Hi,
 
I have been wanting to build a new system for awhile now and dual core build has had me interested for quite some time. But I am kind of torn if I should be spending money on old Westmere-EP technology when Haswell EP is coming in two months. But I'm not too impressed with the base clocks on the Haswell-EP parts and their prices are really up there. $1,500 for a six core with high TDP. Will Haswell-EPs come unlocked? Not sure (but doubt it). I really feel I could build a two processor Westmere-EP system for a lot cheaper then any two processor Haswell-EP, but is it really something I should consider?
 
Below in quotes, is a post I found in another thread on the forums here. Isn't the Xeon X5690 the only one with an unlocked multiplier? Looking through the posts on this subject another forum suggested that the Xeon X5675 has a chance to hit 5Ghz? It seems to be a difficult task to locate a SR-2 board these days, but even if I spend a lot to purchase one, I could purchase two X5650s on ebay for $75 each. If overclocked, how would two of those chips compare to an overclocked $1000 8c Haswell-E 5860x for example?

Here are the Haswell-EP prices by the way: (Edit- Seems I am unable to post links)

With overclocking the LGA1366 generation, always go for the highest multiplier you can afford since the Bclk on average can only get to 200-210MHz.  If you buy a processor with a base 20x, then you get 4GHz; but you'd need a bclk of to 210MHz achieve 4GHz with 19x.  If you choose 18x on down, reaching 4GHz will be very hard or very impractical.
 
Because RAM dividers are locked depending on the letter of the Xeon, you may start at 2:8 (thus DDR3-1066) or 2:10 (thus DDR3-1333); therefore at 200MHz Bclk, make sure your RAM can do up to DDR3-1600 or DDR3-2000 beforehand.
 
Just so you know, of the Xeon 5x00 series:
 

    E's are like i5's to the consumer world, they are the most popular or best-bang-for-buck of the Xeon multi-CPU series
    L's are pricier because they have lower power and thermals than E counterparts of the same exact performance.
    X's parts are just the highest frequency for the lower TDP category Intel sticks them in.  
    W's are meant for workstation users that tend to demand the highest frequency above all else, thus tend to be the most expensive.   

 
Prices are based on which letter they get, the Xeon market makes a big deal regarding TDP, so the enthusiast mindset of frequency isn't seeing the whole picture.
 
Remember TDP means Thermal Dissipation Power, i.e. heat dissipation, it isn't electrical draw nor is it actual values per processor.  It is just a category so multiple types can qualify; if a E5000 is stuck in 80W TDP, then the stock value is guaranteed not to go above that.  But if it does, then it gets stuck in the next category of 95W TDP, even if it is 81W or 86W actual.  That is the idea behind TDP.
 
Historically, lower TDP was easier to overclock since it meant lower temps and thus needing less extra voltage as your cranked it up; but the bclk limit prevents seeing what lower TDP parts are really capable of.  So choose wisely.

Thanks for your reply. Even if EVGA makes a new SR-3 board for Haswell-EP the price for the processors are not something I would be interested based on their clocks.
The only one I might be interested in is the E5-2687W V3 because it might turbo to 4Ghz. Even so, $2,000 each so $4,000 for two. As seen below:
 
Haswell-EP E5-2600 v3 Specifications and Prices
Model              Cores     CPU Frequency     TDP            Price in Euro
E5-2603 v3      6          1.60 GHz              85 W           €169.95
E5-2609 v3      6          1.90 GHz              85 W           €239.95
E5-2620 v3      6          2.40 GHz              85 W           €319.95
E5-2643 v3      6          3.40 GHz             145 W          €1149.00
E5-2630 v3      8          2.40 GHz              90 W           €509.00
E5-2640 v3      8          2.60 GHz              90 W           €699.00
E5-2667 v3      8          3.20 GHz              145 W         €1519.00
E5-2650 v3     10         2.30 GHz              105 W         €869.00
E5-2660 v3     10         2.60 GHz              105 W         €1069.00
E5-2687W v3   10        3.10 GHz              160 W         €1579.00
E5-2650L v3    12        1.80 GHz              65 W           €989.00
E5-2670 v3     12         2.30 GHz              120 W         €1179.00
E5-2680 v3     12         2.50 GHz              120 W         €1289.00
E5-2690 v3     12         2.60 GHz              135 W         €1549.00
E5-2683 v3     14         2.00 GHz              120 W         €1369.00
E5-2695 v3     14         2.30 GHz              120 W         €1789.00
E5-2697 v3     14         2.60 GHz              145 W         €1989.00
E5-2698 v3     16         2.30 GHz              135 W         €2379.00
E5-2699 v3     18         2.30 GHz             145 W         €3029.00

Found it here: chiploco.com/haswell-ep-e5-2600-v3-specs-35055/

Seraphic
So is it worth considering a SR-2 build with two X5680s or would money be better spend on X99 with an i7-5960X at this point?

SR-2 is based on the Nehalem/Westmere architecture, and is approximately 27% behind in IPC (instructions per clock) compared to Haswell/Broadwell, this means the performance difference between the Xeon X5680 and the cheapest upcoming Haswell-E 6-core i7-5820K at stock will be around 27% (from comparing quads of both architectures, sockets are different but the design is the same), they are both running around 3.3GHz-- which is like the X5680 running at 4GHz.
 
 
Of course, the 8-core at 3GHz will add performance due to having more threads, so provided you had use, it would add 20%-- this is like a single X5680 overclocked to 4.8GHz.  It isn't a practical overclock for a single CPU, but you're planning dual-CPU; with the right cooling, maybe you could crank the 8-core to 4.5GHz and match up with the older dual CPU platform for less heat and power consumption.
 
Worth is about what you think, none of us can tell you that.  Though it isn't much hassle to wait for X99 to appear in a few months to answer most of your questions; many here with SR-2/SR-X boards will move on to X99 for whatever gain and report back.

I don't see the cost vs 27% myself depending on what the new Haswell part cost plus the board and DDR 4 ram.. I am not going crank up a$500 to 1500 dollar part like I would a $75 to 140 part.. if lehpron is right about the 27% then you could have that speed with Westmere for a lot less money because you can afford to overclock the cheaper part and not feel so bad if you kill it.. with just the cost savings you could have backup cpu's laying  around if you did kill it a X5650's sales for $75 used on ebay..