Advice Request Which used CPU gives most bang/$ for virtualization purposes?

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nclr11111

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Feb 25, 2011
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So as some of you know my secondary computer on which i planned to test my security config vs malware does not support virtualization. (C2D E7400) It´s supposed to be able to run x86 systems but there are just not enough power to make it work good enough any more!

So, therefor i´m in the hunt for the "cheapest" i can find that can accomplish what i want!

My thoughts are either an I7 950 or better incl mobo and ram. But as far as i can see there might be more affordable to go Xeon or AMD.
My issue here is that im kinda lost when it comes to Xeon and AMD so i thought there might be someone here that can put me in the right direction?

CPU, Mobo and Ram, thats what i need. I can buy it from EBAY but then it must be within the EU to avoid customs which would make the whole deal most unaffordable unless each piece is bought seperately from one seller each and the price for each item is below ~$20......

Anyway, i would appriciate some suggestions on Xeons and AMD cpu´s that is able to do what i need!

//NCLR
 
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BoraMurdar

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If you are not going to run more 2 virtual machines at the same time there's no need for better than i5 6500 (i5 6400 will also do the job) or i5 4460. No need for i7 or Xeons. No need for better than b150 mobo. As for AMD I would suggest to wait as AM4 socket is on the way. If you buy AMD FX CPU now there would no upgrade path from there. Prefer 16GB of RAM.

AMD would do the job but Intel will do it faster. For more money of course.
 

safe1st

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So as some of you know my secondary computer on which i planned to test my security config vs malware does not support virtualization. (C2D E7400) It´s supposed to be able to run x86 systems but there are just not enough power to make it work good enough any more!

So, therefor i´m in the hunt for the "cheapest" i can find that can accomplish what i want!

My thoughts are either an I7 950 or better incl mobo and ram. But as far as i can see there might be more affordable to go Xeon or AMD.
My issue here is that im kinda lost when it comes to Xeon and AMD so i thought there might be someone here that can put me in the right direction?

CPU, Mobo and Ram, thats what i need. I can buy it from EBAY but then it must be within the EU to avoid customs which would make the whole deal most unaffordable unless each piece is bought seperately from one seller each and the price for each item is below ~$20......

Anyway, i would appriciate some suggestions on Xeons and AMD cpu´s that is able to do what i need!

//NCLR

I use Core I5, no overclock at all. 8GB of ram (2GB on VM is enough actually, use 3GB if you want to)
But feel free to use i7, but its a bit overkill in my opinion :)
 

nclr11111

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Looking at used CPU´s atm. Looks as i can get a I7 920 or 960 for ~$20-25. The issue with used parts seems to be finding a used s1366 mobo at a good price...

The alternative is otherwise to change my recent C2D E7400 to a C2Q9500 if i can find out that my current mobo supports it.
Must try to keep under a total cost of ~$100. So no new stuff since i can´t afford it atm:(...
 

nclr11111

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So i finally landed a GREAT deal after some bargening.
For ~$90 i got the following:

- Mobo: Asus Sabertooth LGA 1155
- CPU: Intel I5 2500K
- Ram: 16GB DDR3

Still need a ATX chassi and a cpu-cooler but that´s no big money, PSU i have already.

Think this will be great for my secondary rig with VM´s for some light malware testing!

Me very happy! :D
 

SHvFl

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So i finally landed a GREAT deal after some bargening.
For ~$90 i got the following:

- Mobo: Asus Sabertooth LGA 1155
- CPU: Intel I5 2500K
- Ram: 16GB DDR3

Still need a ATX chassi and a cpu-cooler but that´s no big money, PSU i have already.

Think this will be great for my secondary rig with VM´s for some light malware testing!

Me very happy! :D
Damn this is a great deal. Congrats.
With 90 i can't even get a proper mouse and keyboard combo.
 

Fuzzfas

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Jan 8, 2013
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The price you got that for, is great. I also don't know your exact needs for virtualization. Normally, against a Sandybridge, i know that people who run virtual machines, prefer AMD FX (the best bang for buck, would be to get the cheapest FX83XX available and overclock it to 4Ghz).

This, because AMD FX supports AMD-V and IOMMU, while the Sandybridge 2500K doesn't support Intel's VT-D. I guess you will still be able to run virtual machines, but the FX is normally better equipped for the job. But i don't know many details neither what exactly is needed.

https://forum.teksyndicate.com/t/question-about-vt-x-2500k/76008

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IOMMU-supporting_hardware

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization

But it would cost considerably more than what you paid. If your virtual machines run fine with the Sandy, you got it for a steal.
 

nclr11111

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Feb 25, 2011
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The price you got that for, is great. I also don't know your exact needs for virtualization. Normally, against a Sandybridge, i know that people who run virtual machines, prefer AMD FX (the best bang for buck, would be to get the cheapest FX83XX available and overclock it to 4Ghz).

This, because AMD FX supports AMD-V and IOMMU, while the Sandybridge 2500K doesn't support Intel's VT-D. I guess you will still be able to run virtual machines, but the FX is normally better equipped for the job. But i don't know many details neither what exactly is needed.

https://forum.teksyndicate.com/t/question-about-vt-x-2500k/76008

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IOMMU-supporting_hardware

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization

But it would cost considerably more than what you paid. If your virtual machines run fine with the Sandy, you got it for a steal.
Running multiple VM'S on my old i7 950 which doesn't support VT-D either. So I think it'll be just fine! :)
 
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Myriad

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May 22, 2016
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I use Core I5, no overclock at all. 8GB of ram (2GB on VM is enough actually, use 3GB if you want to)
But feel free to use i7, but its a bit overkill in my opinion :)

I agree.

I have an i7 machine and an i3 and I run VMs on both of them , all of the time .
Yes , the i7 runs a bit faster but much less than you might expect .

From practical experience , the biggest influence I see on VM performance is how much RAM you allocate on setup.
Be generous , give 4 GB of RAM if you can spare it , especially if you are running multiple VMs
Sure , 2 GB is okay , but anything less can make things boggy .

The last thing I want is my VM needing to use a page-file / swap-file .
If I can avoid that , they run like greased lightening , on both machines :)
 

nclr11111

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Feb 25, 2011
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Well finally my budget build is ready.
It ain´t no beauty but the specs are all right for a computer built on spare/obsolete parts and $90.

Specs of the final build:

Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth P67
CPU: Intel I5 2500K
Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 103
RAM: 16GB DDR3@1600MHz
PSU: CoolerMaster G550M
Fans: 2x90mm BeQuiet "Silent Wings" and 1x120mm BeQuiet "Silent Wings"
Chassi: An old Fujitsu Siemens ScaleoX
OS: Win7 x64

I´ll try to do something about the aesthetic in the future but it´s secondary! :D
CameraZOOM-20161003135428128a.jpg
 

nclr11111

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Feb 25, 2011
277
Great deal you got!

Is everything okay now ? does it work fine ? :)
Sorry, but i missed your post. Yes, all was working fine but have an upgrade on the way... ;)

You can't really go wrong with that deal. i5 2500k - a really decent CPU. Nice one :)
Yeah the 2500 is nice but lacks HT. And since i like to have 2 or more VM´s running simultaniously it didn´t quite fill my needs. So i´m upgrading this piece of machinery to an old s1366 Sabertooth x58 with an Xeon X5680 instead. 6 Cores 12 Threads for ~$100 on ebay. This setup will fill all my needs and more. Thought i´d pair it with 2 x GTX660 in SLI since i have 2 laying around.
Just wish i got my hands on a S2011 X79 mobo instead. Then i could have got an Xeon E5-2670 instead with 8 Cores and 16 threads for the same price as the X5680.... :D
No more need for upgrade in the near future with any of the CPU´s...
 

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