Which CPU do I use for a Dual CPU Rig ?
Which CPU do I use for a Dual CPU Rig ?
I’m planning to refresh my setup because graphics cards are currently very expensive. I’m considering a dual CPU motherboard for my triple GTX980. The options I’ve looked at are: Dual 3.5 GHz 16 cores – $200 each, Dual 3 GHz 20 cores – $110 each, and the most affordable option is Dual 3.4 GHz 12 cores – $90 each. I’m wondering if having more cores will actually boost performance for gaming, or if the number of cores matters less than the speed. Since I also do graphic design and rendering, this isn’t just about gaming.
These are specific processors. What are you working on? They perform significantly slower than a single high-end CPU in most situations. Which applications are you running? Based on what you mentioned, these chips should lag compared to something like the 12900k/5950x. It seems hard to source a dual socket board with triple SLC support, which makes this challenge interesting. I believe an EVGA model was designed for LGA 2011.
I believe Evga designed this model to fit a dual 2011 build, accommodating 3x and 4x configurations. However, there are only four RAM slots available on the second CPU, which is quite limited. It seems uncommon to find one on eBay. From someone familiar with these socket setups, server boards can be problematic for desktop use—they often have restricted I/O, poor sound support, lengthy loading times, inconsistent sleep quality, and limited fan control. Desktop CPUs are generally faster, especially now that multi-core chips aren’t as common.
I don’t see much choice for multi-CPU boards beyond enterprise or data center facilities... I’d wager a mortgage that a used one has already seen a lot of processing...
What processors are these? We don’t need to focus on the exact models if we’re unsure. We’re pretty sure these are some outdated Xeon E5 v2 units that get easily damaged by a single-generation Ryzen processor. I think this is likely for gaming purposes? Using two CPUs probably doesn’t add much value. The games won’t even notice the second CPU, and these Xeons are simply slower than typical consumer parts for gaming. You’d be wasting your money. For gaming, rendering requirements vary—art projects can be handled on a 500$ laptop right away. Old Xeons would perform poorly here, even worse than a 500$ laptop itself :p. Based on what I know, I’ll assume these are Xeon E5 2697 v2 units (unlikely at that price, but possible) paired with a cheap Chinese board and 32GB of used RAM. For around this amount, a Ryzen 3700 + board plus the same amount of RAM would be a better choice. It would perform significantly better in most situations except for pure CPU rendering, where it’d lag about 20%. But in general, having two cores gives you nearly double the performance you usually need.
I’m on a tight budget and need something that helps with memory retention. The mobile I’m considering costs $260 (new), while the CPUs I’d like are around $100 used. (The one set is too expensive) I’ve heard from others that faster CPUs improve gaming, but fewer cores can slow down rendering. My old system had 20 cores at 3 GHz. Getting a pair of cheaper 12 cores at 3.4 GHz would boost gaming performance by about four cores and slightly speed up rendering.
As stated numerous times in the replies here that you seem to have read(but ignored) can we please get CPU and motherboard models please? Can't really help you without that, just telling us the cores and speed isn't going to do jack for us trying to help you. Without specifics you're just gonna go out and spend $360 on these more than likely old and outdated dual CPUs when you could have spent the same amount maybe a teeny tiny bit more and got something much better. If you're going to avoid giving us specifics then we really can't help you, other than say it's ill-advised to go this route from the little information you are giving us.