z440 Budget Build

[Ganzuelo]

Hello all!

 

So my employer was recycling z440 workstations (minus the hard drive) and I was able to snag one. My son has been wanting to build a PC for a long time.. but due to costs we haven't

 

What it has - 

525w PSU

Xeon e5-1607 v3 3.1ghz

16gb of ddr4 ram,

Quadro k620

 

My question is is it worth it to put 200-300 into it. We are thinking about adding a GeForce 1050ti graphics card AND a 1tb SSD drive.

He will mainly use this for FL Studio and maybe the new Modern Warfare when it comes out.

 

We also got a Optiplex 980 with a 300w power supply, 16gb ram and i7 processor (not sure which one).

 

[Fasauceome]

2 minutes ago, Ganzuelo said:

Kudro k620 graphics card

?????

You mean Quadro yeah? Unless there's a hidden player in the graphics market.

2 minutes ago, Ganzuelo said:

My question is is it worth it to put 200-300 into it. We are thinking about adding a GeForce 1050ti graphics card AND a 1tb SSD drive.

No, not really. The Xeon is worse than most i5 models of that generation, a 1050 ti would be a bit of a waste.

 

3 minutes ago, Ganzuelo said:

We also got a Optiplex 980 with a 300w power supply, 16gb ram and i7 processor (not sure which one).

Old i7 models are still competent for gaming, this one might fare far better 

[Ganzuelo]

thanks for the input! edited the original post!

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, Genwyn said:

It would outperform the first gen i7 in the 980 drastically.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-Xeon-E5-1607-v3-vs-Intel-i5-4570-vs-Intel-i7-860/2493vs1896vs6

Oof, MemeBenchmark

 

[5x5]

Get a new power supply as well.

 

The Xeon is usable, certainly, but anything over an RX 570 would be pointless.

 

The 1050 Ti is not that fast and not worth its asking price - look for a 570 or used 1060 3GB

 

And again, get a decent power supply. That one is likely on its last legs.

[5x5]

Just now, fasauceome said:

Oof, MemeBenchmark

While Passmark is not a good source of info, the first gen i7 will be notably slower than the Xeon.

[Fasauceome]

Just now, 5x5 said:

While Passmark is not a good source of info, the first gen i7 will be notably slower than the Xeon.

What's the xeon's turbo frequency? The 4570 is max 4.6 which is not bad, but the only spec listed on ark is 3.1 for the Xeon.

 

Multithreaded games will like the i7 more, hyperthreading is great.

2 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

As apposed to userbenchmark?

What do you mean by this? MemeBenchmark is just a nickname because userbenchmark is a total joke 

 

Yeah the Xeon is better in single threaded by a good amount but still, for the next COD release we can expect some healthy multithreaded leverage like WW2

[Ganzuelo]

5 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Get a new power supply as well.

 

The Xeon is usable, certainly, but anything over an RX 570 would be pointless.

 

The 1050 Ti is not that fast and not worth its asking price - look for a 570 or used 1060 3GB

 

And again, get a decent power supply. That one is likely on its last legs.

Like this? https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-570-gv-rx570gaming-4gd/p/N82E16814932037?item=N82E16814932037

[5x5]

Just now, fasauceome said:

What's the xeon's turbo frequency? The 4570 is max 4.6 which is not bad, but the only spec listed on ark is 3.1 for the Xeon.

 

Multithreaded games will like the i7 more, hyperthreading is great.

What do you mean by this? MemeBenchmark is just a nickname because userbenchmark is a total joke 

 

Yeah the Xeon is better in single threaded by a good amount but still, for the next COD release we can expect some healthy multithreaded leverage like WW2

No, not really - the Xeon has a good 40% IPC advantage. Turbo should be about 3.3-3.4

 

And no, the 4570 had a max clock of 3.6, not 4.6

[5x5]

Just now, Ganzuelo said:

Like this? https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-570-gv-rx570gaming-4gd/p/N82E16814932037?item=N82E16814932037

That's a refurbished card but as long as it has a full warranty attached to it, it's fine.

 

Get a CX550 or something of the sort (assuming the case uses a standard form factor) and you're good.

[Fasauceome]

3 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

And no, the 4570 had a max clock of 3.6, not 4.6

Typo

 

2 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

Well the link i posted is passmark and not userbenchmark, which i know is completely crap.

Misread that, I see "mark" and think userbenchmark anyway. But yeah, just as bad.

 

2 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

But if you have a problem with passmark, post a better benchmark

Taking a wild guess has a better chance of being more accurate. Using aggregate benchmark sites is as effective as using no benchmark sites at all 

[GrockleTD]

I love these sorts of threads... I would check aliexpress or eBay and get one of the 6 core Xeons of that era, and then pair it with a used 580 or even 1070 if you find one cheap enough, also wouldn’t be terrible to swap out the PSU

[Ganzuelo]

@Genwyn you are correct, I was mistaken.. the power supply is 525w.

[Ganzuelo]

HAHA this is making head hurt. Will the 525w power supply be sufficient for now? 

 

From the spec sheet i found that it has 2 PCIe x16 Gen 3 Slots 16. 1 PCIe x8 Gen 3, 1 PCIe x1 Gen 2, 1 PCIe x4 Gen 2, 1 PCI Slot

 

I do appreciate all the feedback!