Post: Cheap Xeon Workstation became a $2k build
10-11-2017, 03:14 AM #1
Saul
¯\_(ツWinky Winky_/¯
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); This originally started as a replacement for an AMD dual core I was using as a glorified NAS. I picked up a refurbished HP Z420 from "Surplus Products" on Newegg for bout 350, really didn't need that much cpu power, but the performance for the $$$ was too good to pass on. I already had 2 of the 3TB WD Reds, so I bought 3 more along with a completely unnecessary 5 drive hot swap bay, and a cheap 128GB SSD for a boot drive.

And then I was done. For a while.
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And eventually I got tired of taxing the 970m GPU in my laptop, so I was shopping for deals on mid-range GPUs when I found a non-blower style 1080 ti for 640. I needed somewhere to store games besides the array of 3TB Reds, so I decided to rob the unreliable sandisk ssd from my laptop, which I replaced with a 1tb m.2 ssd. R.I.P. Wallet.

It's worth mentioning that although I've had no problem with my sandisk ssd, they have an abnormally high failure rate, I would recommend to avoid using them for valuable data.. steam games can be redownloaded. Also my cable management is rough, but it's kind of the best that can be done with the proprietary HP psu that has bulky power connectors. All of the power extensions are there simply because the HP connectors don't fit ¯\_(ツWinky Winky_/¯ I'm really not wanting to get into cutting and splicing to clean it up. 8GB ram is working fairly well so far but that will probably get upgraded next.
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11/1/17 removed the 2x4gb sticks of ram and replaced them with 4x16gb sticks

12/3/17 out with the 5x3tb wd reds, in with the 5x8tb EMAZ drives shucked from easystore externals (basically same specs as wd red)
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Parts List with prices paid:
     349.99		HP Z420 Workstation (used / refurbished)
Xeon E5-1650 (Sandy Bridge EP) 3.2GHz 6 Core CPU
2x 4GB ECC DDR3 1600MHz (removed)
250GB WD Blue (removed)
Quadro NVS 300 GPU (removed)
600W HP PSU
Windows 10 Pro

638.96 MSI GTX 1080 Ti Armor GPU (new / open box)

148.20 4x 16GB HP PC3-8500 DDR3-1066

847.95 5x 8TB WD80EMAZ (shucked from wd easystore externals)
91.92 iStarUSA 5x3.5" HDD Hot-Swap Cage

54.25 128GB ADATA SU800 SSD (boot)
179.99 960GB SanDisk Ultra II SSD (steam library)
7.49 ICY DOCK MB290SP-B Dual 2.5 Drive Tray

33.45 5x StarTech 24-Inch Round SATA Cable
9.98 2x StarTech 12-Inch Round SATA Cable
7.99 3x Cable Matters 8" SATA Power Extension Cable
6.99 2x Cable Matters 4" 6-Pin PCIe to 8-Pin PCIe Adapter

2377.16 Total (so far)
Last edited by Saul ; 12-04-2017 at 11:59 AM. Reason: bought more crap

The following user thanked Saul for this useful post:

Slick
10-11-2017, 11:06 AM #2
1UP
Banned
Originally posted by Saul View Post
This originally started as a replacement for an AMD dual core I was using as a glorified NAS. I picked up a refurbished HP Z420 from "Surplus Products" on Newegg for bout 350, really didn't need that much cpu power, but the performance for the $$$ was too good to pass on. I already had 2 of the 3TB WD Reds, so I bought 3 more along with a completely unnecessary 5 drive hot swap bay, and a cheap 128GB SSD for a boot drive.

And then I was done. For a while.
You must login or register to view this content.

And eventually I got tired of taxing the 970m GPU in my laptop, so I was shopping for deals on mid-range GPUs when I found a non-blower style 1080 ti for 640. I needed somewhere to store games besides the array of 3TB Reds, so I decided to rob the unreliable sandisk ssd from my laptop, which I replaced with a 1tb m.2 ssd. R.I.P. Wallet.

It's worth mentioning that although I've had no problem with my sandisk ssd, they have an abnormally high failure rate, I would recommend to avoid using them for valuable data.. steam games can be redownloaded. Also my cable management is rough, but it's kind of the best that can be done with the proprietary HP psu that has bulky power connectors. All of the power extensions are there simply because the HP connectors don't fit ¯\_(ツWinky Winky_/¯ I'm really not wanting to get into cutting and splicing to clean it up. 8GB ram is working fairly well so far but that will probably get upgraded next.
You must login or register to view this content.

Parts List with prices paid:
     349.99		HP Z420 Workstation (used / refurbished)
Xeon E5-1650 (Sandy Bridge EP) 3.2GHz 6 Core CPU
2x 4GB ECC DDR3 1600MHz
250GB WD Blue (removed)
Quadro NVS 300 GPU (removed)
600W HP PSU
Windows 10 Pro

638.96 MSI GTX 1080 Ti Armor GPU (new / open box)

549.95 5x 3TB WD Red
91.92 iStarUSA 5x3.5" HDD Hot-Swap Cage

54.25 128GB ADATA SU800 SSD (boot)
179.99 960GB SanDisk Ultra II SSD (steam library)
7.49 ICY DOCK MB290SP-B Dual 2.5 Drive Tray

33.45 5x StarTech 24-Inch Round SATA Cable
9.98 2x StarTech 12-Inch Round SATA Cable
7.99 3x Cable Matters 8" SATA Power Extension Cable
6.99 2x Cable Matters 4" 6-Pin PCIe to 8-Pin PCIe Adapter

1930.96 Total (so far)


The glorious sandy bridge CPU's. Pretty good deal you got on that.

The following user thanked 1UP for this useful post:

Saul
10-13-2017, 10:49 PM #3
Toke
PC Master Race
Originally posted by Saul View Post
This originally started as a replacement for an AMD dual core I was using as a glorified NAS. I picked up a refurbished HP Z420 from "Surplus Products" on Newegg for bout 350, really didn't need that much cpu power, but the performance for the $$$ was too good to pass on. I already had 2 of the 3TB WD Reds, so I bought 3 more along with a completely unnecessary 5 drive hot swap bay, and a cheap 128GB SSD for a boot drive.

And then I was done. For a while.
You must login or register to view this content.

And eventually I got tired of taxing the 970m GPU in my laptop, so I was shopping for deals on mid-range GPUs when I found a non-blower style 1080 ti for 640. I needed somewhere to store games besides the array of 3TB Reds, so I decided to rob the unreliable sandisk ssd from my laptop, which I replaced with a 1tb m.2 ssd. R.I.P. Wallet.

It's worth mentioning that although I've had no problem with my sandisk ssd, they have an abnormally high failure rate, I would recommend to avoid using them for valuable data.. steam games can be redownloaded. Also my cable management is rough, but it's kind of the best that can be done with the proprietary HP psu that has bulky power connectors. All of the power extensions are there simply because the HP connectors don't fit ¯\_(ツWinky Winky_/¯ I'm really not wanting to get into cutting and splicing to clean it up. 8GB ram is working fairly well so far but that will probably get upgraded next.
You must login or register to view this content.

Parts List with prices paid:
     349.99		HP Z420 Workstation (used / refurbished)
Xeon E5-1650 (Sandy Bridge EP) 3.2GHz 6 Core CPU
2x 4GB ECC DDR3 1600MHz
250GB WD Blue (removed)
Quadro NVS 300 GPU (removed)
600W HP PSU
Windows 10 Pro

638.96 MSI GTX 1080 Ti Armor GPU (new / open box)

549.95 5x 3TB WD Red
91.92 iStarUSA 5x3.5" HDD Hot-Swap Cage

54.25 128GB ADATA SU800 SSD (boot)
179.99 960GB SanDisk Ultra II SSD (steam library)
7.49 ICY DOCK MB290SP-B Dual 2.5 Drive Tray

33.45 5x StarTech 24-Inch Round SATA Cable
9.98 2x StarTech 12-Inch Round SATA Cable
7.99 3x Cable Matters 8" SATA Power Extension Cable
6.99 2x Cable Matters 4" 6-Pin PCIe to 8-Pin PCIe Adapter

1930.96 Total (so far)

i didn't know u ever got a 1080ti
10-16-2017, 02:29 AM #4
Saul
¯\_(ツWinky Winky_/¯
Originally posted by Toke View Post
i didn't know u ever got a 1080ti


I just bought it the night I made this thread.
11-30-2017, 09:42 AM #5
Saul
¯\_(ツWinky Winky_/¯
something is wrong with me

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12-01-2017, 12:45 AM #6
MrYome
Do a barrel roll!
Omg all those unused hdd :'Winky Winky

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