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How Bad is This $10,000 PC from 10 Years Ago??

Linus Tech Tips・18 minutes read

The EVGA Classified Super Record 2, a high-end gaming motherboard supporting two Xeon CPUs, cost around 4,000 US dollars and required additional components totaling around 10,000 dollars for a full gaming setup. Despite struggles with power consumption and performance issues like micro-stuttering, the system showed minimal gains from quad SLI in modern games, with the CPU identified as the bottleneck affecting gameplay even at 1440p Ultra settings.

Insights

  • The EVGA Classified Super Record 2 was a high-end gaming motherboard that supported two Xeon workstation CPUs, allowing for non-ECC RAM and 7 PCIe Gen 2x16 expansion slots, but struggled with limited storage support and compatibility issues with modern GPUs.
  • Despite the high cost and power consumption of the system, the performance gains from quad SLI were minimal in modern games due to communication overhead, leading to micro stuttering and uneven frame delivery, with the CPU identified as the bottleneck affecting performance even at 1440p Ultra settings.

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Recent questions

  • What were the key features of the EVGA Classified Super Record 2 motherboard?

    The EVGA Classified Super Record 2 motherboard was a high-end gaming motherboard that supported two Xeon workstation CPUs, 12 sticks of DDR3 memory, and 7 PCIe Gen 2x16 expansion slots. It used Xeon X5690 CPUs with 24 total threads, 24 megabytes of cache, and turbo speeds up to 3.73 gigahertz. The motherboard allowed for non-ECC RAM and required SATA drives for storage due to limited NVMe support.

  • How did the EVGA Classified Super Record 2 perform in terms of gaming experience?

    Despite its high-end components, the EVGA Classified Super Record 2 struggled with micro stuttering, uneven frame delivery, and minimal performance gains in modern games, especially with quad SLI configurations. The system faced compatibility issues with games like The Witcher 3 and exhibited lower FPS than expected, around 45 instead of 75, impacting the overall gaming experience negatively.

  • What was the power consumption and performance of the EVGA Classified Super Record 2 system?

    The EVGA Classified Super Record 2 system required a powerful power supply like the EVGA supernova 1600 T2 to support multiple GPUs and CPUs. Despite the high power consumption, the system experienced minimal performance gains in modern games with quad SLI configurations, with the CPU identified as the bottleneck affecting performance even at 1440p Ultra settings.

  • What was the cost associated with building a gaming system using the EVGA Classified Super Record 2 motherboard?

    The EVGA Classified Super Record 2 motherboard itself cost nearly 4,000 US dollars upon release, and when combined with additional components like memory, case, power supply, and GPUs, the total cost of building a gaming system could reach around 10,000 dollars. Despite the high cost, the system faced performance issues and compatibility challenges with modern games.

  • What were the limitations of the EVGA Classified Super Record 2 system in terms of storage and GPU configuration?

    The EVGA Classified Super Record 2 system had limited storage support, requiring SATA drives due to the lack of UEFI firmware for modern NVMe drives. While the system supported multiple GPUs in quad SLI configuration, scaling beyond two cards was poor due to communication overhead, leading to suboptimal gaming experiences and minimal performance gains in modern games.

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Summary

00:00

High-End Gaming System with Dual CPUs

  • The EVGA Classified Super Record 2 was a high-end gaming motherboard with two CPUs, costing nearly 4,000 US dollars upon release.
  • Additional components like memory, case, power supply, and GPUs could bring the total cost of the gaming system to around 10,000 dollars.
  • The motherboard supported two Xeon workstation CPUs, 12 sticks of DDR3 memory, and 7 PCIe Gen 2x16 expansion slots.
  • The CPUs used were Xeon X5690s, offering 24 total threads with 24 megabytes of cache and turbo speeds up to 3.73 gigahertz.
  • The motherboard supported non-ECC RAM, allowing for gaming system memory rather than server or workstation memory.
  • The storage support on the board was limited, requiring SATA drives due to the lack of UEFI firmware for modern NVMe drives.
  • The system required a powerful power supply like the EVGA supernova 1600 T2 to support multiple GPUs and CPUs.
  • The system was tested with multiple GPUs in quad SLI configuration, but scaling beyond two cards was poor due to communication overhead.
  • Despite the high cost and power consumption, the performance gains from quad SLI were minimal in modern games, with some games not fully utilizing all GPUs.
  • The system struggled with micro stuttering and uneven frame delivery, leading to a less than optimal gaming experience despite the high-end components.

14:25

"GPU Performance Comparison Reveals CPU Bottleneck"

  • The FPS observed through the camera was not 75 as expected, but rather around 45, which felt better than a previous game experience.
  • The SLI tracker was lost, revealing that very little power was being used, approximately 560 watts.
  • Despite compatibility claims, The Witcher 3 did not seem to work well with SLI, indicating a potential issue with modern GPUs and older SLI technology.
  • The 3090 Ti, with Windows 7 drivers available, was highlighted as the fastest card from EVGA, offering comparable performance to four 980 Ti cards.
  • The performance similarity between the 3090 Ti and four 980 Ti cards was attributed to their CUDA core counts, with power consumption also being relatively close.
  • The CPU was identified as the bottleneck in the system, affecting performance even at 1440p Ultra settings, leading to considerations for upgrading the system before investing in a new GPU.
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