X79 - Why are used prices so high?

JSumrall

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
448
I've been browsing used X79 boards on Ebay and forums and the prices are really high. Is there any particular reason their resale value is so high 7ish years later?
 
They're still a solid performing option, plain and simple. DDR4 isn't enough of a performance increase (although there is an increase) but I would imagine much of it is due to what I do: upgrade your CPU with an unlocked Xeon. There are several unlocked xeons out there for cheap. I nabbed a cheap Xeon 6 core unlocked CPU not long ago and have been happily using the 6c/12t CPU at 4.2ghz quite happily since. Plus, for me, it's not worth the several hundred plus dollar price tag to go to a newer platform when I won't see a benefit in performance really. Sure, there's m.2, USB 10g, and a few other newer specs but I feel little to no need to have those right now.

My next step will probably X99 when I can find the right deal. I love the enthusiast platform even though it's totally overkill for me.
 
Because there is very high demand for them. ebay is flooded with cheap x79 xeons.

And the same goes for x99 as well. Used X99 compatible xeons are going down in price which means x99 boards will go up if not already gone up.
 
Same thing happened with X58 motherboards a couple years back. The Xeons in business environments reach upgrade time and they flood the market with cheap CPU's with high core counts, etc.
 
Previous posts pretty much sum it up. If you already have the board or get one cheap x79 is still plenty good enough. Also super fun to overclock those unlocked Xeons. Get into it for cheap or fun but AM4 is a better investment long term.

I have a e5 1650v2 at 4.4 and it hangs close enough with first gen Ryzen 1600 and even 2600. My Son is on the 1600 and I went up to the 3900x to make the upgrade feel worth it from the Xeon.

With that said used Ryzen parts are easy to get and much more relevant and have a solid upgrade path as well. DDR4 is cheap now etc. Picked up my Son’s 1600, B450 pro carbon board and 16gb ram for less than 200 bucks. An oveclocking x79 board and a 1650 Xeon is that or more so..
 
  • Like
Reactions: N4CR
like this
Previous posts pretty much sum it up. If you already have the board or get one cheap x79 is still plenty good enough. Also super fun to overclock those unlocked Xeons. Get into it for cheap or fun but AM4 is a better investment long term.

I have a e5 1650v2 at 4.4 and it hangs close enough with first gen Ryzen 1600 and even 2600. My Son is on the 1600 and I went up to the 3900x to make the upgrade feel worth it from the Xeon.

With that said used Ryzen parts are easy to get and much more relevant and have a solid upgrade path as well. DDR4 is cheap now etc. Picked up my Son’s 1600, B450 pro carbon board and 16gb ram for less than 200 bucks. An oveclocking x79 board and a 1650 Xeon is that or more so..

I think buying into X79 at this point doesn't make sense BUUUTTT if you already have the board, the CPU's can be had at near dirt cheap prices. I think I got the 1650v2 I have now for around $50 which I consider a steal.
 
X79 Xeons were the last gen to allow overclock. I don’t think x99 Xeons do.

So the trend of Intels HEDT platforms commanding exceptionally high premiums on the used market, years after release are numbered. The high core count Ryzens now outperform the high core count x79 and x99 CPUs pretty much universally. There is no reason for x99 (which I have now) to command a premium in the future. 18 core Intels with 2.0Ghz clock speeds and no overclock functionality won’t excite when Ryzen 12 and 16 core processors at twice the clock speed are available for little more.
 
X79 Xeons were the last gen to allow overclock. I don’t think x99 Xeons do.

So the trend of Intels HEDT platforms commanding exceptionally high premiums on the used market, years after release are numbered. The high core count Ryzens now outperform the high core count x79 and x99 CPUs pretty much universally. There is no reason for x99 (which I have now) to command a premium in the future. 18 core Intels with 2.0Ghz clock speeds and no overclock functionality won’t excite when Ryzen 12 and 16 core processors at twice the clock speed are available for little more.
Not to mention that over time, an old board can develop "problems." Right now some of the memory slots in my 2013 ASUS P9X79Pro don't seem to work, so I'm running with only 16 GB instead of the original 32 GB. I haven't had the time lately to do all of the testing necessary to establish if it is the memory SIMMs or the motherboard. And if some of the A1-D1 slots are bad, can I use the A2-D2 slots.

Since I plan to upgrade my rig early next year, and downgrade my current MB/CPU/RAM to a secondary system, I might just test the RAM, and if it's OK, just sell it on eBay. The RAM itself is pretty new, since Corsair sent me a new set of 4 SIMMs to replace some defective SIMMs. Have to love a lifetime guarantee.
 
I recall checking a while back on eBay for x79 boards for a workstation build thinking to go the “cheap Xeon” route. Plus the ddr3 server memory was dirt cheap.

Name brand used boards were expensive but I found a number of no-name ones, a few even with m.2 slots and claimed support for nvme drives.

ended up buying a used Precision instead, decided it would be easier than a fully custom setup, but I later found some user reports that the boards I’d been looking at worked fine.
 
Because there is very high demand for them. ebay is flooded with cheap x79 xeons.

This. You can get dirt cheap x79 Xeon server and workstation pulls on eBay, many of which overclock well.

People going this route need motherboards.
 
x509
It might be your CPU, my 3930k IMC got a bit flakey after being heavily OC'd for a few years. new CPU fixed it.
 
X79 Xeons were the last gen to allow overclock. I don’t think x99 Xeons do.

So the trend of Intels HEDT platforms commanding exceptionally high premiums on the used market, years after release are numbered. The high core count Ryzens now outperform the high core count x79 and x99 CPUs pretty much universally. There is no reason for x99 (which I have now) to command a premium in the future. 18 core Intels with 2.0Ghz clock speeds and no overclock functionality won’t excite when Ryzen 12 and 16 core processors at twice the clock speed are available for little more.


The LGA 2011 x99 e5-16xx V3 are unlocked. The V4 is when Intel locked them up. I have an e5-1650V3 hexcore at 4.4ghz and an eight core V3 at 4.2ghz.

As far as AMD performing as well as an Intel it depends on what you do with your system.
AMD's implementation of AVX is really bad compared to Intel. They finaly fixed it after all these years with the newest CPUs zen2.
But now they lack AVX512 completely Their AVX was so bad some programs would use its ssee4 rather than its AVX.
 
The LGA 2011 x99 e5-16xx V3 are unlocked. The V4 is when Intel locked them up. I have an e5-1650V3 hexcore at 4.4ghz and an eight core V3 at 4.2ghz.

As far as AMD performing as well as an Intel it depends on what you do with your system.
AMD's implementation of AVX is really bad compared to Intel. They finaly fixed it after all these years with the newest CPUs zen2.
But now they lack AVX512 completely Their AVX was so bad some programs would use its ssee4 rather than its AVX.


Does anything of note actually use AVX512?
 
I do a lot of math computations, primegrid, that is just one program that takes advantage of it.
It is new and more will follow. Maybe some other BOINC programs. If they use AVX sooner or later they will update the software to use AVX512
 
One interesting outgrowth of the high cost of those used motherboards is that no-name Chinese manufacturers have begun making "new" LGA2011 motherboards, presumably out of recovered components. Gamers Nexus did a video about it - actually uploaded it about three days after I'd ordered one, in fact. The component variability and actual offered features vary from one revision to the next, and most of them use Sandy/Ivy Bridge-era consumer chipsets, but mine still supports ECC, quad-channel memory, and 40 PCIe lanes, so I'm happy. There are ways to overclock with them involving hacked BIOS/UEFI, mostly available through a Russian overclocking forum. I wouldn't recommend buying one with that intention: there's reportedly a 200 watt CPU power limit, and the VRM implementation ain't great. But for my purposes I slapped in a $35 Xeon E5-4640, and it's been a pretty solid investment for the money.

AMD's implementation of AVX is really bad compared to Intel. They finaly fixed it after all these years with the newest CPUs zen2.
But now they lack AVX512 completely Their AVX was so bad some programs would use its ssee4 rather than its AVX.

For 128-bit AVX there wasn't a speed penalty. Pre-Zen 2 Ryzen chips effectively have a quartet of 128-bit wide pipelines; when a 256-bit wide AVX value needs to be executed, the chip "gangs" together two pipelines to accommodate it. That comes at a latency penalty but is doable, and this method allowed AMD to sidestep the AVX offset problem, where the CPU downclocks to keep power and thermals under control. It's never going to be faster than a 256-bit wide implementation, but I understand why AMD did it.

If this sounds like a big vociferous rationalization, it might be. I've been pretty happy with my Ryzen 1700 for the past few years, and have been surprised how much faster it's been per-clock than an eight core Sandy Bridge EP chip even after accounting for the clock speed difference between them. But my 7940x destroys them both. Which brings me to...

Does anything of note actually use AVX512?

Outside HPC applications the only uses I've witnessed were newer video encoders. x264's not heavily optimized for it, but x265 is. dav1d reportedly gets a big kick in the pants from optimizations with it too.
 
Last edited:
The LGA 2011 x99 e5-16xx V3 are unlocked. The V4 is when Intel locked them up. I have an e5-1650V3 hexcore at 4.4ghz and an eight core V3 at 4.2ghz.

Very interesting discussion - thanks. I have a couple X99 boards running (5960X/MSI X99S XPOWER AC and 5820K/ASRock X99 Extreme4) - any recommendations of Xeons to look for if I get the itch to putz around with a new CPU or two? Is the e5-1650V3 the one to grab? TIA
 
I think it's because ddr4 RAM is insanely expensive compared to the performance "increase" ..... couple that with the fact that Intel hasn't really provided a significant performance improvement for most folks since Ivy Bridge and this is what you get. A V2 Xeon will do most anything you need.... there are even v3 Haswell compatible DDR3 boards out there (require a special haswell CPU with DDR3 controller).

I got used 4GB ECC DDR3 sticks for $1.50 each .... compared with 4GB DDR4 for $20+

IMO If Ryzens were compatible with ECC DDR3 I would simply use that platform.... it just doesn't matter that much to most people.
 
I would look at the e5-1680v3 or 1660v3 for 8 core and 1650v3 for 6 core.

DDR4-2400 2x8gb, 16gb can be had now for 55$ or so, seen 3600 for 65$ on sale. That is not insanely expensive is it?
A while ago it was 120+ for 16gb, no longer.
 
I would look at the e5-1680v3 or 1660v3 for 8 core and 1650v3 for 6 core.

DDR4-2400 2x8gb, 16gb can be had now for 55$ or so, seen 3600 for 65$ on sale. That is not insanely expensive is it?
A while ago it was 120+ for 16gb, no longer.
I'd skip on the 1680 V3 they're way too much imo. The 1680 V2 is a cool chip to upgrade an old X79 rig but I'd not get an X79 board to buy one that's just a waste of money. If you're penny pinching too there are better ways to spend than on this platform go with regular desktop it's much cheaper.
 
The 1660v3 is a 8 core for under 200$ I got mine for 175$
Too much money is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Worth it to me.
 
The 1660v3 is a 8 core for under 200$ I got mine for 175$
Too much money is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Worth it to me.
Like I said skip the 1680 V3 that is 350 dollars... The 1660 V3 is the one to buy.
 
They're still a solid performing option, plain and simple. DDR4 isn't enough of a performance increase (although there is an increase) but I would imagine much of it is due to what I do: upgrade your CPU with an unlocked Xeon. There are several unlocked xeons out there for cheap. I nabbed a cheap Xeon 6 core unlocked CPU not long ago and have been happily using the 6c/12t CPU at 4.2ghz quite happily since. Plus, for me, it's not worth the several hundred plus dollar price tag to go to a newer platform when I won't see a benefit in performance really. Sure, there's m.2, USB 10g, and a few other newer specs but I feel little to no need to have those right now.

My next step will probably X99 when I can find the right deal. I love the enthusiast platform even though it's totally overkill for me.

Totally agree. Was on 3930k after my Ivy Quad, now on a 4960x all used. I will eventually go to a 8 core Ryzen, but for now, I really don't need to.
 
I've had my X79 in my sig since brand new. Still hangs though is falling off in newer games compared to a R5 2600 GTX 1080ti box I just built my brother. I run a dual boot setup on that for gaming/Pro Tools and have a different DAW system for Ubuntu Studio but I am waiting to get a 3950X then will be selling my X79 parts to retire it. It's been a good setup!
 
Yeah X79/X99 were great - I feel like recent Intel HEDT has lost its way. With that said (switching topics somewhat), picked up a 9900KS and I'm doing a build this weekend. Been burned by AMD in the past and although I am sure they are as awesome as everyone says these days I will wait out at least another generation until I dive into AMD land. I feel like the 9900KS has the spirit of Kyle in it so I just had to do it. :)

Of course, the X99 boxes will remain and do all the great stuff they can do elsewhere like VMware ESXi, secondary gaming boxes, etc. I am going to keep an eye out for those Xeon CPUs and perhaps upgrade when the time is right, too.
 
I've been trying to get rid of a 3930k and 4930k Mobo combo for the past week but there hasn't been much interest.
New ryzens are just too cheap to make x79 appealing to anyone it seems.
 
I upgraded my desktop with Intel Xeon E5 1660 V3, upped the RAM to 32GB DDR4 3200Mhz, added a Radeon VII from a eGPU I was using, and bought a Noctua NH-D15.

The older parts (i7 5820k, 16GB DDR4 2666Mhz, 120GB SSD, 600w PSU, GTX 980, 120mm AIO) will go into a spare PC case I have laying around. I bought one of those cheap X99 Chinese motherboards for $80 shipped.

Hopefully it works lol

Regular brand used X99 are too expensive.
 
I've been trying to get rid of a 3930k and 4930k Mobo combo for the past week but there hasn't been much interest.
New ryzens are just too cheap to make x79 appealing to anyone it seems.

I would say that's exactly the problem. I looked at your thread a couple times, but then I look over and see a Ryzen 5 2600 not being used sitting right next to me it's a lot easier for me just to find an AM4 board that supports it.

Even next year when you're going to start to see more Xeon's come off lease, you're also going to see Zen 3 and a glut of used Zen 2 chips hit the market. If I can buy a 12 core Xeon E5-2697 for X79 or a 3900x for any number of AM4 boards, I'll probably drop in the 3900x.

The glory days of X58 boards that run cheap Xeon's are unfortunately behind us thanks to AMD.
 
I would say that's exactly the problem. I looked at your thread a couple times, but then I look over and see a Ryzen 5 2600 not being used sitting right next to me it's a lot easier for me just to find an AM4 board that supports it.

Even next year when you're going to start to see more Xeon's come off lease, you're also going to see Zen 3 and a glut of used Zen 2 chips hit the market. If I can buy a 12 core Xeon E5-2697 for X79 or a 3900x for any number of AM4 boards, I'll probably drop in the 3900x.

The glory days of X58 boards that run cheap Xeon's are unfortunately behind us thanks to AMD.
Yep sir you are right.
 
Back
Top