Dual Xeon E5-2680s VS I7-4930k on Z9PE D8 WS Motherboard

[Puddinandricecreative]

Hello Everyone. I am in a position where I am looking to improve my 10+ year old system. I purchased a 'Hackintosh' back in 2012, which turned out to not be one in the end as the builder was a scam artist. Anyway... I have had the following system for 10 years with a few upgrades:

 

Dual Intel Xeon E5-2680 2.4ghz base (8-core 16 thread Engineering Samples)

Asus ZP9E D8 WS Server motherboard LGA2011 socket, C602 chipset

32GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance RAM 1333mhz/1666mhz

Sapphire Pulse RX570 8GB (Upgraded from 2 x 2GB R9 290s I think)

2 x Intel Standard Air CPU coolers

1 280gb Samsung SSD (current boot drive)

1 2TB Samsung HDD (Storage drive)

Large Corsair Case

1000W Corsair Power supply (3 x 140mm case fans, currently open sided)

32inch 165HZ monitor (bought a year ago)

27inch 240hz monitor (bought a year ago)

1TB Sabrent NVMe 4.0 drive running through PCIe 16x slot with Sabrent adapter (bought 3 months ago for game storage currently, but mainly to pull from old machine and put in the new one as the boot drive)

 

The purpose for this machine was to do more graphic design work as I was a student in Graphic Arts. Unfortunately, after my degree, I have been using this as a more gaming-orientated machine and now I feel the struggles of newer titles with outdated gear. I cant afford to upgrade right now so having to make do. I am playing Warzone and Vanguard mainly but noticed that I am getting huge CPU timing, upwards of 200ms and my FPS drops to 4, more recently it is lasting more than a couple of seconds which concerns me as it seems to not recover. My CPUs are numbered 0 and 1. CPU 0 runs about 50-70c but CPU 1 runs up to 90c, mainly around 85c. I am sure part of this is due to bad thermal paste which I have not changed yet. But I have purchased a I7-4930k 6 core 12 thread CPU with base clock 3.4ghz and 3.9ghz boost clock. I feel this will help with the gaming side of things and as I am not doing any video rendering, only a bit of adobe photoshop and illustrator, this should not be too much of a drop in performance as a workstation... I hope... Once I can afford it, my system will get a complete overhaul with DDR4 components and Ryzen... but needs must right now.

 

My questions are...

1) Would the I7 be a good option to replace the Xeons for gaming and partnering with the RX570?

2) Is it as simple as removing both Xeons and placing in the new I7 without having to change anything about CPU stepping with the current settings (both run on LGA2011 socket)?

3) Ideal settings to increase FPS in games? Both GPU and CPU settings to decrease CPU usage and increase GPU usage.

4) Should the standard intel coolers be changed to any other budget one to increase cooling? If so, what would be a good one to use (£20-£30 budget as in the UK)?

 

I am new to building and fixing computers and would really like to learn how but stuck on these issues. 

 

Thank you.

 

Scott

[emosun]

Your motherboard is a xeon board and doesn't support the I7. Did you check the boards list of supported cpus?

[Needfuldoer]

I don't see the i7 4930k on Asus's validation list for your motherboard, just Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge (v2) Xeons.

 

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/Workstation/Z9PED8_WS/HelpDesk_CPU/

 

An e5-2667 v2 should be a little faster than that i7, and you can always run a pair of them. It looks like they're around $40 on eBay right now, and would be a decent bump in single-threaded performance over your current CPUs.

[emosun]

also your two e5-2680's together are about 50% faster than a single i7 would be.

[Puddinandricecreative]

4 minutes ago, emosun said:

Your motherboard is a xeon board and doesn't support the I7. Did you check the boards list of supported cpus?

I have checked over the specs of the board and checked numerous threads and posts from all over the place, which suggest as long as the socket is LGA2011 the I7 should work, just without the OC capabilities of a X79. I dug deep into intels list and this I7 is supported.

[Needfuldoer]

3 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

I have checked over the specs of the board and checked numerous threads and posts from all over the place, which suggest as long as the socket is LGA2011 the I7 should work, just without the OC capabilities of a X79. I dug deep into intels list and this I7 is supported.

Supported by the chipset, yes.

 

That doesn't necessarily mean it's on the list for Asus's BIOS.

 

If you can't overclock anyway, an e5-2667 v2 should be the same as the i7 plus two cores (and it's on the validation list for BIOS 5404 or later).

[Puddinandricecreative]

5 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

I don't see the i7 4930k on Asus's validation list for your motherboard, just Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge (v2) Xeons.

 

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/Workstation/Z9PED8_WS/HelpDesk_CPU/

Yeah I hit this page as well. I have based my decision from multiple threads and discussions about LGA2011 socket CPU compatibility. I will be testing it out regardless as my system feels it is dying and I need to try sort something out. If it doesn't work, so be it.

[emosun]

Just now, Puddinandricecreative said:

I have based my decision from multiple threads and discussions about LGA2011 socket CPU compatibility.

...... but not on the bios's compatibility with the cpu , which is what dictates the compatibility and not socket shape

[Puddinandricecreative]

5 minutes ago, emosun said:

also your two e5-2680's together are about 50% faster than a single i7 would be.

Would this be in multi-threading rather than single threaded for games? I am upgrading to a Ryzen 5950x with top of the range gear for both gaming and graphics requirements in a few months time but until then I just need something to tide me over in gaming and this chip was the cheapest that would fit in the board with boost head room and with my Xeons seemingly failing a bit, thought it would be a better short term solution, if this makes sense.

[Puddinandricecreative]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

...... but not on the bios's compatibility with the cpu , which is what dictates the compatibility and not socket shape

How would I find out the BIOS compatibility for the chip? This is why I am here as there are obviously things I didn't think about.

[emosun]

3 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

How would I find out the BIOS compatibility for the chip? This is why I am here as there are obviously things I didn't think about.

You look at the list the people who wrote the bios made of supported cpu's.... the one you saw on asus's site. That list isn't just random xeons cpu's , its the ones that go in that board.

[Needfuldoer]

5 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

How would I find out the BIOS compatibility for the chip? This is why I am here as there are obviously things I didn't think about.

Asus's support page has all the information you need about your motherboard, including CPU and RAM validation lists.

 

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/Workstation/Z9PED8_WS/HelpDesk_CPU/

 

The only advantage the i7 4930k has over its Ivy Bridge Xeon brethren is overclocking, which your motherboard can't do anyway. 

 

Like I said, get a Xeon e5-2667 v2 or two. Each core is just as fast as the i7, except there are eight of them instead of six, you can still use ECC RAM, you can add a second processor, it's on the validation list from your motherboard's manufacturer, and it's about $20 cheaper than the i7 on eBay right now.

[Puddinandricecreative]

7 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Asus's support page has all the information you need about your motherboard, including CPU and RAM validation lists.

 

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards-Components/Motherboards/Workstation/Z9PED8_WS/HelpDesk_CPU/

 

The only advantage the i7 4930k has over its Ivy Bridge Xeon brethren is overclocking, which your motherboard can't do anyway. 

 

Like I said, get a Xeon e5-2667 v2 or two. Each core is just as fast as the i7, except there are eight of them instead of six, you can still use ECC RAM, you can add a second processor, it's on the validation list from your motherboard's manufacturer, and it's about $20 cheaper than the i7 on eBay right now.

I have had a look at these, they are £20 (as in the UK) more than what I paid for the I7 and coming from China, which could take up to 3 months to arrive. I appreciate you looking for me, definitely an option should I keep the platform in a few months time. I may look to buy an x79 if I can find one cheap enough.

[Puddinandricecreative]

11 minutes ago, emosun said:

You look at the list the people who wrote the bios made of supported cpu's.... the one you saw on asus's site. That list isn't just random xeons cpu's , its the ones that go in that board.

I realise that, a bit naive I guess thinking that the socket was the main factor and the BIOS would possibly recognise the CPU but limit the functionality eg OC. I have bought the I7 already, just need to collect it. I will test it out, see what happens, if nothing, I will sell it, reinstall the Xeons and look to either upgrade to the e5-2667 v2, suggested by Needfuldoer, or just bite the bullet and buy a whole new system.

[svmlegacy]

5 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

I have had a look at these, they are £20 (as in the UK) more than what I paid for the I7 and coming from China, which could take up to 3 months to arrive. I appreciate you looking for me, definitely an option should I keep the platform in a few months time. I may look to buy an x79 if I can find one cheap enough.

 

2 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

I realise that, a bit naive I guess thinking that the socket was the main factor and the BIOS would possibly recognise the CPU but limit the functionality eg OC. I have bought the I7 already, just need to collect it. I will test it out, see what happens, if nothing, I will sell it, reinstall the Xeons and look to either upgrade to the e5-2667 v2, suggested by Needfuldoer, or just bite the bullet and buy a whole new system.

If you've bought the i7 already, what's the point in asking? You'll just have to install it when it arrives and see if it makes a difference.

 

IMHO, don't put any more money into this machine, and save up for a modern platform upgrade. You don't need high-end parts to make a sizeable upgrade over this for gaming (For example, a Ryzen 5 5600X would be a great choice. With AM5 launching soon there may be some good deals on AM4 parts.)

[Puddinandricecreative]

7 minutes ago, svmlegacy said:

 

If you've bought the i7 already, what's the point in asking? You'll just have to install it when it arrives and see if it makes a difference.

 

IMHO, don't put any more money into this machine, and save up for a modern platform upgrade. You don't need high-end parts to make a sizeable upgrade over this for gaming (For example, a Ryzen 5 5600X would be a great choice. With AM5 launching soon there may be some good deals on AM4 parts.)

I only ask as I thought I was fully confident in my decision... but had a niggling suspicion I have made some sort of error... which is self doubt kicking in. And I was right to ask. I can always re-sell the CPU if need be. The CPU cost me £58. I didnt want to spend much more than that. I wish I had did a bit more digging for the E5-2667 V2 as this seems the better option, but mainly coming from China, would be too long till I got it. There was more than one point I was asking for but I guess this one issue screws up the rest I asked about hey... lol

[jaslion]

47 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

Would this be in multi-threading rather than single threaded for games? I am upgrading to a Ryzen 5950x with top of the range gear for both gaming and graphics requirements in a few months time but until then I just need something to tide me over in gaming and this chip was the cheapest that would fit in the board with boost head room and with my Xeons seemingly failing a bit, thought it would be a better short term solution, if this makes sense.

For gaming rn intel is better. But by the time you get the machine ryzen 7000 might be out. For gaming you really do not need so many cores at all it wont make a difference.

 

In games you wouldnt see a difference between a 5600x or 5950x (the 5950x would be a bit better but that is purelt because its single core performance is a bit better).

 

For now your xeon system for games is not great. Games only see 1 cpu the other will not be touched. It running that hot whilst being ignored might mean that the other cpu is quite severly thermal throttling.

 

As for the i7 yeah its decent for gaming will be a good bit better than your xeons. Do make sure you have a decent cooler it runs hot. A stock intel cooler will NOT be enough.

 

As for cpu compatibility. The chipset supports it but I doubt the board will. Since you got it you can try and see.

 

 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

You can literally just sell that board for 200+ as these dual xeon workstation boards are overpriced asf + sell xeons and ram

 

That should be able to mostly cover for something like a 5600 + mid range b550 (a pro/tomahawk, steel legend, etc.) And 16gb ddr4 3200 c16

 

i dont think youll need to swap anything else unless you happen to have a case with garbage airflow but that can be fixed by taking off sidepanel, and for a dual xeon build id assume the psu should be a rock solid unit though could you tell what the psu is?

[Puddinandricecreative]

2 hours ago, jaslion said:

For gaming rn intel is better. But by the time you get the machine ryzen 7000 might be out. For gaming you really do not need so many cores at all it wont make a difference.

 

In games you wouldnt see a difference between a 5600x or 5950x (the 5950x would be a bit better but that is purelt because its single core performance is a bit better).

 

For now your xeon system for games is not great. Games only see 1 cpu the other will not be touched. It running that hot whilst being ignored might mean that the other cpu is quite severly thermal throttling.

 

As for the i7 yeah its decent for gaming will be a good bit better than your xeons. Do make sure you have a decent cooler it runs hot. A stock intel cooler will NOT be enough.

 

As for cpu compatibility. The chipset supports it but I doubt the board will. Since you got it you can try and see.

 

 

I dont need the newest 7000 when it is out. I am happy with the 5000 series and DDR4. Will be a dramatic improvement to what I have. It should run from what I have read up but it will lose certain things as its a server board. The CPU which I was recommended is more £110 so almost double from the UK or £70 from china. I am going to give it a try and see whay happens. Worst case, I sell it again. I am going to try both Xeons with new thermal paste aswell to see if that works and see if I can find a couple of new Coolers... Any you would recommend?

[Puddinandricecreative]

1 hour ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

You can literally just sell that board for 200+ as these dual xeon workstation boards are overpriced asf + sell xeons and ram

 

That should be able to mostly cover for something like a 5600 + mid range b550 (a pro/tomahawk, steel legend, etc.) And 16gb ddr4 3200 c16

 

i dont think youll need to swap anything else unless you happen to have a case with garbage airflow but that can be fixed by taking off sidepanel, and for a dual xeon build id assume the psu should be a rock solid unit though could you tell what the psu is?

I am using the Corsair 540 Carbide currently so airflow is good...ish. Need new fans. I have taken off the side panel aswell but everything is running hot, fans are at 100% most of the time aswell. Need to change the coolers for sure. So you reckon just sell the whole thing as is or just pull pieces out? Not sure I would make much back either way as its old tech and DDR4 is much cheaper now. The PSU was installed when there was supposed to be dual R9 290s in it... btu he ripped me off when he needed to replace them so I have had a PSU which is waaaaaay too much for the system. its a Corsair RM 100 80 plus gold. 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

5 minutes ago, Puddinandricecreative said:

I am using the Corsair 540 Carbide currently so airflow is good...ish. Need new fans. I have taken off the side panel aswell but everything is running hot, fans are at 100% most of the time aswell. Need to change the coolers for sure. So you reckon just sell the whole thing as is or just pull pieces out? Not sure I would make much back either way as its old tech and DDR4 is much cheaper now. The PSU was installed when there was supposed to be dual R9 290s in it... btu he ripped me off when he needed to replace them so I have had a PSU which is waaaaaay too much for the system. its a Corsair RM 100 80 plus gold. 

Cpu + board + rams should be sold off, what cooler? That may be reusable, and just drop in new cpu + board + ram

[Puddinandricecreative]

16 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Cpu + board + rams should be sold off, what cooler? That may be reusable, and just drop in new cpu + board + ram

2 x Intel Standard cpu fans 92mm. Ok so CPUs I will only get about £20 each for tops. Motherboard about £100. Ram about the same. Coolers about £20 for both. Doesn't give me a lot to work with.