Turning a server into a PC

[crazysteve240]

I am building a new PC and I saw Linus's video on the dirt cheap under $150 PC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epIlB49SNTI) where he used Xeon CPUs. I want to build something like this (since my budget is low) and instead of buying all of the parts separately, do you think it is smart to buy a server instead? (e.g., http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Poweredge-1950-Total-4-Cores-Dual-Xeon-5130-8GB-SAS-146GB-1U-Server-W-Warr-/201814133440?hash=item2efd0f4ac0:g:LiIAAOSwnHZYeC9x)

 

I will mainly be using the PC for some light gaming (e.g., League of Legends, CS: GO), and possibly some photo and video editing. Any suggestions?

[NTDaws]

NO.

[NoRomanBatmansAllowed]

3 minutes ago, crazysteve240 said:

I am building a new PC and I saw Linus's video on the dirt cheap under $150 PC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epIlB49SNTI) where he used Xeon CPUs. I want to build something like this (since my budget is low) and instead of buying all of the parts separately, do you think it is smart to buy a server instead? (e.g., http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Poweredge-1950-Total-4-Cores-Dual-Xeon-5130-8GB-SAS-146GB-1U-Server-W-Warr-/201814133440?hash=item2efd0f4ac0:g:LiIAAOSwnHZYeC9x)

 

I will mainly be using the PC for some light gaming (e.g., League of Legends, CS: GO), and possibly some photo and video editing. Any suggestions?

You most definitly could, however if you want a dedicated graphics card it'll look really ghetto, and I'm not sure if the Mobo even fits PCIE cards either.

[crazysteve240]

1 minute ago, bob51zhang said:

You most definitly could, however if you want a dedicated graphics card it'll look really ghetto, and I'm not sure if the Mobo even fits PCIE cards either.

 

Well, I am not going to be using the server case for the PC. I have my own case that I think is big enough to house the motherboard. And I will have to verify the type of slots, yes.

[Julian5]

6 minutes ago, crazysteve240 said:

I am building a new PC and I saw Linus's video on the dirt cheap under $150 PC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epIlB49SNTI) where he used Xeon CPUs. I want to build something like this (since my budget is low) and instead of buying all of the parts separately, do you think it is smart to buy a server instead? (e.g., http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Poweredge-1950-Total-4-Cores-Dual-Xeon-5130-8GB-SAS-146GB-1U-Server-W-Warr-/201814133440?hash=item2efd0f4ac0:g:LiIAAOSwnHZYeC9x)

 

I will mainly be using the PC for some light gaming (e.g., League of Legends, CS: GO), and possibly some photo and video editing. Any suggestions?

Yeah great idea, you will need a pcie riser and will need to have the case removed. Also will sound like a jet engine and cost alot to run. But great otherwise.

[Julian5]

Just now, crazysteve240 said:

Well, I am not going to be using the server case for the PC. I have my own case that I think is big enough to house the motherboard. And I will have to verify the type of slots, yes.

trust me your pc case wont fit the huge motherboards

[crazysteve240]

1 minute ago, Julian5 said:

trust me your pc case wont fit the huge motherboards

Well, I'll just make sure. I will remove the hard drive bays if I have to.

[foolishlywise]

Three things I must mention to you:

 

1) FANS! Server fans are ridiculously loud. Jet fighter loud. 

2) You need to check that you can fit 4 pin PWM fans onto that board.

3) Motherboard form factor. 

 

I made this mistake buying a ProLiant as a home server for big storage. Safe to say I couldn't just leave it in the corner of the dining room where its predecessor used to live. You could hear it in the upstairs hallway. Didn't have PWM fans (5 pin bs ones) so I was pretty stuck. Built my own in the end.  

[jeffmeyer5295]

1 minute ago, crazysteve240 said:

Well, I'll just make sure. I will remove the hard drive bays if I have to.

Some server motherboards are absolutely massive. Be careful with those assumptions. If you are wrong that will chew into your budget.

[Electronics Wizardy]

I'd just get a low end desktop chip. These old server chips are slower than a i5 in most games and van cost about the same. They also use much more power. Many won't work out well with gpus. 

[Droidbot]

Server fans are loud. They're meant to run in an airconned room 24/7.

PCI-E cards have very hit-or-horrible-miss with server boards.

The board is a proprietary form factor.

[harrybamber8]

You might as well get this;

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Mini-Tower-3-33GHz-Core-2-Duo-8gb-DDR3-DVD-RW-/132111322613?hash=item1ec272cdf5:g:7L8AAOSwax5YtfGt

[crazysteve240]

Just now, harrybamber8 said:

You might as well get this;

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Mini-Tower-3-33GHz-Core-2-Duo-8gb-DDR3-DVD-RW-/132111322613?hash=item1ec272cdf5:g:7L8AAOSwax5YtfGt

 

Shipping is too expensive, man.

[harrybamber8]

Just now, crazysteve240 said:

Shipping is too expensive, man.

shit didnt see that...

[Droidbot]

Just now, harrybamber8 said:

You might as well get this;

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Mini-Tower-3-33GHz-Core-2-Duo-8gb-DDR3-DVD-RW-/132111322613?hash=item1ec272cdf5:g:7L8AAOSwax5YtfGt

LGA775 is dead. LGA771 isn't that great for anything anymore. 

Get something with a Sandy or Ivy i5, OP. It'll whip the shit out of that machine

[crazysteve240]

6 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

Server fans are loud. They're meant to run in an airconned room 24/7.

PCI-E cards have very hit-or-horrible-miss with server boards.

The board is a proprietary form factor.

 

How would the components of the server be affected if they are not being used 24/7? Also, can you elaborate on how PCI-E cards are Hit-or-miss with server motherboards?

[crazysteve240]

Just now, Droidbot said:

LGA775 is dead. LGA771 isn't that great for anything anymore. 

Get something with a Sandy or Ivy i5, OP. It'll whip the shit out of that machine

 

I was actually thinking of modding a LGA775 motherboard socket to fit a LGA771 CPU. But anyway, the reason I want to get the server instead of a i5 or i7 is because 1. it is cheaper 2. it comes with many of the components that I need (i.e. RAM, Motherboard, CPUs), and 3. it is multiprocessor system so it will have a high number of cores (even though they are Xeon cores), it will have a large amount of cache, and there will be two processors working together. Games like CS: GO are very CPU hungry and I think the multiprocessor system should help with that.

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, crazysteve240 said:

I was actually thinking of modding a LGA775 motherboard socket to fit a LGA771 CPU. But anyway, the reason I want to get the server instead of a i5 or i7 is because 1. it is cheaper 2. it comes with many of the components that I need (i.e. RAM, Motherboard, CPUs), and 3. it is multiprocessor system so it will have a high number of cores (even though they are Xeon cores), it will have a large amount of cache, and there will be two processors working together. Games like CS: GO are very CPU hungry and I think the multiprocessor system should help with that.

CSGO only takes advantage of first three cores, you realise that right?

Old Xeons only see perf gain in well-threaded games. 

7 minutes ago, crazysteve240 said:

How would the components of the server be affected if they are not being used 24/7? Also, can you elaborate on how PCI-E cards are Hit-or-miss with server motherboards?

BIOS support is bad, hit-or-miss meaning that it might work it might not. 

[DaftBehemoth]

That thing is going to absolutely scream. I don't mean that it'll sound like a loud computer, it's going to sound like someone is yelling at you. lol

[crazysteve240]

14 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

These old server chips are slower than a i5 in most games and van cost about the same. They also use much more power. Many won't work out well with gpus. 

2

That's true, but there are two processors working at the same time, right? Won't that give a performance gain? Also, CS: GO is a very CPU-hungry game, to my knowledge. Can you elaborate on how some GPUs won't work well with server motherboards?

[crazysteve240]

1 minute ago, DaftBehemoth said:

That thing is going to absolutely scream. I don't mean that it'll sound like a loud computer, it's going to sound like someone is yelling at you. lol

 

Sound does not matter to me.

[Doramius]

For a budget server to use as a PC, I usually recommend ServerMonkey.com as they warranty their products.  They're a little older, but you get a pretty good bang for the buck.  You can usually find systems that will fit and run newer video cards.  Dell T5500 and T7500 are pretty great.  You may have to call if their stock is low.  Just because they don't say it is available, doesn't mean it isn't.  Always call for a Quote for a Dual CPU build.  Prices are pretty cheap.

 

EDIT: The T5600 can be customized with dual 8x core 2.6 GHz XEON CPUs.  Regardless, I'd stick with Tower servers, vs rack servers for compatibility.  You can get Rack servers for real cheap, too.

[crazysteve240]

7 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

CSGO only takes advantage of first three cores

 

I only need good enough performance, which means a minimum of 60 FPS at low settings and a 1280 x 1024 resolution with a 4:3 aspect ratio.

8 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

 

Old Xeons only see perf gain in well-threaded games. 

 

I will try and get a server that has CPUs with a high clock speed.

9 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

BIOS support is bad

 

Can you elaborate on how it is bad?

[Kraglenn]

15 minutes ago, DaftBehemoth said:

That thing is going to absolutely scream. I don't mean that it'll sound like a loud computer, it's going to sound like someone is yelling at you. lol

WHY THE FUCK DOES YOUR PC BUILD HAVE x11 FANS, WHAT!

[crazysteve240]

Just now, Kraglenn said:

WHY THE FUCK DOES YOUR PC BUILD HAVE x11 FANS, WHAT!

My system will probably have at least 6 fans haha