They’re a good value for playing around, but CPU performance has come a long way since those were released. A mid-range AMD desktop CPU could beat even a dual-socket server with two of those in most tasks, and a used 16-core AMD desktop chip will walk away from it in almost every benchmark. It will also be much quieter and consume less power while doing it.
If you’re on a shoestring budget, don’t mind hunting down and testing used parts, and power and noise aren’t an issue then those old server parts are great fun though.
If you’re on a shoestring budget, don’t mind hunting down and testing used parts, and power and noise aren’t an issue then those old server parts are great fun though.