Xeon Owners Club

[Catalin]

you dont say anythink about video conversion, with handbrake or vidcoder

 

[cdawall]

I don't render anything outside of plex with mine so I don't have exact numbers other than it works fine for plex. From the scores it spits out with cinebench and what not the 6850K is faster.

 

[jjnissanpatfan]

I tried to go for a stable 5.0 buts the odds were against me. I might try again when i get really bored and want my brain to hurt more. One of the benefits i guess from the X58 is you need a masters in rocket science to get over 5ghz.

I only had the voltage set at .3 and noticed that under load was at 1.46 in the bios the multi only goes 22. So right now at 4.2 with .2 on the voltage right now idle @ 16C hottest core 25. That is way cooler than the 920 CO.

 

[Nicoleise]

Hello,


Completely new here - and not even a Xeon owner (!!) - but please bare with me. The reason for my membership and post is, that I think I would like to become a Xeon owner, but being completely new to me, I'd like your very competent advice. I've been searching Google for a few days on the topic, and have yet to see more knowledgeable and helpful people on this topic. I've reviewed a lot of the pages in this thread (honestly, not all 86, but maybe something like 30 pages), and see that it seems "acceptable" to ask for advice on what to buy or if it will work, etc. So I hope this isn't out of place.


Background:
My current system spec can be viewed through the link to the left of this post. I don't think my current cooling setup would support OC'ing, and my current CPU does run quite warm. I would be willing to get a better CPU cooler for this upgrade, but generally don't want to overhaul the system with e.g. watercooling, as I do think I'll be upgrading the entire system including the case, within a three year timeline.

The PC is and will be used for work (not a problem, current setup handles this with no sweat) and gaming. As for gaming, my current build handles most games without any issues on moderate settings. I usually see FPS at 60, or in some games down to 45-50. However The Division is down to only 20 with lowest settings, and GTA V Online generally runs at 45 FPS but has annoying random drops down to 15 or even 5 in some cases, that lasts for 2-3 seconds. They occur maybe 4 times per hour and are really annoying as it also results in input lag. Other players seem to experience these as well, but maintain much higher FPS than me through the drops.

My guess is that these two games are running poorly because of CPU and memory. Therefore my intention is to add another 6 GB of triple channel memory, bringing my total to 12 GB, and upgrading or in other ways speeding up my CPU. As stated above, I can't just go in the BIOS and up the FSB, as I don't think my cooling setup will support this. I'm thinking to get a faster CPU for the same socket, since they are cheap and I already have the motherboard with the socket. Xeons strike me as an obvious choice as even mid-range first generation i7 CPUs (like a 950, that would only be a slight upgrade) are very expensive second hand still.

So my plan would be to maybe get a better CPU cooler, get additional memory as close to the existing as possible in specs, and to get a cheap but fast CPU as a "life-extending" upgrade to my current PC, as I do feel it should have some years of use left in it, before a major overhaul is needed.

One very critical thing is, that I would like to be able to stream and record gaming sessions, which in my current setup drops my frame rate dramatically in many games, even with "proper" settings.


Questions:

1. The Intel Xeon X5679 (6C/12T @ 3,2 GHz) specifically seem like a really interesting option. It's not mentioned in any compatibility list I'm able to find though. I don't know if this is down to the rarity of the CPU or the fact that it could be completely unsupported. This guy seems to have it working though with a X5675 (similar? I've looked it up and can't see anything that should be a deciding factor), but had to enter all CPU information manually in BIOS. With this in mind, and with your knowledge of the "Xeon CPU landscape", is this CPU a good candidate? The price for a second hand unit shipped to my location would be US$120.
   
   
2. Will the CPU support an upgrade to a GTX1080 once those drop in price, or is the issue with system performance mentioned earlier in this thread still "a thing"?
   
   
3. If I want to OC the new CPU, would a CPU cooler upgrade be enough, or would I need to look into more extensive things like liquid cooling? (OC'ing is by no means a burning desire for me, but on the other hand the Xeons seem very OC'able in the sense that they seem to run cooler and easily accept even very aggressive overclocking (by my standards).
   
   
4. I would prefer not to tamper with voltages and such. My understanding of OC is pretty limited. Assuming I can only change multiplier or FSB, which results would be realistic with the CPU candidate?

Thank you so much for your help - it's been way too long since I had a look at PC components last, and have never looked at Xeons before. So your help will set me much more at ease with my purchase.

//Nicoleise

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Welcome.


@Knoxx29 can probably give the best advice with regards pairing a 1080 with a Xeon.

Ive had great results with a number of Xeons with your motherboard.....easy, high oveclocks but you do need good cooling.

Fix your budget for cpu and cooler. Theres a guy on here with some cheap ram for sale...ch3ck the for sale thread....im on my phone so i cant find it for you.

If we know how much you can spend we can offer some suggestions.

 

[Nicoleise]

Thanks, @CAPSLOCKSTUCK ! I lol'ed at the "badgers in sli" bit.

To some extend, I obviously have a budget, but it's not really fixed in any way, more like a common sense thing. If I had to throw out a number, I'd say that in the region of $200 for the upgrade (CPU, cooler, RAM) would make sense for me. If the "same" result can be achieved for less or if I would be better of shelling out a further $50-100, obviously I would listen. The X5679 is $120 - if it works and gives even a new i7 a run for it's money, it's a bargain. If it does not, it's a really expensive and way too underqualified paperweight.

I checked the thread, thanks. It's very relevant as it is 3 x 2 GB, but it's faster than my MB and CPU/newCPU will support (I think) and only ships in US. Thanks though.

 

[Catalin]

It will likely render faster than the Xeon

On YouTube, I saw that xeon would convert videos faster than mine!
What do you think?

 

[Swoosieque]

I will try not to lower the tone....... too muchView attachment 63749

ThugXeon E 5620 Supermicro X8STi 4 gb DDR3

View attachment 63751

Wow! I love your build! But, my cat would be in HEAVEN if I were to have an open build like yours.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Wow! I love your build! But, my cat would be in HEAVEN if I were to have an open build like yours.

Thats the board my dog blew up. She flicked her tail and the metal ruler i was using slid across mywork bench and shorted the bottom of the board.

Pets and open builds dont mix.

 

[cdawall]

On YouTube, I saw that xeon would convert videos faster than mine!
What do you think?

Then get it? I'm just quoting my personal experience with similar items.

 

[Nicoleise]

Regarding Xeons and GTX 1080 performance issues

I've done a bit of research on the topic today, and it seems to me that this issue is in no way related to (or rather; exclusive to) Xeon processors. For clarification, I am referring to the issue of the GTX 1080 card delivering much less performance than it should, when used in combination with a Xeon processor.

I've found *many* reports of this issue, mostly from people using Intel i5 or i7 processors (I put this down to popularity of the CPUs), which seems to indicate, that it's not specific to Xeon processors. Most reports go along the lines of the user upgrading from a 7XX or 9XX Geforce card to a 10X0, and seeing either the same or even worse performance. A number of these issues are with older games, that may not be optimized to utilize the GTX1080. However, many of these reported issues seem to have been induced by some driver error that occurs when the card is being upgraded and that is not handled correctly (i.e. the system/driver doesn't detect this, and the user isn't alerted or the problem solved automatically).

For that reason, it is very recommended to follow this procedure after switching out the cards;
1) Remove Geforce Experience/PsysX/whatever related from Control Panel -> Programs and Features
2) Run Display Driver Uninstaller utility from nVidia and remove the existing display drivers - often there will be remanents of even older cards/drivers.
3) Reboot your PC into safe mode (tap F8 when booting) and remove all remanents of the drivers (Device manager, etc.) if something remains.
4) Reboot once more, to boot into Windows normally (non safe mode)
5) Download a new graphic card driver suitable for your new card and OS (you may have to select W10 Anniversary Edition manually)
6) Install the new driver (and utilities)
7) Reboot once more after completing the driver installation.

This has been reported to solve issues with "microlag", "frame studder" and lower-than-expected-FPS after upgrading to the new GTX series cards.


I am thinking, that this could easily be the actual culprit, and that the information that Xeon+GTX could be false in the sense that it's simply the GTX itself in any system if installed incorrectly. Therefore, I'd like to ask those that experienced such issues with Xeon CPUs and GTX ( @Knoxx29 is mentioned by @CAPSLOCKSTUCK above) to please verify, that they did follow that procedure or alternatively maybe to try it and see if it improves on the problem?

 

[FireFox]

One very critical thing is, that I would like to be able to stream and record gaming sessions, which in my current setup drops my frame rate dramatically in many games, even with "proper" settings.

My advice is:

X5675, a X5690 would be a better option but they are expensive.


Cooler

ARCTIC Freezer XTREME Rev. 2

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3


The ARCTIC Freezer is my favourite one

Pics say it all

Graphic Card.

I was using my 1080 Classified in a 2P Machine, 2 x X5677 OC'ed at 4.6GHz, it ran perfectly 144 FPS and the performance was amazing.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

@Knoxx29

do you have any graphics benchmarks saved where you could compare the performance of 2 x X 5677 and i7 7700k when you had 1080 installed ?

 

[Nicoleise]

Thanks for the post, @Knoxx29. The pictures definitely highlight a preference of the Arctic cooler. Is it a passive heatsink, or a fan-cooled heatsink? CAPS was kind enough to suggest a closed-loop liquid CPU cooler as well, so this will give me a few candidates to look at.

X5675, a X5690 would be a better option but they are expensive.

- X5675 runs at 3.06 GHz, but is cheaper, especially since I can buy one from within the EU, removing toll, VAT and expensive shipping. For arguments sake, let's say US$110
- X5679 runs at 3.20 GHz, and is slightly more expensive. This was my initial suggestion. This seems to run at US$135 shipped.
- X5690 runs at 3.46 GHz and is significantly more expensive. This seems to run at US$230-270 shipped depending on origin.

If the benchmarks are true, then the X5690 offers virtually no extra performance over the X5679 I found:

Furthermore, it seems that these chips are all functionally identical, and that the sole difference is the modifier (and thus resulting clock speed). And actually there's only 5-10% difference in benchmarks on stock speeds between X5675 and X5690 but the price is more than double. My guess is, that they would all overclock similarily, so that it really doesn't matter if you get one or the other, because the end result if overclocking would be (in all practical intents) the same. Is this thinking correct? I also think a user can't "feel" a 200 MHz difference on a 6C/12T system in practice. Sure, it may do SuperPi a bit faster, but I don't imagine there's a percievable difference when gaming/using applications.

As for the X5675 vs X5679 it's equally close it seems. One major advantage though, is that the X5675 is sold by a seller in the EU on e-bay, which removes uncertainty and costs associated with VAT, toll, customs and processing fees. If my thinking above in relation to the end result is somewhat accurate, I would simply go with the X5675. Furthermore, noone seems to know the X5679, which may be a disadvantage in case of any issues or if I need support in OCing the chip.


I'd like to eventually have clarified if a 1080 would be supported, but based on CAPS advice in a PM, I could probably easily go for a 980 in case a 1080 turns out to be unsupported. And Knoxx seems to have had great results. I think therefore that I'll start the project, and that it'll be CPU, cooler, memory and potentially a new graphic card (not a 1080 yet). Thank you both for the help in clearing up the questions and reservations I had. Obviously I'd like to share the process as a thanks and to provide back some ressource as well. Am I best of starting a build thread in the System Builders forum to achieve this?


Thanks again,
Nico

 

[FireFox]

@Knoxx29

do you have any graphics benchmarks saved where you could compare the performance of 2 x X 5677 and i7 7700k when you had 1080 installed ?

I dont know why but i don't do GPU Benchmarks

The pictures definitely highlight a preference of the Arctic cooler.

It's a great Cooler, i have been using it for the last few years,

Is it a passive heatsink, or a fan-cooled heatsink?

Fan-cooled

I am planning to build a Xeon Machine and definitely i will get a X5690, stock 3.46GHz/3.76GHz Turbo boost, I guess more GHz maybe less headache when Overclocking.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

I dont know why but i don't do GPU Benchmarks

@Durvelle27 did you save any benchmarks of your 480 ?

 

[Durvelle27]

@Durvelle27 did you save any benchmarks of your 480 ?

I'd have to find them

 

[Catalin]

My 6850K at 4.5ghz is faster than my 2650v4 at stock in rendering tasks. So it would depend if the 5930K is overclocked or not.

in rendering and conversion, it is not yet the growth performance, with 14 core, for example?
even if the clock is clocked at 3GHz max turbo?

 

[Random Murderer]

Decided it was time to upgrade my server from its puny dual E5506s. Going from two 45nm, 80W TDP, 2.13GHz with no boost, 4M cache, non-Hyperthreaded quad cores, to two E5620s: 32nm, 80W TDP, 2.4GHz with 2.66GHz boost, 12M cache, Hyperthreaded quad cores. Would have liked to have gone with two X5650s or X5670s, but these 5620s were only $10, fit in the same thermal envelope, and will allow higher RAM speeds, so I figured "why not?"

 

[alucasa]

I miss socket 771 days. I was very fond of dual socket 771 mATX rig. Socket 2011-3 is so large that dual 2011-3 mATX is impossible.

Either way, I am thinking of dual E5-2683v3 build. (28 cores / 56 thread)
The issue is motherboard and case and of course money.

 

[FireFox]

These she is.

Another SR-2 with 2 x Xeon X5680 coming home soon from overseas

 

[R00kie]

Welcome another Xeon owner into the fold!

One slight problem: is there any way that I can force the turbo speeds to be on all the time? My multiplier keeps dropping everytime the load reaches 100%

 

[FireFox]

Welcome another Xeon owner into the fold!

One slight problem: is there any way that I can force the turbo speeds to be on all the time? My multiplier keeps dropping everytime the load reaches 100%

Windows power plan set it to high performance

 

[R00kie]

Windows power plan set it to high performance

Was already on that.

 

[FireFox]

Was already on that.

If you have VDroop option set it to without VDroop