Cheap 12 core build

[beasterdudeman_]

Could I just buy 2 of these cpu's and have a 12 core system for pretty cheap? (Not including the price of ram, storage, gpu, etc)

[Zando_]

Yep, but you'll need a different motherboard. I assume you double checked Supermicro's documentation, but those aren't funky chips so they should work fine. The chips are mislabeled as Socket 2011, but according to Intel ARK they are indeed 2011-3 Xeons. Not very high clockspeeds but if you just need to throw cores at something, should be solid. IDK what DDR4 ECC prices are, but usually once datacenters start updating at all, a bunch of used stuff gets dumped on the market and prices drop (tis why DDR3 ECC is so cheap). 

[atxcyclist]

Yes you could, though depending on your intended purpose I would say maybe try processors with a little higher clock speed. 

[mariushm]

You could, but not all games or applications can use two physical processors at the same time. A lot of them will default to using only the first CPU.

 

Also, you'd spend more because each CPU will need its own memory, and you'll want at least 2 sticks on each cpu socket so 4 sticks in total.

Also, keep in mind you need a power supply with 2 EPS connectors, or at least you'd have to use a pci-e 8pin to EPS 8 pin adapter cable, or something like that

 

Last but not least, it's not an ATX motherboard so you'd need an EATX motherboard and you may have difficulty with the cpu coolers and their mounting. I'm not sure if the cpu coolers get screwed down to the case, or to the cpu sockets.

 

And ... that cpu is cheap but it's cheap for a reason... it's power hungry and it only scores around 8000 on cpubenchmark website.

 

You could spend 50$ on a cheap A320 or b450 motherboard and get a 110-120 on a Ryzen 1600 which scores 12300 and uses only 65w and save a lot of hassle with compatibility and quirks

 

[mahyar]

Well I'd not go with that mobo

There are better options on 2011v3 platform which are single cpus that are 12c24t

[aisle9]

This might fall into the unpopular opinions category, but if it's a 12-core system on the cheap you're after, I'd go with an E5-2678V3 Xeon and a Machinist X99Z V102 motherboard (guaranteed X99 or C612 chipset--lots of Chinese X99 boards are using B75 now). About $200 total and much simpler to keep Windows and your programs happy with. Not everything likes dual-CPU systems.

[WkdPaul]

* thread moved to the New Builds and Planning section *