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

[crashtech]

I guess I was going off bad info. The guy who gave me the board designs and builds server configurations for companies for a living, and I've known him for almost 20 years - not sure why he would give me bad info.

The board in question:
http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel/DP67BG.html

Looks like a bunch of Xeons would work.

Strange how the only Sandy E3 Xeon in the list is the 1225. But if it and all the Ivy (v2) models work, it's a good bet that most of the common Xeons will work. Though I think I read somewhere that the IGP will not work with the P67 chipset, so the models ending in 5 are just a waste unless they are a good deal.

 

[andy2000]

The best value in cores per $ has to be an AMD Opteron. A 16 core 6272 can be easily had for $50. A 12 core 6174 can be had for a mere $15! Not bad considering these were over $1000 just a few years ago. It does say a lot about how far AMD has fallen in the server market though...

 

[crashtech]

The best value in cores per $ has to be an AMD Opteron. A 16 core 6272 can be easily had for $50. A 12 core 6174 can be had for a mere $15! Not bad considering these were over $1000 just a few years ago. It does say a lot about how far AMD has fallen in the server market though...

Those Opterons have terrible ST performance, though. They would have to be utilized for a specific task that needs cores, but they're not suitable for a "daily driver" at all.

 

[andy2000]

Those Opterons have terrible ST performance, though. They would have to be utilized for a specific task that needs cores, but they're not suitable for a "daily driver" at all.

Very true, but if you need a lot of cores and support for a lot of RAM, they're hard to beat for up front cost.

 

[cbn]

Price of E5 2670 is now down to $69 (or best offer) shipped.

P.S. So far E5 2670 Price history on ebay "buy it now listings" (according to my records) has been:

November 11, 2015: $179.00 shipped
Novemeber 18, 2015 : $153.99 shipped
December 15, 2015: $139.00 shipped
December 29, 2105: $104.99 shipped
January 19, 2016: $99.99 (or best offer) shipped
January 20, 2016: $95 shipped
January 22, 2016: $83.86 shipped
January 23, 2016: $82 (or best offer) shipped
January 26, 2016: $69 (or best offer) shipped

 

[cbn]

If only we could get some new x79 board support from Taiwan, this E5 2670 could be the replacement for Core i3 in budget DIY gamer builds.

 

[dark zero]

Those Opterons have terrible ST performance, though. They would have to be utilized for a specific task that needs cores, but they're not suitable for a "daily driver" at all.

Maybe they are still useful on the pro market (video edition), but not with the gaming one.

 

[Raduque]

Maybe they are still useful on the pro market (video edition), but not with the gaming one.

That interests me, because the reason I'm upgrading my server is so it can handle more concurrent Plex transcode streams. It's current dual-core can handle two low bitrate (2Mb-ish) 720p streams, one 5Mb 720p, or one 3Mb 1080p.

 

[cbn]

Price research on standard power 32nm hexcores (using ebay "buy it now" listings):

X5690 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 3.46 Ghz/3.73 Ghz turbo, 130W TDP starts at $222 shipped
X5680 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 3.33 Ghz/3.6 Ghz turbo, 130W TDP starts at $150 shipped
X5675 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 3.06 Ghz/3,46 Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $115 shipped
X5670 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 2.92 Ghz/3.33 Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $99 shipped
X5660 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 2.8 Ghz/3.2Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $80 shipped
X5650 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 2.66 Ghz/3.06Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $75 shipped

Some updated pricing (below) to compare to the pricing above from June 6th 2015:

X5690 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 3.46 Ghz/3.73 Ghz turbo, 130W TDP starts at $183 shipped
X5680 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 3.33 Ghz/3.6 Ghz turbo, 130W TDP starts at $118 (OBO) shipped
X5675 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 3.06 Ghz/3,46 Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $74 shipped
X5670 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 2.92 Ghz/3.33 Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $49.95 shipped
X5660 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 2.8 Ghz/3.2Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $47 (OBO) shipped
X5650 6C/12T, 12MB cache, 2.66 Ghz/3.06Ghz turbo, 95W TDP starts at $34.98 (OBO) shipped

So a pretty good depreciation on the mid level hexcores and below.

With that mentioned, the E5 Xeons have dropped even more since this thread was started. (The E5- 1620 quad core is often times under $50 shipped (and sometimes under $40 shipped) while the E5 1650 hexcore is consistently under $100 shipped on ebay buy it now auctions). However, keep in mind Pre-built Workstation prices for LGA 1366 like this Dell T3500 are lower than LGA 2011 like this HP Z420 (though notice the difference in installed RAM* on the Dell T3500 listings vs. the HP Z420 I linked)

*Also keep in mind LGA 2011 can use super cheap ECC DDR3 RDIMMs whereas the 1P LGA 1366 machines cannot.

 

[Burpo]

If only we could get some new x79 board support from Taiwan, this E5 2670 could be the replacement for Core i3 in budget DIY gamer builds.

There's a few on ebay now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEST-DEAL-N...500986?hash=item1c7a926dba:g:YBsAAOSw2xRYieMV

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-X...331623?hash=item1ebcaad6e7:g:OvMAAOSwnHZYaS~K

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEST-DEAL-N...820060?hash=item4d5152265c:g:KSwAAOSwa~BYZrRH

 

[cbn]

There's a few on ebay now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEST-DEAL-N...500986?hash=item1c7a926dba:g:YBsAAOSw2xRYieMV

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-X...331623?hash=item1ebcaad6e7:g:OvMAAOSwnHZYaS~K

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEST-DEAL-N...820060?hash=item4d5152265c:g:KSwAAOSwa~BYZrRH

Very interesting!

I wonder if these have good support for a variety of ECC DDR3 1333 RDIMMs?

 

[kwalkingcraze]

i3-2130...