dollar cpu and 120 dolloar GPU and call it a day.

I hope you know ivy and sandy blow away that particular xeon chip.
 
OP don't be cheap with the psu, you want something of high quality (seasonic, corsair, antec, delta, anything with good reviews on jonnyguru)
 
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