1366 X58 Xeon 5650

[bsoltan]

Got a 5650 chip from eBay.

Did my CPU upgrade today i7 930 -> Xeon 5650.
Got to sort the case out and change my fans still but I might try giving it an OC today to see how it goes.

 

[benjii]

What's a 4GHz X5650/X5670 single core like compared to a 4GHz 6700k single core?

 

[DragonQ]

What's a 4GHz X5650/X5670 single core like compared to a 4GHz 6700k single core?

Skylake/Kaby Lake is maybe ~50% faster clock-for-clock than Bloomfield/Westmere.

 

[Phemo]

I don't think it's that much, not at the same clock speed anyway. This article gives some insight: http://www.pcgamer.com/bloomfield-takes-on-skylake/

Intel seem to have only bumped up performance by 5% year on year which means Bloomfield->Sandy Bridge->Ivy Bridge->Haswell->Broadwell->Skylake/Kaby Lake should really be around 25% ish improvement at the same clock speeds.

Obviously the fact that the popular i7/Xeons of this era were clocked in the 2.66-2.93GHz and modern i7s are 4GHz+ means there's quite a clock speed gap, but at the same clock speed, 25-30% ish seems about right. 50% is probably about right given the clock speed boost but only in the right situations.

Overclocked these X58 platforms still hold their own reasonably well today which I still find crazy. Power consumption is the only real negative...well, and the lack of modern features but that can mostly be overcome with PCI-E cards.

 

[DragonQ]

I don't think it's that much, not at the same clock speed anyway. This article gives some insight: http://www.pcgamer.com/bloomfield-takes-on-skylake/

Intel seem to have only bumped up performance by 5% year on year which means Bloomfield->Sandy Bridge->Ivy Bridge->Haswell->Broadwell->Skylake/Kaby Lake should really be around 25% ish improvement at the same clock speeds.

Obviously the fact that the popular i7/Xeons of this era were clocked in the 2.66-2.93GHz and modern i7s are 4GHz+ means there's quite a clock speed gap, but at the same clock speed, 25-30% ish seems about right. 50% is probably about right given the clock speed boost but only in the right situations.

Overclocked these X58 platforms still hold their own reasonably well today which I still find crazy. Power consumption is the only real negative...well, and the lack of modern features but that can mostly be overcome with PCI-E cards.

Can't view the link at work but from memory it's typically somewhere between 30 and 40% depending on the benchmark. My 50% figure is wrong, that's the one that includes an average clock speed boost. Generation improvements are more like:

Best case scenario = 15% -> 5% -> 15% -> 5% -> 5% (i.e. 53%)
Worst case scenario = 10% -> 2% -> 10% -> 2% -> 2% (i.e. 28%)

Remember IPC improvements per generation are multiplicative, not additive. For example, if it was 15% better two generations in a row, you're looking at a total improvement of 32%, not 30%.

 

[Jonners]

I know it is going in reverse generation wise, but I intend to ditch my G3258K which is only 2C2T in favour of X58 & 6C/12T Xeon? Am I crazy?

I just can't stomach the price of a Ryzen 5 or 7 setup.

 

[DragonQ]

I know it is going in reverse generation wise, but I intend to ditch my G3258K which is only 2C2T in favour of X58 & 6C/12T Xeon? Am I crazy?

I just can't stomach the price of a Ryzen 5 or 7 setup.

What speed is your chip running at? You're gonna lose ~20-30% IPC and might even lower your clocks. Power consumption will be a decent amount higher. You gain tonnes of real and virtual cores of course so anything that uses more than 2 cores will benefit.

 

[Jonners]

I just run the Pentium at stock which is 3.2ghz? I've never overclocked it.

I just intend to use the X5650 at 4ghz as that is what it is being sold at capability wise.

My GPU is getting on.by some years now being a 280x will the overclocked Xeon make better use in gaming?

Thanks

 

[Dave2150]

I just run the Pentium at stock which is 3.2ghz? I've never overclocked it.

I just intend to use the X5650 at 4ghz as that is what it is being sold at capability wise.

My GPU is getting on.by some years now being a 280x will the Zoverclocked Xeon make better use in gaming?

Thanks

The Pentium will be faster in the majority of games, if you overclock it.

 

[Jonners]

Ah right, I thought it would have been quite the opposite? I just feel 2C/2T is pants in 2017, albeit if I am moving to something that is older...

 

[AiiR]

Depends on the game. I have 2 guest PCs, one runs a Pentium G3258 at 4.8GHz and the other runs a X5650 at 4.4GHz and I actually get much smoother gameplay from the Xeon playing some newer games. Most notable is PUBG, which has nearly unplayable levels of stutter on the Dual Core Pentium but the Xeon feels smooth as butter.

 

[hornetstinger]

I just run the Pentium at stock which is 3.2ghz? I've never overclocked it.

I just intend to use the X5650 at 4ghz as that is what it is being sold at capability wise.

My GPU is getting on.by some years now being a 280x will the overclocked Xeon make better use in gaming?

Thanks

Well you could try overclocking it, I have mine x5870 to 3.8ghz, and see what games are like fps difference. I suppose if you get 60fps at stock then not so much ocing.

 

[Jonners]

Is Xeon overclocking done by multiplier or bclk?

I would have thought the most modern of Games would suffer microstutter with the Pentium?

 

[DragonQ]

Depends on the game. I have 2 guest PCs, one runs a Pentium G3258 at 4.8GHz and the other runs a X5650 at 4.4GHz and I actually get much smoother gameplay from the Xeon playing some newer games. Most notable is PUBG, which has nearly unplayable levels of stutter on the Dual Core Pentium but the Xeon feels smooth as butter.

The newer the game, the more likely the Xeon will be faster, ironically. Also remember this isn't a new 2c/4t Pentium, it's just 2c/2t.

Is Xeon overclocking done by multiplier or bclk?

I would have thought the most modern of Games would suffer microstutter with the Pentium?

BCLK

 

[silversurfer]

Newer games will use more cores like GTA5 and BF1 use all the cores but other games will prefer just high speed on one or two. Is there not any modern xeon choice also

 

[DragonQ]

Newer games will use more cores like GTA5 and BF1 use all the cores but other games will prefer just high speed on one or two. Is there not any modern xeon choice also

No, Xeons are locked so the only way to overclock them is via BCLK. This doesn't work beyond Westmere-EP. I think some early Skylake motherboards allowed BCLK overclocking but Intel made them lock it down. Whether there are any that allow BCLK adjustment and support Skylake Xeons, I have no idea.

 

[wam7]

The Pentium will be faster in the majority of games, if you overclock it.

No. frankly this is false information.

Having extensively used both an overclocked Xeon 5670 and Pentium I can confirm that with any AAA game in the last 3 years that the Xeon is always smoother and better for gaming. For general windows/office use and multitasking it is like night and day, with the Xeon being miles better.

 

[Jonners]

I plan to use the Xeon as a stop gap when it does arrive, but how long could I get away with using one of these for? They are aged now...

Also will 12gb Ram be enough? I would prefer 24gb, but can't seem to bag that amount on the cheap...

 

[hornetstinger]

I plan to use the Xeon as a stop gap when it does arrive, but how long could I get away with using one of these for? They are aged now...

Also will 12gb Ram be enough? I would prefer 24gb, but can't seem to bag that amount on the cheap...

I think 24GB was about £90. Bought dual channel DDR 3 1600mhz kingston savage, with a single channel DDR 3 1600mhz kingston savage.

Still that plus x5670 prolonged it- before 6GB quad core, now 24GB hex core and overclocks better tha the quad.

 

[Jonners]

Any idea how many years these will be perfectly usable for?

As for the Ram, is that kit still available? Thanks