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I currently have a 1U rack mounted dell poweredge 1950, it came with 2x Intel Xeon 5160's as standard, but the server is starting to max CPU usage too often and I'm looking to upgrade the CPU without replacing the whole rig. I'm currently looking at purchasing 2x Intel Xeon X5272's (The application I'm running which is most resource hungry can unfortunately only run on a single core, so dual core vs quad core wont matter). Will my server be able to cope with these CPUs? or will it end up frying something if I attempt this?

James T
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  • Surely quad core will help (albeit marginally) because less stuff will be running on the core your single-threaded app is bound to? – EightBitTony Jan 28 '14 at 14:18
  • @EightBitTony It will, but for the cost of the quad core CPUs over the dual core i cant justify the extra expense for marginal improvement – James T Feb 01 '14 at 16:42

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Yes the X5272 will work just fine, you're best ensuring your server's on the latest BIOS release but yes it'll work just fine. The most capable CPUs you can upgrade to with that box would be the Xeon X5365. It has the same 3Ghz core clock as your 5160 but quad cores (no HT though), that's a 150W TDP chip, which your server supports, but if you wanted to match the 80W TDP of your current 5160 then go for the 5345 instead.

Chopper3
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  • So basically get a new rig to get faster? That wont help the OP either - the software so is the problem. As in: the single core will not scale, right now scalability is basically getting more cores all over the place. – TomTom Jan 28 '14 at 14:13
  • @chopper3 Are you ignoring the Intel 5400-series CPUs? – ewwhite Jan 28 '14 at 14:20
  • @ewwhite I couldn't find any documentation to support the idea that a 51xx-series 1950 could support a 54xx-series CPU, whereas I did find evidence that they will support a 53xx-series. Obviously a 54xx-series will physically fit in and stay within the TDP limits but I personally wouldn't jump in and spend money without *knowing* that they'd be supported. – Chopper3 Jan 28 '14 at 14:36
  • @Chopper3 It's very similar to [HP's issues with that CPU/chipset combination](http://serverfault.com/questions/563699/cpu-ram-upgrade-for-hp-proliant-ml350-g5/564067#564067). Although, all-in, a newer server is a better choice if possible. Nehalem, Westmere, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge... It's been eclipsed 6 or 7 times. – ewwhite Jan 28 '14 at 14:39
  • It all boils down to whether it is a 1950i or 1950ii. Only the 1950iii supports 54xx chips and that would not have come with a 5160. – JamesRyan Jan 28 '14 at 16:24
  • @JamesRyan - exactly! – Chopper3 Jan 28 '14 at 16:39