Exploring the possibilities; can some eBay fun-money catapult this workhorse into 2015?
BIOS
To use Xeon processors make sure you are running BIOS version FF or later (FH is the newest official build). Not sure about the tweaked versions; can’t see why they wouldn’t be an improvement. You paid for a board with a backup BIOS–might as well put it to use, right?
Processor
For a brief period eBay was flooded with Xeon L5639 processors running about $75. Now it seems they’ve crept up to $100, which has pushed them out of impulse purchase territory for me.
Further research shows this board will additionally support a number of higher clocked Xeons, including the X5650, and the X5660.
These processors aren’t cutting edge by any stretch of the imagination, but even running them stock would be an improvement over my i7-950.
Where things start to get interesting is when you overclock them. My motherboard has never overclocked successfully, but I believe I’ve narrowed it down to the RAM I have installed. Half is spec’d at 1.65V and the other half is 1.5V; a recipe for disaster. You learn something new every day.
An overclocked X5660 can hit 5.2GHz when water cooled. That’s impressive. I have no water cooling aspirations; I’ll be sticking with air. Anything over $200 is out of the question, but included to be thorough.
Success Stories
Processor Multiplier Overclock eBay Price
X5650 20 4.60GHz SLBV3 – $120
X5660 21 5.20GHz SLBV6 – $150
X5670 22 4.50GHz SLBV7 – $170
X5675 23 4.31GHz SLBYL – $180
X5680 25 N/A SLBV5 – $260
X5690 26 N/A SLBVX – $290
An intel ARK comparison table.
Looks like I might entertain an X5650…