Workstation for Gaming

[Vdubchaos]

Hi Guys,

I just got a gift from a friend (his company is closing down/getting rid of hardware etc) and it's a HP Workstation XW8600 workstation

(click on Advanced tab for specs)
http://partsurfer.hp.com/Search.aspx?type=PROD&SearchText=RB453UT

Looks like it has a Harpertown 3.0 Quad. I was really hoping I can upgrade my Wolfdale...but that seems like a no go.

Are these any good for gaming?

It also came with 2x FX1600 cards, will probably sell those as I think they are more for professional graphics world? Any idea what I can get for these used?

Only problem I see is 1gb of ram, I believe this memory might be a bit expensive....

Is it worth putting money into this thing?

here is the specs incase link doesnt work


202997-001 SPS-ADAPTER,CONN,DVI-I TO VGA -N/A- Modified
202997-005 SPS-ADAPTER,CONN,DVI-I TO VGA -N/A- Modified 319603-001 SPS-BATTERY -N/A- Modified 368382-001 SPS-BEZEL DSKT XW8200 -N/A- Modified 382864-001 SPS-BRKT, DSKT CONVERSION -N/A- Modified 385521-001 SPS-COVER, TOP XW5000/8000 -N/A- Modified 385524-001 SPS-PANEL, RIGHT -N/A- Modified 385529-001 SPS-BASE W/FEET,XW8200 -N/A- Modified 410411-001 SPS-DRV,SATA 300 NCQ,250G,7200,WS -N/A- Modified 417811-001 SPS-PLASTIC KIT MISC -N/A- Modified 417817-001 SPS-CA FRONT PANEL I/O XW8400 -N/A- Modified 419007-001 SPS-MEM,1GB DDR2-667 FBD -N/A- Modified 440308-001 SPS-BD,SYS,SEABURG-DW/1333 MHz,FBDxw8600 -N/A- Modified 440648-001 SPS-I/O CARD SUPPORT, XW8400 -N/A- Modified 444411-001 SPS- POWER SUPPLY, xw8600, 800W 80Plus -N/A- Modified
444740-001 SPS-MOUSE,OPTICAL,CBN WS -N/A- Modified 447310-001 SPS-DRV, ODD,SATA,16X,LS,SM,DVDRW bPC -N/A- Modified 456135-001 SPS-BD, FX1700 512MB PCI-E -N/A- Modified 459916-001 SPS-CA,SATA3G,18-,RA-RA -N/A- Modified 464076-001 SPS-PROC,Harpertown3.0Ghz/1333 Mhz,120W -N/A- Modified 464082-001 SPS-HEATSINK,PERFORMANCE, XW8600 -N/A- Modified 464180-001 SPS-FAN MEM+REAR FAN XW8600 -N/A- Modified 464181-001 SPS-BEZEL MAIN XW8600 -N/A- Modified 464182-001 SPS-FRONT CONTROL PANEL XW8600 -N/A- Modified 464183-001 SPS-PANEL, LFT SIDE XW8600 -N/A- Modified 465526-001 SPS-CLIP, CABLE PS -N/A- Modified 480024-001 SPS-BD,SYS,Seaburg-DW/1600 MHz,FBDxw8600 -N/A- Modified 500022-001 SPS-HEATSINK,PERF,XW8600 MOD DUCT Unknown Misc Modified 537749-001 SPS-Mouse USB Optical Jack Black Input Device Modified

 

[Vdubchaos]

Looks I will be getting some memory for it. That certainly changes things.

What would be the best Video card for gaming before bottle necking the CPU?

Mostly play BC2, MW2, SC2, Fifa, F1 etc

 

[mfenn]

An FX 1700 is really terrible, so yeah you'd need to replace that. The memory is also FB-DIMMs, which are expensive, so you might want to check whether or not it can take normal unbuffered memory before getting too excited.

The CPU is probably the best part actually. A Harpertown is basically the 2P Xeon version of the Yorkfield, and 3GHz is quite fast.

So, to answer your question, it really depends on how cheap you can get some more memory (4GB min). If you have to buy FB-DIMMs at retail prices, then you're looking at spending over $100 for 4GB of memory.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Memory is on the way, TONS of it.

I'm just wondering what would be the GPU to get for this rig before CPU becomes a bottleneck.

 

[ShadowVVL]

A gtx460 should be ok I dont think it would bottle neck. not sure about 500 series maybe a 560ti would be ok.

btw can we get a pics of it? im kinda interested to see it.

 

[Vdubchaos]

A gtx460 should be ok I dont think it would bottle neck. not sure about 500 series maybe a 560ti would be ok.

btw can we get a pics of it? im kinda interested to see it.

THat's the thing, I need to know exactly. I do have a 460 I can put in it and upgrade my E8400...but I have a feeling anything past 460 and even E8400 will bottleneck.

Not sure if it's worth upgrading E8400 or this one

One thing is for sure, I will def be modding this case....

Here is what it looks like

 

[mfenn]

THat's the thing, I need to know exactly. I do have a 460 I can put in it and upgrade my E8400...but I have a feeling anything past 460 and even E8400 will bottleneck.

Not sure if it's worth upgrading E8400 or this one

For your purposes, the Xeon in this machine is that same as your E8400 except with twice the cores. Thus, the Xeon will at minimum the same sped as your E8400.

You can easily put a GTX 560 Ti in there and not be bottlenecked by the CPU at 1080P.

 

[Vdubchaos]

For your purposes, the Xeon in this machine is that same as your E8400 except with twice the cores. Thus, the Xeon will at minimum the same sped as your E8400.

You can easily put a GTX 560 Ti in there and not be bottlenecked by the CPU at 1080P.

I'm a bit skeptical about above. remember although the CPU is great, the motherboard (which is more of a server board) might prevent the CPU from good gaming performance (from what I read about).

It's also next to impossible to find any gaming benchmarks for these Xeon CPUs but above seems to be the opinion.

 

[mfenn]

I'm a bit skeptical about above. remember although the CPU is great, the motherboard (which is more of a server board) might prevent the CPU from good gaming performance (from what I read about).

It's also next to impossible to find any gaming benchmarks for these Xeon CPUs but above seems to be the opinion.

Servers don't need good performance? The Xeon is literally the exact same die as the Q9550, just with more features enabled. Similarly, the motherboard chipset is the same as a desktop one, only with more features. The x16 slot performance will be the same as a desktop and of course the GPU itself will be the same.

 

[ShadowVVL]

Thanks for the pics the inside looks nice.

I think you should just throw the 460 in and see how it goes.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I agree. 460 or so will play very nicely with that CPU (which is fast enough to game for a while yet.)

If you eBay the two Quadro cards it should more than pay for a new GPU and additional RAM.

 

[EchoPOP]

Have a HP xw8600 workstation running Linux on it. It had Vista on it when it was new... Vista Sucks on everything. Was not a good OS. Thinking of Turning it into a Broadcasting Server. As it can Run Windows OS's. Need to get Dust Filters for it, and make sure it can breathe and function. As it will be running 24/7. Killed a Dell 780 Power Supple running it for 3 years.. Just restarted it for Updates...