Poor frame rates in certain titles on repurposed hardware.
Poor frame rates in certain titles on repurposed hardware.
This project seemed a bit unproductive, especially with today's "No need for a new PC" video and Linus's preference for reducing electronic waste. I decided to share it here. I own a Dell PowerEdge T420 server that I got for free. It features a 2.5GHz Xeon E5-2450 v2 processor, 32GB of 1600MHz RAM, backup 1100W power supplies, and a SoundBlaster Audigy FX sound card. I also installed a Samsung 870 EVO SATA SSD, a WiFi 6e card, and an RTX 4070 graphics card. The system runs Windows 11 with the latest BIOS updates applied. It uses PCIE 3.x, and according to me, enabling Resizable Bar isn't possible, which affects performance. Currently, it's connected to a Dell U2414H that only supports up to 60Hz. I'm using Windows 11, and the BIOS is set for "Performance." Device Manager shows no problems. All Intel driver updates are installed. In Fortnite, I’m seeing only 25–40fps at 1080p, with the overlay indicating CPU at 15%, GPU between 50% and 80%, RAM usage around 40–60%. I don’t think thermal throttling is the issue—the fan runs quietly, and the GPU stays near 50°C. I can adjust settings or stick to default game settings; they perform similarly. HWINFO reports all eight cores at 2882 at idle with an x29 ratio. The voltage reads 1.07V. In HWINFO, my drive is listed as SATA 6 Gb/s @ 3 Gb/s, which matches Dell’s claims, but I’m unsure what this means now. UserBenchmark shows a 2.5GHz CPU with turbo up to 2.9GHz (average). Performance in other games: Forza 7 – 1080p Ultra – 60fps; Fall Guys – 1080 Ultra – 60fps; Rocket League – 1080p High Quality – 61fps. I suspect the limits come from the game or display, not hardware strain. If I want Fortnite to hit 60fps, it might help if the CPU, GPU, or RAM were under higher load. I’m just trying to identify where the slowdown occurs.
CPU constraints and slow processing speed limit performance. Older architecture adds further challenges.
Fortnite often lags unexpectedly with no clear cause, but your CPU is quite outdated and its single-thread speed matches an i5-2400, making it a real performance issue for a 4070. Your setup feels like a heavy LS paired with a Honda Civic—powerful yet stuck on the road.
Haha, I wasn't expecting them to replace LS with Honda's... well, that's a pretty big shift! They'd have to really highlight their VTEC performance.
Xeons aren't built for gaming tasks; they're meant for server or workstation use. At some point they worked well for gaming, but this specific CPU isn't suitable anymore.
It seems the combination isn't ideal. The CPU paired with that high-end GPU might not work well together.
Examine the per-core consumption, you'll likely notice a few cores running at full capacity while others remain inactive. The task manager's percentage display isn't very clear. For instance, with two CPU cores—one active and the other idle—it would appear as 50% utilization.
I’ll try it. I thought we could get it to work, but probably we’ll have to spend some cash on a new case, power supply, motherboard, processor, and RAM.