Consolidated Xeon E5-2670 Thread (The now $100 8-Core LGA2011 CPU) NO LISTING SALES!

The Consolidated Xeon E5-2670 Thread

Now in a handy FAQ format. If you ask a question in the thread which is answered here, I will simply reply READ OP!! in extremely large, red and embarrassing for all of us text

Without further ado:

1. What is this fabled Xeon E5-2670?

It is the Sandy Bridge-EP Xeon E5-2670, an extremely good value-for-money LGA2011 (original, not LGA2011-3) chip.

It's 2.6 GHz, 3.3 GHz Turbo, 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 20 MB cache.

We are talking about the SR0KX model of the E5-2670 which is the C2 variant with better compatibility and VT-d support.
The SR0H8 is the C1 variant, and is not really covered unless specifically stated.

2. Where can I get one?

Cheapest on eBay is currently (29/4/16):

Here from hwtrade-e (based in Hong Kong), at $64.99 US + $10 US shipping ($98.33 AU delivered, 29/4/16)

You can also get them from Tao Bao, Natex or a variety of other places. If you want to investigate these options, read the thread. This post is deisgned for the "average joe" who just wants 1, 2 or 4 without using a US-based shipping forwarder etc

3. Will they work in any LGA2011 X79/C602 board?

So far, yes. We are yet to find any users who have had compatibility issues with this CPU. They have worked in literally every board we've tried them in

4. Okay, cool. So where can I get a dirt cheap LGA2011 board to run it in?

You can't. No ifs, no buts. This is now all over the internet so every man and his dog is on the lookout for 2011 boards. Here are your options:

a) lurk OCAU FS and hope that someone sells one with a stupidly low instant, and that you refresh faster than I do

b) follow this thread - single-socket workstation boards are reasonably readily available at ~$250 US plus post, dual-socket server boards are reasonably readily available at ~$350 US plus post. But sellers tend to run out quite quickly so there's no point trying to keep this up to date here.

b2) some other OCAU-ers bought multiple boards in case of DOA boards etc, so again follow this thread and see if anyone who bought multiples would like to sell.

b3) seach eBay for C602 instead of X79. Look for workstations which used LGA2011. Every man and his dog might be after boards, but every man and his dog don't know that these run in a HP Z420 workstation (for example, there are Lenovo and Dell options too), so they're not searching for those

c) you already own an X79 board with a low-end quad-core i7 in it.

d) use one of the opencompute server modules that these CPUs originally came out of. This is an enterprise-end setup, with one PCI-E slot, a non-standard form factor, non-standard PSU, no power button, no video output and about 3 BIOS options.

5. Can I OC the shit out of it, like the bargain X5650/X5670 LGA1366 Xeons?

No, you can't, the multiplier is locked. There is room for a small tweak in BCLK if you know what you're doing and the implications of doing this.

6. Is it worth it to build a system based on this chip because it is super cheap?

Depending on your application. For a server / workstation where a bunch or threads and tons of RAM are real advantages for you, then yes. It's worth spending extra $ on buying a motherboard to run these chips.

For gaming / general use, unless you can score a super-cheap LGA011 board, the relatively low clock speed and lack of any real OC means you're probably better off getting a more modern combo with a cheaper/newer board and a more expensive CPU.

7. Rubbish! I want proof!

Read this entire article. PLEASE DO NOT ASK A QUESTION IN THE THREAD UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS ARTICLE:

http://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/

and particularly this page:

http://www.techspot.com/review/1155-affordable-dual-xeon-pc/page7.html

8a. What is the difference between the X97 chipset and the C602 chipset?
8b. Can these CPUs run Registered ECC DDR3?

X79 = desktop chipset
C602 = server / workstation chipset

Basically, the X79 chipset with an E5-2670 can run:
- standard DDR3; I got mine booting into Windows with 4x 2gb @ 2133 in my sig rig.
- non-registered ECC (we think)
- registered ECC in the 1Rx8 configuration (again minimal testing has been done

The X79 chipset cannot run Registered ECC 2Rx4 chips which are insanely cheap at the moment (except for a couple of notable AsRock boards, see table below)

The C602 chipset with an E5-2670 can run everything we've thrown at it so far.

9. Where did they come from? Won't there be a flood of cheap boards too?

They came from racks of decommissioned opencompute servers, probably from Facebook.
More info here: https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...2-x-dual-2011-nodes-199-quanta-openrack.6856/
If you want to go into this in side of things in more detail, these nodes are available pretty cheap on eBay, but it's covered extensively in the above thread, we don't need to go into that much detail here.

There is unlikely to be a flood of boards, as this is a case of supply way outstripping demand. There are probably not enough single and dual socket ATX/EATX/SSI/EEB boards in existence to use a whole datacentre load of these CPUs. The only way to "soak" them up would be to put them all back into the opencompute servers they came out of.

My 2c (not solid fact): There were even fewer X79 desktop boards sold than X58 boards, due to the fact that X79 wasn't a massive improvement over Sandy Bridge, not compared to X58 over 775/1156 etc. For example, the average OCAU-er could get away with a Sandy Bridge rig for their daily machine, and go stupid with 5ghz i5-2500ks if they felt so inclined. They did not need X79. Whereas previously, an X58 board and i7-920 was a pretty staple diet for guys upgrading their Q6600 rigs.

So when the cheap 1366 Xeons showed up, it was obvious to replace their low-end 920's etc with dirt cheap, mad OC-able X5650s. And there are still X58 setups that will hold their own in current-gen applications, for the average user.

But most people that went for X79 had the money to buy a reasonable, unlocked 6-core CPU straight off the bat, so there's little point buying one of these. Unless they're stuck with the cheapest entry-level i7, and even then, quad core with higher raw clocks is probably going to be more useful for gaming and daily use right now than 8-cores stuck at 2.6/3.3

10. I'd like some real-world benches and price/performance comparisons. What have you got for me?

Watch this space. In the meantime, if anyone has done benchmarks, add them to a post and let me know and I'll pop them in this section

Once my GTX780 arrives, I'll try to run numbers using that same GPU and SSD in all of the following:

i7-4770 Haswell 1150
i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 1155
X5650 Westmere-EP 1366 / i7-950 Nehalem 1366 (can't seem to find the X5650 )
E5472 771/775

I will do some comparisons with CPUs @ the same base clocks, some @ stock clocks, and some with a realistic OC.

Also planning to check out the performance difference with 4x 2gb 2133 @ everything from 1066 to 2133.

Then rinse and repeat for multiple channels @ 1333:
1x 8gb 1333 vs 2x 4gb 1333 vs 3x 2gb 1333 vs 4x 2gb 1333

 

E5-2670 Compatibility Table:

Code:

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║Brand	  Model		     BIOS Ver	  Works (thanks to)  Reg ECC Supported  Max BCLK║
╠════════╤══════════════════╤════════════╤══════════════════╤══════════════════╤════════╣
║Asus	 │Rampage IV Formula│2105	 │Yes (Me! Sonic!)  │		       │	║
║Asus 	 │Rampage IV Formula│		 │Yes (Kelvin)      │No!               │	║
║Asus 	 │Rampage IV Extreme│4901	 │Yes (Tasty_Vito)  │                  │106	║
║Asus 	 │Rampage IV Extreme│	 	 │Yes (Kelvin)      │No!	       │	║
║Asus	 │X79 Deluxe	    │0902	 │Yes (demiurge3141)│Yes (8x4gb 12800R)│	║
║Asus	 │X79 Deluxe	    │0902	 │Yes (demiurge3141)│Yes (8x4gb 12800R)│	║
║Asus	 │X79 Sabertooth    │		 │Yes (Renza)	    │No!   	       │        ║
║Asus	 │P9X79 LE	    │		 │Yes (Kelvin)	    │No!	       │	║
╟────────┼──────────────────┼────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────┼────────╢
║AsRock	 │X79 Extreme 4M    │3.3	 │Yes (Kelvin)	    │No! Error 67      │	║
║AsRock	 │X79 Extreme 3	    │ 		 │Yes (Kelvin)	    │No!	       │	║
║AsRock	 │X79 Extreme 6	    │ 		 │Yes (Kelvin)	    │Yes (8gb 10600R)  │	║
║AsRock  │X79 Extreme 9	    │		 │Yes (Kelvin)	    │Yes (8gb 10600R)  │	║
║AsRock	 │X79 Extreme 11    │            │Yes (Renza)	    │Yes	       │	║
╟────────┼──────────────────┼────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────────────┼────────╢
║Gigabyte│GA-X79S-UP5-WIFI  │F4		 │Mfr Sppt'd        │		       │	║
║Gigabyte│GA-X79-UP4 1.1    │		 │Yes (Kelvin)      │No!	       │	║
╚════════╧══════════════════╧════════════╧══════════════════╧══════════════════╧════════╝

E5-2670 eBay Sales (updated 12/03/16):

Current cheapest: hwtrade-e, priced at AU ~$110 posted from HK.
Has two active listings, as far as I can tell they're for the same chips.
One has "C2" stated in the title, but both are SR0XK, so they're both C2
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/201528486488
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/201492692369

Second cheapest: serverpartsfast, priced at AU ~$125 posted from the USA.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/111932076888

Original seller: stalliontek, priced at AU ~$135 posted from the USA, now out of stock.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151964337392

Registered ECC RAM Sales:

Please note - check compatibility table before purchasing Reg ECC!! It only works in server boards, a handful of AsRock boards (not all) and one Asus board (so far).

Cheapest ever: 2x 8gb PC3-10600R (1333) for $28.90 posted from HK ($14.45 per 8gb stick)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/381567465932

Cheapest 1600: 2x 8gb PC3-12800R (1600) for AU ~$58 posted from HK ($29 per 8gb stick, literally double the price of getting 1333 at the moment...)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/351568770327

Dual Socket 2011 Board Sales:

AsRock EP2C602 Server Motherboard: $409 $509 delivered - they increased the price by $100!
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ASRock-E...8x-ECC-DDR3-up-to-256GB-3-xPCIe-/172116881665

AsRock EP2C602 4LD16 Server Motherboard: $459 $559 delivered - same seller, same price hike
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ASRock-E...334239?hash=item2812a28b5f:g:vE0AAOSw~OVWy4~d

 

Not to thread crap too much but could it also be a workstation/server board deals lookout thread? Probably many of us looking for some reasonably priced dual socket 8/16 DIMM boards

 

It should work in a Gigabyte X79-UP5, which has a C606 chipset.

 

should work on the X79 Deluxe from asus, says cpu is supported on their website.

dont have a xeon to test

 

Sure! Title updated to reflect, have PM'd Kelvin for his input with dual socket compatibility / deals. (I know he had one board which ran two of them but the fans ran flat stick and there were some other issues iirc)

Yeah it's on the list since F4. I will add it as "Manufacturer Supported" not "OCAU Proven"

What is the significance of the C606 chipset?

Nah unless I'm looking at a different list, the Asus site for the X79 Deluxe says the Intel Xeon E5-2670 v2 (2.5G,115W,L3:25M,10C,HT) is compatible, but that's the Ivy-EP version (10 cores 25M cache) not the Sandy-EP version

 

This is the server chipset. There is a C606 and a C602. So most Xeons should be supported on these boards.

 

I'll put my 5cents in then..

Z9PE-D8 WS - from the forums SSI EEB size
Dual E5-2670
Non ECC, Standard DDR3-1600 8x8gig sticks
Paid $500 for the pair of CPUs a couple of months back..
The fan controller settings are very very spatan on the board.. compared to the other asus boards I've used..

...........................
Ordered
Asus Z9PA-D8 Around $515 delivered...
http://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131886

Ordered Matching soundcard around $33 delivered to the US
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-892-Serv...p_p_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=04TRJ9D1VACQ4SEQPCYW
(Now near impossible to find)

Ordered SROKX -C2 E5-2670
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SR0KX-E5...337392?hash=item2361c7c4f0:g:rvQAAOSwLnlWnVog

Ordered 8x8gig ECC Registered DDR3-1333 memory for around $200
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/8x8gb-64...DL160-G6-G7-/141888187475?hash=item210931ec53


Note the dual Socket 2011 boards are disappearing fast from Newegg, a couple of months ago, there was a wide range and choice of boards.. most are now EOL and getting snapped up by US
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/intel-xeon-e5-2670-deal-and-price-tracking.7133/

Issues,
From I can get gather.. the bad reviews of the asus dual boards is partly because... non ECC ram will only work in single configuration, and dual Sandybridge EP, Dual ivybridge-EP apparently required ECC ram..
This isn't documented anywhere... but mentioned in a couple of threads
The cpu socket spacing on the z9da will be very very tight.. Finding hsf may be difficult

 

Ty

If only those prices were available for 16GB sticks

I'm tempted by the Tyan S7050's that keep popping up on eBay, I haven't used a Tyan board before but haven't heard bad things before.

I've also noticed some Dell boards, mostly T5600/5610/7600 workstation boards, some are 8 DIMM and some are 16 DIMM, might be worth a shot for anyone who feels like risking it? The 16 DIMM T7600 is ~$300 delivered.

Overall plan for me is to upgrade the L5639 box in my sig to a dual E5 system with 256GB RAM, will be making the move to VM's

 

I can confirm these chips work on a Rampage 4 with 4901 Bios.

Could only overclock a tiny amount using base clock. Was able to run 106.

No strap or multiplier overclocking available. Also note that the full turbo multiplier is unavailable on all cores etc as well.

 

I've got one of these coming plus a Gigabyte X79-UD5 which has official support. 16 threads for under 150. Can't go wrong.

 

That's great..
I was afraid I was going to have to ditch the asus boards

I wonder why they aren't officially supported???? When they had official support previously

 

Decided to use my 2670. Works fine on X79-deluxe. In fact running 8x4G ecc registered. However can't really tell any improvement over the old x5650@4.15G, possibly even a downgrade due to much lower freq.

 

I'm half considering grabbing one of these for some gaming as the current system I use is getting very long in the tooth, I already have a mobo ready to drop it in to so just need to grab the processor. Would this run football manager/fallout 4/battlefield 4 decently at 1080p coupled with a 750ti or a 950? Possibly the wrong place to ask so don't chew me out

 

Ah okay, thanks for the info.

Thanks Kelvin, will add to the list.

Which Rampage 4? Extreme? Formula? Gene?

Thanks for the info

Which version of the BIOS are you running on the X79-Deluxe?

Nah all good, ask away. At this price, a few people will be considering these CPUs for gaming I'd say.

Mine should be arriving within the next day or two, so I can do some benchmarks for you in some games... although I think my only working GPUs are a 780Ti Classy and a 6970... neither of which is really comparable to a 750Ti

 

Extreme sorry!

 

Wait sec.. You are using registered memory on your x79 board with a xeon...

Does the registered memory worked with a standard i7 .. Or just the xeon

 

Here are a few dual socket 2011 boards available on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/231829410474

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161945813971

 

Is there a single socket board equiv? Looking for a cheap alternative, only seem to be high end x79 boards going around on the forums.

 

Hmm at that price it's worth just grabbing the CPU and waiting for a cheap board to come up...