What do you consider the best value in used processors today?

[Burpo]

What clocks on your X5650?

And how many CPU marks did you get when you ran Passmark Performance test?

I've had it to 12,000+

 

[cbn]

Thanks for those results Burpo.

4.73 Ghz 32nm Hexcore (overclocked X5650): 11990 CPU marks.

This puts it 175 and 169 CPU marks above Dual X5677 quad cores and Dual X5660 hexcores respectively:

Dual X5677 ($130 for 2 processors, 260W): 11815 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5677+@+3.47GHz&id=1310&cpuCount=2

Dual X5660 ($160 for 2 processors, 190W): 11821 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5660+@+2.80GHz&cpuCount=2

 

[cbn]

Another comparison to throw in the mix:

i7 2600 ($150 on ebay "buy it now" listings, 95W): 8269 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-2600+@+3.40GHz

So dual LGA 1366 processors can be quite a bit better in terms of multi-threaded performance per dollar.

Keep in mind though, LGA 1155 pre-built desktops cost less money (and use less power)....but the LGA 1366 Workstations have more features (higher memory capacity, ECC RAM, more SATA ports, Power supply with higher wattage, dual PCIe x16 Gen 2 slots, etc.)

 

[SPBHM]

you can run the i7 2600 with the cheapest h61 board ever made and with the Intel cooler to get that performance.

with a p67/z68 board the i7 2600 non K can be overclocked to 3.9GHz+
also it's nice that you get one of the best possible sata III performance,

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I was lucky to get my 2500K chip for $150 at MC on BF, I've seen some used chips in the $130-140 range...

You can snag a 2600/3770 for $135 - $150 on CL in DFW if you're patient enough.
Have two 3770 here running nicely at 4.1GHz. Picked up both used for $260 total last summer.

 

[cbn]

You can snag a 2600/3770 for $135 - $150 on CL in DFW if you're patient enough.
Have two 3770 here running nicely at 4.1GHz. Picked up both used for $260 total last summer.

On ebay "Buy it now" listings that i7-3770 is currently starting at $215 with free shipping.

 

[cbn]

also it's nice that you get one of the best possible sata III performance,

SATA 6 Gbps would be nice, but I am hoping this adapter will work out well enough for a M.2 ultra data drive:

https://www.ramcity.com.au/buy/lycom-m.2-pcie-ssd-to-pcie-3.0-x4-adapter/DT-120

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

On ebay "Buy it now" listings that i7-3770 is currently starting at $215 with free shipping.

I know, and they used to be a tad higher, which is why I said "patient"
Probably the best CPU score on CL was an i7 980 for something like $250 awhile back. Made a nice chunk of change after I flipped it on eBay

 

[cbn]

You don't have to go with X5650's. You can get the L series 5600's (low power) for less. I paid $55 each for my last batch of L5640's. 60w hex cores? Yes please. Given you're going dual socket and are on a budget, I'd just go with a pair of quads and save the $30-$40. Keep in mind, these are Hyperthreaded where as the 771's are not.

Yes, turns out the dual Westmere X5677 quads are actually faster than a pair of X5650 and cost $30 less money:

Dual X5677 ($130 for 2 processors, 260W): 11815 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5677+@+3.47GHz&id=1310&cpuCount=2

Dual X5650 ($160 for 2 processors, 190W): 11,684 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5650+@+2.67GHz&cpuCount=2

I'm thinking overclockers are one factor keeping the price of the hexcore X5650 up. This compared to the X5677 which less cores and less overclocking headroom.

On the other hand, dual X5650s should have better performance per watt. Though I wonder how much difference in cost it would amount up to over X amount of years?

 

[cbn]

you can run the i7 2600 with the cheapest h61 board ever made and with the Intel cooler to get that performance.

Yes, and some H61 boards can still be bought new:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...NodeId=1&N=100007627 600093976 600100103 4814

Though with that mentioned, I think a used or refurbished LGA 1155 Desktop would be a cheaper overall platform to use for a i7-2600 vs. dual LGA 1366 Xeon comparison (re: refurbished LGA 1155 desktops include a Windows 7 license and can be had quite cheaply in some cases. In fact, here was one with Pentium dual core, 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD with Windows 7 Pro for under $100: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37414284&postcount=52) However, to make the comparison of i7 2600 to dual Xeon workstation more apples to apples I think a tower form (rather than SFF) factor LGA 1155 PC should be used.

 

[cbn]

AMD AM3 processor prices:

Athlon II x3 435 (2.9 Ghz), (United States seller) starting at $24.00 shipped
Athlon II x4 640 (2.6 Ghz), (United States seller) starting at $34.50 shipped
Phenom II x3 710 (2.6 Ghz), (United States seller) starting at $25 shipped.
Phenom II x 3 720 BE (2.8 Ghz), (United States seller) starting at $30 shipped.
Phenom II x 4 910 (2.6 Ghz), (United States seller) starting at $45 shipped.


Athlon II x3 435 (2.9 Ghz) Passmark: 2496 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X3+435&id=156

Athlon II x4 640 (2.6 Ghz) Passmark: 3354 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+II+X4+640&id=171

Phenom II x3 710 (2.6 Ghz) Passmark: 2496 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X3+710&id=341

Penom II x 3 720 BE (2.8 Ghz) Passmark: 2698 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X3+720

Phenom II x 4 910 (2.6 Ghz) Passmark: 3329 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+910

IMO these prices seem somewhat high considering a Q6600 (with Passmark score of 2991 CPU marks starts at $20 shipped these days.

However, with a new $50 After rebate ASRock 970 motherboard like this one a Phenom II x 3 could potentially be unlocked into a Phenom II x 4.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

The i5 750, they're often dirt cheap because 1156 motherboards are impossible to find.

 

[dark zero]

They are obsolete. A G1820 is as fast as an old Core 2. An i3 4330 is faster than most if not all of the quad's. No point upgrading a box from 2007 or 2008. A new chipset brings huge improvements never mind a new CPU. Its $7 of crap. May as well save up and buy new.

Not really... the i3 is fast as the mid tier real quad processors, but extremely slow against the fastest Quad Cores and 1st gen Core i5, to not to say that gets beaten by the 2nd Core i5 ones.

 

[amittalkin]

I've had it to 12,000+

Offtopic but care to post your BIOS settings? I struggle to get stable OC beyond 4GHz on my X58 sabertooth.

 

[ClockHound]

Offtopic but care to post your BIOS settings? I struggle to get stable OC beyond 4GHz on my X58 sabertooth.

Let me Burpo that for you: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36556082&postcount=1452

Note: Burpo dropped the offset voltage to .22 later in the thread.

 

[nemesismk2]

i have always been a fan of dual core cpu like the Amd x2 regor. yes i don't play games very often.

 

[mikeymikec]

You can take a 2008 dual core Core Duo and replace the 500GB spinning disk with a Samsung 500GB for a few hundred. It makes the old Dell sit up and scream. It's better than it was when it was new. The CPU was not upgraded, so that cost was zero. Even running an SSD at SATA II is so much faster than a spinning disk, you get more life from an old machine.

This. I have a Dell Latitude E4300 that a customer gave to me (late Vista era Core 2 Duo P9400, 4GB DDR3, SATA 3Gbps), I put an SSD into it and it flies for everything I've needed to do on it. It's also lighter and smaller than the average laptop and I put a USB3.0 ExpressCard in the side as that's useful for my line of work. It has a couple of issues but I'm pleased with it.

The i5 750, they're often dirt cheap because 1156 motherboards are impossible to find.

I'm glad I largely avoided the first-gen Core series (for customer computer builds) then!

 

[amittalkin]

Let me Burpo that for you: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=36556082&postcount=1452

Note: Burpo dropped the offset voltage to .22 later in the thread.

Thanks a bunch

 

[cbn]

The i5 750, they're often dirt cheap because 1156 motherboards are impossible to find.

One thing I am noticing is that mid-level Phenom II x 4 and x6 prices are higher than Core i5 750.

I am thinking a reason for that might be the availability of new AM3+ motherboards (compatible with these older AM3 processors), compared to the situation with Intel.

Examples using Current ebay "buy it now" listings:

Core i5 750: starting at $40 shipped (US seller)
Core i7 860: starting at $67 shipped (US seller)

Phenom II x4 925: starting at $57 shipped (US seller).
Phenom II x4 945: starting at $63 shipped (US seller)
Phenom II x 4 965: starting at $75 shipped (US seller)
Phenom II x6 1055T: starting at $84 shipped (US seller)

According to Intel Ark Core i5 750 was introduced Q3 2009 at a price of $197 tray ($213 box).

According to CPU world, Phenom II x 4 965 was introduced Q4 2009 at a price of $195.

So the Phenom II x 4 965 even though it was introduced at roughly the same time and price as Core i5 750 has retained more of its value.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I am thinking a reason for that might be the availability of new AM3+ motherboards (compatible with these older AM3 processors), compared to the situation with Intel.

.

Agreed. CPU's rarely die. It's everything else that's attached to them. A used 955be or 965be are an alternative to an LGA 1155 i3 for similar prices. Either would probably be fine depending on needs. I think it's smarter to spend a little more and get the used i5 2400 @ $90.- and i5 2500 @ $100.- shipped. Sandy quads are showing great longevity and mobo's are still cheap and plentiful.

 

[sm625]

I prefer XEONs like the X5570 because they are put into workstations which are built to last. The Dell Precision T3500 was so well built that at one point there was a serious glut of them. I got mine for $250. I wouldnt be surprised if it lasted till it was retired for being too slow. It's crazy that people buy new machines with atoms when there are literally warehouses full of these old workhorses just sitting idle.

 

[cbn]

Some passmark comparisons:

(I added E5-1620 to the list below)

i7 4790K ($339, 88W): 11237 CPU Marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4790K+@+4.00GHz
i7 4790 ($305, 84W): 10074 CPu marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4790+@+3.60GHz
i5 4670 ($224, 84W): 7407 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4670+@+3.40GHz
E5-1620 ($195 shipped*,130W): 9100 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E5-1620+@+3.60GHz
i7-2600 ($150 shipped*, 95W): 8267 CPU marks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-2600+@+3.40GHz&id=1

*on ebay "buy it now" listings

Some notes:

1.) i7-2600 increased in price $20 since I first listed it in this thread (This most likely due to the fact there are only a small amount of listings for this processor which adds to the variability of "buy it now" pricing)

2.) Both i7-2600 and E5-1620 are Sandy Bridge 4C/8T processors. The E5-1620 is a LGA 2011 processor with 200 Mhz higher base clocks and more cache (10MB vs. 8MB ) compared to i7 2600. Both processors have 3.8 Ghz turbo.

 

[cbn]

The Dell Precision T3500 was so well built that at one point there was a serious glut of them. I got mine for $250. I wouldnt be surprised if it lasted till it was retired for being too slow. It's crazy that people buy new machines with atoms when there are literally warehouses full of these old workhorses just sitting idle.

Here is a review from Anandtech on the Dell T3600, which is the LGA 2011 successor to the LGA 1366 T3500. Hopefully it was well built as well.

P.S. Apparently this is the first Dell Workstation to have a tool-less PSU:

The PSU appears to be fundamentally modular but also a proprietary design (with all the pro's and con's associated with that); if the PSU in a system fails, you can actually pull it out of the back of the system then slide a new one in and have the system back up and running in under a minute, no rewiring required.

This comes as either 425W 80 plus Gold and 635W 80 plus Gold. (PCIe Power: one eight pin or two six pin connectors.)

 

[cbn]

Xeon x5677 (starting @ $60 shipped on ebay "buy it now" listings), 7069 CPU marks, 1515 CPU marks (single thread) --> http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5677+@+3.47GHz&id=1310

Xeon x5687 (starting @ $85 shipped on ebay "buy it now" listings), 7383 CPU marks, 1591 CPU marks (single thread)--> http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+X5687+@+3.60GHz&id=1313

Athlon x4 860K ($75 shipped on Amazon, $77 shipped on Newegg): 5639 CPU marks, 1598 CPU marks (single thread) --> http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+X4+860K+Quad+Core&id=2362

-LGA 1366 quads win on multi-threading, Athlon x 4 860K wins slightly on single thread.
-LGA 1366 x5677 and x5687 quads have higher TDP compared to Athlon x4 860K (130 watts vs 95 watts)
-LGA 1366 overclocking boards are expensive, FM2+ boards are not.
-LGA 1366 Windows desktops/Workstations are cheap but used, FM2+ desktops are more expensive (but new).
-LGA 1366 idle is predictably higher, but I still have more research to do.
-LGA 1366 chipset doesn't have usb 3.0, SATA 6 Gbps, PCIe 3.0 (FM2+ does)....but the LGA 1366 workstations usually come with a generous amount of PCIe 2.0 slots.
-LGA 1366 Workstations have more DIMM slots than FM2+ motherboards (and can use ECC).

 

[ArisVer]

I don't think the native SATA2 ports support AHCI (ICH7).

Only the ICH7DH, ICH7R, ICH7-M, ICH7-M DH chip have AHCI support. The ICH7 (Base) and ICH7-U (Ultra-mobile) chip do not support AHCI.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I/O_Controller_Hub#ICH7