Xeon Gaming

[YellowMenace]

A friend of mine wants a computer to render video and sound as well as play games. The obvious choice would have been an Intel i7 4770K, but while digging around on Newegg, I found the Xeon E3-1240V3 which, on paper, has pretty much the same specs (only -100MHz) for about $70 less.

 know the Xeon is up to the task of rendering, but how is it in gaming? It looks virtually identical to the i7, but it's a server processor and I don't know how that'll affect it.

[MrSuperb]

no oc on the xeon

 

other than that there isn't too much difference between an i7 and the xeon

[Guest]

It'll work fine however you loose things like the ability to overclock. 

[CoolBeans]

Get the i7 ^ no OCing on the Xeon

[_ASSASSIN_]

you have to get a motherboard that supports a xeon so you will loose some money you thought you saved

[Kirihuna]

i7. Better chipset, has the ability to overclock, cheaper motherboards. 

[YellowMenace]

It'll work fine however you loose things like the ability to overclock. 

OC-ing is not an issue.

 

you have to get a motherboard that supports a xeon so you will loose some money you thought you saved

The i7 and the Xeon are both Haswell and have LGA 1150 sockets, so what's the issue?

[_ASSASSIN_]

 

OC-ing is not an issue.

 

The i7 and the Xeon are both Haswell and have LGA 1150 sockets, so what's the issue?

 

you need to get workstation boards that have support for these CPU's

[MrSuperb]

you need to get workstation boards that have support for these CPU's

 nope

[Guest]

you need to get workstation boards that have support for these CPU's

No - it's an 1150 socket CPU compatible with H87 and Z87 chipset motherboards. 

[Kirihuna]

Losing out on overclocking is a huge loss in terms of performance imo.

[_ASSASSIN_]

No - it's an 1150 socket CPU compatible with H87 and Z87 chipset motherboards. 

oh, ok den, but to use the ECC ram you need workstation boards right?

[bradscoolio]

They're the same chip, Architecture and all. Just higher quality binning, it's a molecularly sounder piece of silicon.

He'll receive better performance in game and in rendering with the i7 overclocked. 

[YellowMenace]

Workstation Mobo my foot, found this GIGABYTE GA-Z87-D3HP for $130, it's compatible with the Xeon E3-1240v3.

Also, there isn't that big of a need for OCing the CPU with this build, stock speed will do him just fine.

[naca1227]

It'll work fine however you loose things like the ability to overclock. 

Lose* Windspeed36, lose. 

[Humbug]

Ya I too would have loved to get a Xeon for my socket 1155 but the inability to overclock limits it's useful lifespan. It's a shame cause having a Xeon in my rig would have been so much cooler than an i7.

[Arinaz]

Yeah it's cooler to have a Xeon in your rig, and I don't use a workstation board or different ram it's pretty neat cpu actually does what I need it to do.

[Guest]

oh, ok den, but to use the ECC ram you need workstation boards right?

 

No, most boards support ECC RAM anyway as it's reliant on the chips then the CPU. 

Lose* Windspeed36, lose. 

I always get them muddled up. 

[Kuzma]

Workstation Mobo my foot, found this GIGABYTE GA-Z87-D3HP for $130, it's compatible with the Xeon E3-1240v3.

Also, there isn't that big of a need for OCing the CPU with this build, stock speed will do him just fine.

Save some money and get him a h87 board since he's not going to be OC'ing anyway

[WoodenMarker]

Fyi, you should be able to get the e3 1230 v2 for quite a bit cheaper. It's Ivy and the cpu + mobo should save ~$50 more.

[Glenwing]

ECC RAM has to be supported in the chips, and also in the BIOS, usually you will find ECC support on boards with a C220 series chipset only, a selection of Z87 boards do support it also though.  

 

That being said, ECC RAM isn't important anyway though unless you are using it for an actual server, or for 3D work.

 

Basically, are you willing to pay $70 for overclocking?  If not then the Xeon isn't a bad choice.

[YellowMenace]

Save some money and get him a h87 board since he's not going to be OC'ing anyway

Yea, I threw that out the window and decided to make a smaller form-factor (that standard ATX) and went with a ASRock H87M Pro4 for $83.

[YellowMenace]

So far I've got this for the build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1LEKs

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116905

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817822029

Coming out to just over a grand.

[guyfromnebraska]

So far I've got this for the build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1LEKs

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116905

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817822029

Coming out to just over a grand.

Most people will tell you to get a PSU from a more reputable company such as: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pb0750kr or http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive750

But that is ofcourse all up to you if you want to trust that diablotek. Looks like a pretty sweet build no matter what though

[YellowMenace]

Most people will tell you to get a PSU from a more reputable company such as: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pb0750kr or http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive750

But that is ofcourse all up to you if you want to trust that diablotek. Looks like a pretty sweet build no matter what though

I've used Diablotek PSUs on many builds including my personal build. No loud fan noise, coil whining, and it's been the most reliable thing in my current computer and it's not even 80+ certified.