X58 (LGA1366) as a gaming PC in 2019?

[Man]

Hi, I'm Man! No, not 'The Man', just a Man, with a capital "M"!

(Lame, I know.)

Anyhow... I'm thinking about building an X58 based machine, solely for the purpose of 60Hz gaming at 1080p. Right now, my eyes are set on a Dell Precision T3500 with a:

1. CPU: X5660 2.8GHz Hexa-Core 12-Thread.
2. GPU: RX470 4GB.
3. RAM: 3 x 2 = 6GB Tripple-Channel DDR3 1300MHz ECC RAM. 
4. HDD: 320GB + 500GB HDDs.
5. PSU: T3500's standard power supply rated at 525W. 3 x 12v rails, each rated at 18A. 
6. SSD: None at the moment. Might drop in a WD Green 120GB in future. 

The whole setup will cost me significantly LESS than a Dell Optiplex 990 MT machine with an i5-2400. Plus, I'll also have to upgrade its 265W PSU to be able to run an RX470, or any GPU with an external power connector for that matter. 

 

Meanwhile, the T3500 isn't only much cheaper, but the X5660 has a multi-core performance comparable to i7-6700, although its single-core performance is barely better than Sandy Bridge i3s. And since it's a branded workstation, I won't be able to overclock it.

 

So... Should I go with the 'domestic' i5-2400 or this X58 server / behemoth?! Ryzens are a no go as AMD hardware isn't widely available here. 

 

Thanks!

[Sauron]

Well, it's going to work if that's what you're asking. A 2400 would probably perform better in a few games but given you aren't planning to get a high end gpu and you only want 1080p 60hz you'll probably be fine with x58.

 

I would also recommend getting that ssd if at all possible, the difference is massive in general usage.

[asand1]

Since you can't OC I would recommend a higher clockspeed like the x5680 at 3.3Ghz.

[Man]

20 hours ago, Sauron said:

Well, it's going to work if that's what you're asking. A 2400 would probably perform better in a few games but given you aren't planning to get a high end gpu and you only want 1080p 60hz you'll probably be fine with x58.

 

I would also recommend getting that ssd if at all possible, the difference is massive in general usage.

Actually, my No. 1 concern is the single-core performance of the Xeons. Even the i3-2100 has better single-core performance than the X5660.

This is so confusing!

20 hours ago, asand1 said:

Since you can't OC I would recommend a higher clockspeed like the x5680 at 3.3Ghz.

The X5680 is a fantastic CPU, the only problem is its 130W TDP which might prove to be a bit too much in our hot climate (45c in summer)!

[asand1]

1 hour ago, Man said:

Actually, my No. 1 concern is the single-core performance of the Xeons. Even the i3-2100 has better single-core performance than the X5660.

This is so confusing!

The X5680 is a fantastic CPU, the only problem is its 130W TDP which might prove to be a bit too much in our hot climate (45c in summer)!

Mine makes plenty of heat for the room I suppose but always ran under 60c with a 280mm AIO OC'd to 4Ghz.

[Waqas409]

its still viable.
Using W3690 with GTX 1070 Ti, 4k to 1080p gaming without any bottleneck.

[Waqas409]

On 8/30/2019 at 1:43 PM, Sauron said:

Well, it's going to work if that's what you're asking. A 2400 would probably perform better in a few games but given you aren't planning to get a high end gpu and you only want 1080p 60hz you'll probably be fine with x58.

 

I would also recommend getting that ssd if at all possible, the difference is massive in general usage.

it will easily outperform in every game n productivity as compare to 2400.

[Sauron]

5 hours ago, Man said:

Actually, my No. 1 concern is the single-core performance of the Xeons. Even the i3-2100 has better single-core performance than the X5660.

This is so confusing!

You see, it doesn't really matter so long as it's fast enough for 60 fps. CPU bottlenecks are mostly a problem if you want to push a high refresh rate monitor. x58 is still good enough that for your use case it should hold up. On the other hand, an i3 will cause significant problems on modern games simply because 2 cores haven't been good enough for a few years now - the game will have to use the HT "cores" and slow down to a crawl in the process. Not so with the xeons.

2 hours ago, Waqas409 said:

it will easily outperform in every game n productivity as compare to 2400.

I'm not sure about that, but either way the point is that on a 60hz screen it doesn't make a difference. And yes, in productivity it will definitely be much better aside from a few exceptions.

[Waqas409]

4 hours ago, Sauron said:

You see, it doesn't really matter so long as it's fast enough for 60 fps. CPU bottlenecks are mostly a problem if you want to push a high refresh rate monitor. x58 is still good enough that for your use case it should hold up. On the other hand, an i3 will cause significant problems on modern games simply because 2 cores haven't been good enough for a few years now - the game will have to use the HT "cores" and slow down to a crawl in the process. Not so with the xeons.

I'm not sure about that, but either way the point is that on a 60hz screen it doesn't make a difference. And yes, in productivity it will definitely be much better aside from a few exceptions.

I'm talking with personal experience as i have xeon w3690, i do intense rendering, streaming ( sometimes ), youtube video editing and gaming so its a beast !