Agent Smith
Well-Known Member
I'm thinking about going with a E31240V3 Xeon and was told that server CPUs aren't good for gaming. Is this true? That CPU has higher passmarks. Ranks like 33.
Is Xeon good for a gaming build?
- Thread starter Agent Smith
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jonnyp11
New Member
There's been a couple threads like this before. Xeon's are a little different than normal cpus, but in the end they will process the same information with the same result, even doing it better thanks tolarger caches. I want to say someone always disagrees with me on this but i cant remember, pretty sure the main argument is the price normally because the performance won't be any better really than an i7 of the same clocks which tend to be cheaper.
TrainTrackHack
VIP Member
It's not true, it's bollocks served with frozen head of a fish. I'm not entirely convinced that this has ever been true (this might have been the case in the past), but it's certainly not true for any modern Intel chips. They have all the same capabilities as their desktop counterparts (often more, in fact, although for gaming they won't matter), usually only lacking an onboard graphics chip - but for a gaming rig you'll be getting a discrete graphics card anyway, so that shouldn't matter.
This topic has come up a few times here, you can do a side-by-side compare of different CPUs at ark.intel.com - I've never found a reason to not use a Xeon for gaming, and indeed, most people who say they're not good for gaming never seem to be able to give one either.
This topic has come up a few times here, you can do a side-by-side compare of different CPUs at ark.intel.com - I've never found a reason to not use a Xeon for gaming, and indeed, most people who say they're not good for gaming never seem to be able to give one either.
It's not that Xeons are bad for gaming, it's just getting the E31240V3 over an i5 4670K solely for gaming is a waste of money.
The Xeon is $276 on Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116905
The i5 is $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899
Why spend more on the Xeon for gaming when the i5 does the same job but for less?
Alternatively, you could save even more and get an FX-8320 for just $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285
I reckon the FX-8320 and that Xeon would also perform about the same in games, since really it's the graphics card which matters most.
The Xeon is $276 on Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116905
The i5 is $240 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899
Why spend more on the Xeon for gaming when the i5 does the same job but for less?
Alternatively, you could save even more and get an FX-8320 for just $160 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285
I reckon the FX-8320 and that Xeon would also perform about the same in games, since really it's the graphics card which matters most.
Agent Smith
Well-Known Member
I posted this topic to another forum and was told that the E3-1240v3 will be as good as an i7. I can't afford anything over $275. So i think i'm getting the most for my buck. Overclocking the i5 will equate to an i7? LOL
Agent Smith
Well-Known Member
I do some video editing with Sony Vegas. Does that software use HT?
If you're doing a lot of video editing then the Xeon would be a good buy. But that being said, I edit with Premiere Pro on an i5 2500K and it's fine, but you would be better off with the Xeon or the i7.
If this was going to be solely for gaming though, you'd be wasting your money with both a Xeon and an i7 since the i5 is enough. Since you are doing editing though, the Xeon and i7 makes a bit more sense.
There's more to a Xeon than just CPU to CPU comparisons. You are basically looking at a $500 motherboard. I don't know that anything supports them otherwise. And they are generally dual socket (none on newegg that support xeon are single socket) so now you need 2 CPUs.
I guess you could get a single socket server board but just get an i7
I guess you could get a single socket server board but just get an i7
claptonman
New Member
There's more to a Xeon than just CPU to CPU comparisons. You are basically looking at a $500 motherboard. I don't know that anything supports them otherwise. And they are generally dual socket (none on newegg that support xeon are single socket) so now you need 2 CPUs.
I guess you could get a single socket server board but just get an i7
Look up the Xeon he chose. It's a Haswell 1150 socket Xeon, will work with most 1150 motherboards. But he should look at the motherboard CPU support page first.
TrainTrackHack
VIP Member
Nah you can get a Xeon on a normal desktop board, I've got one. Ever since Ivy Bridge Xeons have been very well supported on mainstream/"not ridiculously expensive" boards.There's more to a Xeon than just CPU to CPU comparisons. You are basically looking at a $500 motherboard. I don't know that anything supports them otherwise. And they are generally dual socket (none on newegg that support xeon are single socket) so now you need 2 CPUs.
I guess you could get a single socket server board but just get an i7
EDIT: Having said that, when I was shopping for a board for my current build there were a fair few of them that didn't support Xeons, so you'll still better check before buying - although I would assume things have improved even more since I bought mine.
FuryRosewood
Active Member
and they are designed to use ECC Ram...people who use these with regular ram just make me want to facepalm...so hard...
TrainTrackHack
VIP Member
Why? They're not "designed" to use ECC RAM, they do support it, but there is absolutely no harm or dwawbacks in using normal RAM with them.
(EDIT for awkward wording: Of course, they are designed for it, what I mean is that they're not designed to use ECC RAM *specifically*, it's just a feature that is disabled in their desktop counterparts.)
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claptonman
New Member
It may be this one, but I know there's a Xeon out there that matches the i7-4770k in performance, but costs as much as an i5. Doesn't have onboard video and no overclocking, but they are cheaper.
Agent Smith
Well-Known Member
There's more to a Xeon than just CPU to CPU comparisons. You are basically looking at a $500 motherboard. I don't know that anything supports them otherwise. And they are generally dual socket (none on newegg that support xeon are single socket) so now you need 2 CPUs.
I guess you could get a single socket server board but just get an i7
I will pair this with a Gigabyte motherboard that supports the E3-1240V3! And no, it's not $500. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=3332167&SID=u00000687
A little exaggeration on your part.
No it wasn't. I was looking at the wrong model Xeon that's all. You know, the ones that are more than just an I7 minus the graphics and plus registered memory...
Good point. Missed that, my mistake.