workstation Upgrade old Xeon Workstation for CAD and Video

[Cebrano]

Budget (including currency): 500€ (base workstation is free or very cheap)

Country: Austria

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: ALLPLAN, OBS, Zoom, Cinema 4D, Lumion

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

Status: conceptional phase

Monitors: for now 2 HD or WQHD but in future maybe 3-4

alternatively 1 4K monitor

Peripherals: for now Mouse, Shuffle Board USB Controller, USB microphone, 1080p webcam

in future: phantom powered large diaphragm microphone, hooing up some used DSLR for content creation

 

In the next months i might have the opportunity to get my hands on an old DELL workstation free or very cheaply...

We used it for professional work in the company I am working for but we got new beasts of workstations equipped with the best i9 series 12x and 16GB graphics cards so some old stuff hast to go...

 

The why: I teach the software ALLPLAN to students at universities in german speaking countries (in person and online) and take part in third party financed research projects for the uni with the software.

My current laptop (i7 4700mq and GTX 770M) used to handle most functions very well, never had performance issues up till now, but the GPU is not supported bythe software anymore (OpenGL version too old and no more driver updates) and some visual features dont work anymore (openings in walls not showing up, some 3D perspectives not working...) and it starts to impact the quality of my lessons. I also had the problem that the graphics card started freezing when I was attending a Zoom Meeting and sharing the CAD/BIM software. I got it to temporarily work again by setting throttle to 100% but thats no long time solution for me...

 

I don't feel like buying a comparable up to date laptop right now for about 2000€ as there just was the first big leap in GPUs for quite some time (RTX30x and RTX40x) and with a laptop I am permanently stuck with whatever it comes with out of the box... and I see my work getting more mobile so I would prefer a ultrabook like the Surface Laptop Studio with something like a 3050 Ti (really any dedicated GPU should be enough in my experience) one or two years down the line

 

 

My solution: Update 2xCPU workstation with a "cheapish" NVIDIA GPU and some RAM

for CAD/BIM, 3D Modelling, Architectural Photo and Video Rendering and Live Streaming and Video Content Creation for Teaching

and now and then some gaming in HD or WQHD

Streaming in 4k when the districts fibreoptic cable is finished

 

Case:

To be honest i would even buy it for the nice case (DELL Precision T5600) its in... it has a steel carry handle on the front and the back and great accesibility with a removable side panel and lots of ventilation openings. Overall a lot of room to work with. I am responsible for basic IT support (software install and licenses and hardware related tasks, no server or network stuff) and I always prefered the older DELL cases to the new smaller Lenovo ones in nearly every aspect...

 

Built out of suprisingly thick sheet metal and with lots of places for IO.

 

CPU:

Regarding CPU I am very open to your recommendations and suggestions.

I know it can't match modern CPUs, even top end ones being suprisingly cheap compared to the crazy GPU prices, but for my usecase it might just work... Especially the cheap first option...

 

Following are some ideas I have right now...

1/2 CPU Slot Intel Xeon CPU E-5 2620 0

2/2 CPU Slot empty

 

Option 1)

Because of my usecase I might actually benefit from filling the second CPU Slot. We have one Workstation with 2 matching CPUs and I notice the difference.

You can get it used for around 10€ now - to be honest I am seconds away from just YOLO ordering that one XD

 

Option 2)

I am even thinking about getting the most powerfull CPU I can fit in the socket...

It is an LGA2011 (Sandy Bridge) so an Ivy Bridge CPU is possible)

I still have to find out if LGA2011-1 CPUs are the same as the LGA2011

I already know LGA2011-3 or LGA2011 v3 aren't compatible.

 

I could get also one or two used Intel Xeon Processor E7 8893 V2 for about 100€ each from a professional IT supplier that cleans and tests them.

 

Cooling:

I will just by a matching Noctua Cooler or get a used cooler and add NEW ventilators to it before installing - for rendering jobs constant cooling is very important.

I might also add some other ventilators from decommisioned workstations for taking air in and out of the workstation - as I have access to them...

If I feel fancy, I might add some Noctua fans on the case itself and a fan controller.

 

And some Noctua Thermal Paste or another non conductive Thermal Paste - not feeling like adding liquid metall as the motherboard is mounted vertically and I don't feel like taking this risk...

 

Motherboard:

unknown 2 CPU motherboard (likely OEM) with 2x4 RAM slots for DDR3 RAM

 

RAM:

at least one RAM slot is damaged (computer won't start if a RAM is installed, if you install more than one RAM the computer starts to throttle like a vacuum cleaner, so another one might have issues as well)

currently equipped with 16GB of DDR3 RAM (slow one 1600MHz but we have faster ones in some Workstation and you don't notice the difference the software we use)

we have many old DDR3 RAM Sticks laying around that I can also get just by asking so I just have to try around which slots still work and how much RAM i can put in at max...

but i won't be needing any more than 16 to 32 GB for now

 

I also have two old PCs standing around at home that have compatible RAM but were only equipped with ancient Intel i3 or i5...

 

GPU

some old AMD Firepro (not supported by the professional software I use)

 

ONLY NVIDIA is recommended by the companies that produce the software I am using, so sadly AMD is not an Option at all

I am not afraid of a used GPU, even one from a miner would be fine as it doesn't have to survive for years...

But if I can't find a used one for a good price and from a trustworthy seller I might just buy a RTX 3060 Ti or RTX 3050 Ti...

 

If I can't find anything matching my criteria I will just buy any GPU that runs the OpenGL specs I require...

Because most of my usecases are CPU heavy rather than GPU - I tested the new 16GB CPUs my company bought - I had to try really hard to get them to 20% workload (mostly moving in the 3D environment at veery high resolution and frames per second - the software saddly doesn't really use the GPU for Rendering any of Camera Flights or pictures)

 

Only real requirement is that it supports 3-4 monitors in HD or WGHD and some 4k streaming or video editing on a single monitor.

 

SSD:

some 512GB or 1TB SSD in sale or I keep the old one installed in the PC - after it is overwritten and deleted according to company policy...

RAID or backup in general doesn't matter, as the important stuff is in the cloud and stuff that is personaly important to me is backed up to external drives manually but regularly

 

Network:
a 2x1Gbit Network Card is already installed

doesn't have WIFI - will be added

same for bluetooth

 

SoundCard:

thinking about adding an PCIe Soundcard

https://www.thomann.de/at/esi_maya44_ex.htm

may add one for using Large Diaphragm microphones (recording tutorials and streaming lessons)

have one powered by USB, it has a nice sound quality but I have to stick close to it and talk a bit louder...

I already tried phantom powered microphones at a friends place - even cheap record you much louder, more relaxing for me in the longterm

 

PowerSupply:

will uninstall and clean with compressed air and see if I have to get a more powerfull one...

 

RGB:

maybe some simple and cheap lighting just for fun XD

the cooling openings would show light from inside the tower

but nothing complicated

 

USB:

if i happen to stick with the device long term If i have fitting slots left i might add a USB3.0 or USB4.0 card for backing up projects (building models and Renderings and videos can get huge - no motivation to run a NAS or similiar server)

 

Operating System:

already comes with Win10 Pro maybe even Win11 Pro

 

I will repost in this thread if I really start my project...

Feel free to share your tips or opinions with me - I am very open to suggestions and criticism and happy to benefit from your experiences.

 

 

[An0maly_76]

3050 isn't really worth buying, for starters.

 

Also, Xeons are quite segmented in BIOS compatibility, meaning that interchangeability is limited. cpu-upgrade.com can help in terms of finding which are more likely to work with your board and socket. Chipset is everything.

Edited February 19, 2023 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[Cebrano]

@An0maly_76

thx for the tip with the 3050 - i was already suspecting that

 

Thanks for the website - thats really helpfull for me!

[Needfuldoer]

I don't think the T5600 supports Ivy Bridge processors, even with a BIOS update. You should have your pick of the Sandy Bridge Xeon line, though!

[Cebrano]

Sounds like the safest bet would be to try my luck with a second, identical CPU as I only risk a few bucks...

@NeedfuldoerThank you for that information! I will focus on the Sandy Bridge Xeons then!

 

All of the Sandy Bridge ones I looked up till now only cost around 10€ without shipping so as long as I dont physically damage the CPU slot or something similiar i don't risk much...