Xeons with an open multiplier

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_haru

Member
Mar 24, 2018
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Perth, Australia
At this point would you guys recommend I try this out with x79 or buy a x99 motherboard and wait for prices to come down? I have been reading all the threads and researching like crazy this weekend - call it a binge lol. But I'd enjoy a project like this. I could just wait for the coffee lake 8 core later this year, but I expect that to be a 450-500 processor, etc. I would be ok with an x79 and 32GB ECC RAM. I have found that the ASrock Extreme boards allow the use of ECC memory and it's still cheap compared to the DDR4 counterparts. I am not in need of an upgrade, just want to have something to work on that when finished will be a strong PC and something I can use for a few years from here. I'd like some of the features of the x99 such as ultra m.2, but oh well.
Yup, with the rise of those cheap Huanan boards X79 can be great value. But If you're only going for a hex core or you want to dump money into a mainstream motherboard, you should just get an 8700 ES for which a whole setup isn't much more expensive than a high end X79.

X99 is pretty interesting but I wouldn't go for it because of the high cost, not to mention the current market for ram...
 

Ez101

New Member
Sep 3, 2018
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I'd definitely like more than 6. At least 8 and ideally I'd be in a position to have 12 cores. The fastest performance I have seen on the x79 is from the E5-1680v2 and that's $400. Yeah the RAM is one main reason I wouldn't do the x99 now or even why I just don't do the main stream set up. I don't want to pay $300-$400 for high quality DDR4 and then there's the CPU and board (assuming I buy the intel 8 core 450 +200 ish for the mobo). I just thought about x99 just to be ready for when the next wave comes and there will be drops in price on the lga 2011 v3 Xeon's. I'd like to be able to OC even if its just moving up to 4.0. I thought I needed a consumer board to be able to OC. Do you know if it's possible to get any type of increase on any of the E5-2XXX processors?
 

_haru

Member
Mar 24, 2018
47
6
8
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Perth, Australia
I'd definitely like more than 6. At least 8 and ideally I'd be in a position to have 12 cores. The fastest performance I have seen on the x79 is from the E5-1680v2 and that's $400. Yeah the RAM is one main reason I wouldn't do the x99 now or even why I just don't do the main stream set up. I don't want to pay $300-$400 for high quality DDR4 and then there's the CPU and board (assuming I buy the intel 8 core 450 +200 ish for the mobo). I just thought about x99 just to be ready for when the next wave comes and there will be drops in price on the lga 2011 v3 Xeon's. I'd like to be able to OC even if its just moving up to 4.0. I thought I needed a consumer board to be able to OC. Do you know if it's possible to get any type of increase on any of the E5-2XXX processors?
You are limited to locking it at the max all core turbo multi and potentially a 105mhz bclk oc.
 

BlackArchon

Member
Jun 23, 2016
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Correct, basically it isn't worth it trying to overclock the E5-26xx series. Either go E5-16xx v1/v2/v3, or use the consumer CPUs.
 

Ez101

New Member
Sep 3, 2018
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Hi did anyone confirm 1680v2 overclocking? I've seen some come on sale that were QS and showing CPU Z with 47x100 multiplier. But that is at 1.449 volts which seems to be crazy high. I did end up grabbing an x99 ASUS Rampage V board for about $100. The QS 1680 v3's can be had for $350-400. Seems like I'd save a few hundred bucks considering the cost of new z390 motherboard and 8 core intel CPU. I'd like to have the higher number of PCIE lanes on the x99 and was the main reason, but maybe it's better to just buy new and spend the extra cash?
 

alex_stief

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2016
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4700MHz is also a pretty high clock speed for an 8-core CPU of that generation. The v2 usually did not overclock as well as the v1. No wonder they had to use such high voltages.
I have no idea about the ES/QS variants of these CPUs and it probably depends on the stepping. But the retail versions of Xeon 1680 up to v3 definitely have an open multiplier. Intel dropped that with v4 generations.
 

BlackArchon

Member
Jun 23, 2016
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Hi did anyone confirm 1680v2 overclocking? I've seen some come on sale that were QS and showing CPU Z with 47x100 multiplier. But that is at 1.449 volts which seems to be crazy high. I did end up grabbing an x99 ASUS Rampage V board for about $100. ...
I also had an Xeon E5-1680 v2 in the past and I could overclock it pretty well. 4,5 GHz (on all cores) on stock voltage was my usual setting.
 

alex_stief

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2016
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Since you already bought an X99 board I have to ask: do you really need a Xeon CPU? The "core" counterparts of the Xeon 1680v3 can be had much cheaper, without the thrill of buying ES/QS CPUs.
 

Ez101

New Member
Sep 3, 2018
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Yeah, I see your point. I started this out thinking I'd be able to put in a xeon when prices come down, yet they haven't yet on the LGA 2011-V3. I saw the 1680v3 QS for about 360 and got interested again. The 5960x for example I see online usually for about $500+. Maybe I should just sell the board I have and call it a day lol. I will end up buying DDR4 in any event, but this ASUS board doesn't use ECC. My thought was to be able to buy some of the server equipment as prices drop as they did a few years ago and people got in to the x79 and adding xeon's and server memory. If I buy DDR4 (consumer) then I could add to this x99 and have 40 pci lanes with the xeon. If I buy the most recent intel z390 it's still limited PCI lanes which I find odd given that so many of the new boards have 2 and 3 m.2 slots. I figure I'd have to spend a more on the CPU / Mother board if I go with the newer platform. I currently have an x58 platform that I put a PCI add in mounted NVME drive which I boot from and an OC'd w3680. Just thought it would be fun to do similar with the x99 platform. I"m getting bored with the 4790k setup that I've had since 2014.
 

Black6spdZ

New Member
Mar 7, 2018
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still running my 1680v2 @4.5 undervolted on P9X79-WS.. currently looking at options for 128GB RAM. Besides newer arch power efficiency or $1000+ massive multi-core monsters I don't see a reason to upgrade tbh. This 12yo system is super fast with a modded bios to allow booting a 970 NVMe drive
 

Ez101

New Member
Sep 3, 2018
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Black thanks - I have the x99 board but could shelve it and do x79. There are OeM 1680v2 for 319 but boards are very high. Or I could get the 1680v3 QS for 369. I know there are threads for QS. If someone knows of one please share link but I can’t find one talking about the e5-16xx Xeon QS Chips. I’ll attach cpuz shots. Just not sure I should buy this. The retail is twice the price. If this QS is a bad idea I’ll go x79 if I can find a board for decent price they are 200-300 on eBay. Don’t want to buy the Chinese knock offs. I 4BDB924E-57B0-4563-9747-123810844CA5.png B5291B89-537E-4E75-B889-FEC2B8A8A61D.png built a Xeon x58 and had lots of fun with it
 

Black6spdZ

New Member
Mar 7, 2018
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I paid ~$800 for my 1680v2 almost 3 years ago.. Can't believe they are damn near $300 now.. I already had 64gb ram in my system so even at that time couldn't stomach the price of ddr4 on a new system. With a modded bios with nvme boot support I still can't see myself needing more for at least a couple years out. I'm eyeing a potential 128gb mem upgrade for ~$680 minus the returns for selling off the current 64gb. Damn I wish x79 supported registered mem!
 

wildpig1234

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2016
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still running my 1680v2 @4.5 undervolted on P9X79-WS.. currently looking at options for 128GB RAM. Besides newer arch power efficiency or $1000+ massive multi-core monsters I don't see a reason to upgrade tbh. This 12yo system is super fast with a modded bios to allow booting a 970 NVMe drive
It's not going to be easy for you to upgrade to 128gb ram with your p9x79 ws. That board doesn't accept rdimm. Most 16gb ddr3 that's easy and cheap to get are ecc rdimm. 16gb udimm are rare and not cheap. I ordered that same board on ebay and promptly returned it for that reason and keep the p9x79 deluxe since at least that board was cheaper and have wifi, but i still dont like it since it doesn't accept rdimm.
 

Black6spdZ

New Member
Mar 7, 2018
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I believe it does. Most Asrock boards support it. I think the Asus WS might also
I tried a 16GB RDIMM once and no post. It does support ecc udimms. I have two 16gb ddr3l udimms in my laptop that I'm going to toss in adapters to test out.