Scrappy build or start from scratch?

[Sundried Tofu]

I've managed to get an HP Z200 workstation for free and the specs are not too shabby despite it's age. However, I've been planning to build a computer from scratch when Skylake comes to market and now I'm thinking of building a temporary desktop for use (a laptop with an 840M can only do so much!). I'm hoping that if I upgrade the Z200, some of the parts can be reused. Is it worth doing some low budget work on the old workstation or should I just wait out for a better time?

The specs of the Z200 are as follows:
Intel Xeon X3430 2.4GHz
16GB DDR3 1333Mhz (4x 4GB sticks)
Hard Drive totalling around 7.5TB
Nvidia GeForce 210
and a 320 Watt PSU

I was thinking of just upgrading the PSU to a 500 or 550 Watt and change the graphics card to a 960 or 970, then swap it over later.

Opinions?

[_I_]

socket 1156 is an easy overclocker
put a good cpu cooler on it, and crank it to around 3.5ghz

and get a good power supply and the best gpu that will fit in the case

[Sundried Tofu]

hmmmm, I'll like to try that, but the stock HP motherboard means no overclocking.

[_I_]

aww, thats too bad
if you can get a cheap 1156 board, you can reuse the cpu, but it will need a new case

or if near a microcenter, 4690k /w z97 combos start around $260+tax
and you can get a nice case for $30

those on top of a nice gpu and psu can run close to $600-800 total

how much are you willing to put into it?

[Rove]

Re-use RAM & HDD, replace CPU, motherboard, GPU and PSU. Possibly also need a new case.

How much do you want to spend?

[_I_]

his gpu is a gt210, not going to reuse that since an i5 igp will be just as good
320w psu should be repalced for a quality 550w

[Sundried Tofu]

I'm willing to put in around $450USD on things that can be used later in another system. Bear in mind I'm not in the US of A, so some price adjusting is required.

And by the looks of it, the PSU is going to go first. So I guess the main question is if I get a GTX960 or GTX970, how likely would the CPU be the bottleneck?

[Rove]

Ok I revise my original recommendation.

On your budget it makes the most sense to keep CPU & motherboard for now and replace only PSU and GPU and CPU cooler.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card
SeaSonic 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/mdm9P6
Total: $447.94 (NZD)

That leaves you $150 NZD left over ($450 USD = $600~ NZD).

Alternatively you could get a GTX 960 but you'd save less money. Frankly the GTX 960 and R9 270 look pretty similar in stats (GFLOPS, RAM, fillrates & so on) except the GTX 960 is slightly newer and improved technology and has better power efficiency. I don't think you can afford the better GTX 970.

Now you can try and overclock your CPU a little even if motherboard does not support it. I recommend using the program provided by Intel for this:
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility link
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/desktop-boards-software-extreme-tuning-utility.html

Now this is going to take some research on your part and beware that if you attempt this you could break stuff (mostly only the motherboard but also possibly the CPU or RAM) if you do it wrong. That said it isn't that hard to do it right every time, you just need to do your research. I'm not even sure if it will work at all but no harm in trying and you can most likely re-use the CPU cooler on a new CPU.

Also if you change the CPU voltage at all you could potentially break the motherboard VRM which may not be able to safely supply enough power. That can start a small fire & smell bad.

I think what you should be looking to overclock is first the base frequency to the highest possible multiplier & then the FSB or the DMI (same thing, new name) for the rest of the overclock. Be aware that the multiplier should only change the CPU but the FSB or DMI may change a whole bunch of things at once including all sorts of motherboard settings and RAM speed and so on. So when you change FSB or DMI you need to first take manual control of all the other things besides CPU that will be changed and counter the change by adjusting them downwards so that when they are changed up it will only be to their normal level. You might for example fail boot if you forgot to turn down the RAM prior to turning up the FSB/DMI.

I recommend only using the stock voltage for the CPU and everything else. Generally PC manufacturer motherboards (like HP) are relatively weak and can't provide much more power than standard. So too much voltage could fry the VRM or something else. The CPU is probably voltage locked anyways so maybe nothing to worry about there.

Anyways once you save up another $170~ you can also replace the CPU and motherboard if you want to with something like this:

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/p/wD3bvK
Total: $316.00 (NZD)

There might be something newer and better priced out by the time you save up, IDK.

This CPU and motherboard are both good for now though and are both made for real overclocking without any locks or blocks. They are unlocked & can stand more voltage, more multiplier & stuff (within reason) as long as they are cool enough and do not overheat. I consider this CPU & Motherboard combo to be the best value at this price for a gamer in New Zealand right now with the parts I have currently seen available. If you'd wanted it for a office I'd be recommending a Intel CPU & to use the IGPU instead of getting a real GPU.

Any questions let me know.

[Sundried Tofu]

Wow, you're awesome! Thanks for your advice. I hadn't actually thought of using the XTU on a Xeon, but it'll be interesting to see how it goes! That build is pretty spot on I think.

[_I_]

fx6300 is a step backwrds from the 1156 build
much slower cores and more of them
games like fast cores over core count

the xeon is roughly an i5 750
which runs circles around the fx6300 in games
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/311/AMD_FX-Series_FX-6300_vs_Intel_Core_i5_i5-750.html