Up until recently, I've been using my old desktop (C2Q-based machine from ~2007) as a "server" to do things like acting as a computer test bed for things. The machine only had 8GB of RAM which was starting to become a serious limitation, so the obvious question was to either upgrade it or get something else. The P45 platform that machine is based on only supports 16GB of RAM which isn't very impressive by modern standards, and DDR2 isn't "affordable" from in the cost-per-GB standard anymore either.
Historically, my next move would have been to build a new desktop then re-purpose my existing desktop as a upgraded server. My existing desktop is also showing it's age, being based on an only slightly newer X58 platform from 2009. That machine officially supports 24GB (and unofficially there are examples of it running 48GB with the right set of modules and timings), but that's not a huge upgrade. Not to mention current generation computer parts are expensive and I don't feel like spending $800+ to put together a new system right now.
So what else is out there? In the world of computers, the most worthless stuff is old server hardware as performance/Watt keeps marching on and IT system operators will nearly always make a quick return on investment by upgrading their H/W every few years. Enter the Xeon E5 platform. The C600 server chipset and LGA2011 socket were the first of 4 generations of similarly named server platforms starting in 2012. The chips themselves were originally released on the Sandy Bridge EP platform (sharing an architecture with the desktop CPUs of the same name). This stuff is getting on 10 years old, sounds like a good opportunity for re-purposing some old stuff!
As great as having a server in my basement would be, I'm not at the point where I want to buy/build a 19" rack and deal with machines that aren't "sound optimized". For that reason, I looked into the equivalent workstation platforms from the same era. All major OEMs made similarly equipped machines (HP, Lenovo, Dell, SuperMicro, etc...). The pricing of said machines varies wildly, seeming driven by the boom-and-bust cycle of machine decommissioning being pushed to eBay by recyclers/re-furbishers.
I settled on a single-socket Dell T5600, purchased on eBay for $80 shipped. This machine has some modern-ish features and as I planned on upgrading it, didn't really matter what the original specs were:
- USB3
- Lots of PCIe Gen 3 slots
- 2 Sockets
- Quad-channel ECC DDR3 RAM
- 6x 6Gbps SATA/SCSI ports
- Gigabit ethernet
Some cons of the workstation platform over the server platform:
- Less internal drive bays (2x 3.5") - though this is somewhat mitigated by the spare 5.25" bay which can hold muti-disk 2.5" drive enclosures and plenty of PCIe slots for future NVME M.2 drives
- Limited RAM slots (8)
- Case doesn't have blinkly lights?
The machine I bought came with a single E5-2620 CPU https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... l-qpi.html and a blanking plate over the second socket. While having 6 cores with HT is nice, the relatively low clock speed isn't that nice. Looking a the supported CPU list, there was a 'W' family high performance CPU available (E5-2687W https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... l-qpi.html), but as with most highest-performing parts, these are priced accordingly, ranging from $30-60 each on eBay. Sounds expensive. Looking at the nearly as good E5-2690 https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... l-qpi.html, those can be had for $20-25 for a pair. Sold! eBay also had a 2nd CPU OEM heatsink/fan combo for $25. Check out the OEM MSRP pricing on those CPUs.
ECC DDR3 RAM is incredibly inexpensive due to market saturation, though it does run at slower speeds than modern DDR4/5 platforms. Should be fine enough with a quad-channel memory interface for each CPU (think multi-drive RAID0 compared to single drive performance for reference). I found a 8x 16GB kit on eBay for $150.
Now lets install it. You can see the fancy plastic cover over the 2nd socket on the left. This machine also came with a random low end Nvidia Quadro card for my convenience.
Taking the plastic cover off reveals the socket, still with the plastic socket cover in place.
CPU in the socket. Upgrading the original CPU is the same process, just take the heatsink off. This is conveniently done with 4 integrated screws in the assembly. There's something to be said for ease of repair in these OEM chassis.
I decided to try thermal carbon sheets instead of traditional thermal compound. Much easier and less messy to install. The thermal performance seems equivalent - high 30's, low 40's on idle, high 70's under load.
Ran some benchmarks - https://www.passmark.com/baselines/V10/ ... 2884831267
One oversight I originally made - this machine came with a 635W power supply and was rated to support up to 300W of GPU with a single 6-pin power connector. When you upgrade to 2x > 100W CPUs, during POST the BIOS reports the 635W power supply is insufficient (even if you don't have a high-end GPU attached). You can press F1 to continue and everything works, but that's inconvenient. Like most OEM platforms, this one has a quick-release power supply which is case-compatible with the higher end unit (825W) so upgrading was as easy as sliding the old one out and sliding the new one in, no screws required or even opening the case! That's an extra $50 I didn't intend to spend, but now I don't have to go downstairs and press F1 every time I reboot the machine.
What's next? Sort though my random collection of storage and see if anything is worth using. Right now it's running off an old 256GB SSD with a 1TB platter drive for storage.
How much?
- T5600 - $80
- CPUs - $20
- RAM - $150
- Storage - reuse
- Peripherals (mouse, keyboard, display) - reuse
- Heatsink - $25
- Upgraded power supply - $50
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Total - $325
Future plans:
- Dedicated network connection to the rest of my computers. Right now it's connected via Ethernet to an old router configured as a wireless bridge. This is "fine" except for random latency spikes which can make operating a remote graphical console frustrating.
- Consolidate storage - I have stuff stashed all over the place on various machines/drives. Consolidating to a redundant storage array with a consistent backup solution makes sense.
- "Cloud" gaming. Attaching a real GPU to a VM has some interesting applications. Steam has built-in mechanisms for running a game on one machine and interacting with it on another that perform well.
- Random computery things. Previously, if I wanted to look at or try out random stuff, I always felt limited by my available hardware platforms. Or I'd have to ensure it was work-related and go there to try stuff out.
- Measure power consumption. Idle is probably reasonable, full load is probably exciting.
- Implement Wake-On-LAN for even more power savings