The Precision T5860 has all the base components to be converted into a high-end gaming computer.  The Precision T5860 is a single socket Xeon based workstation.  The 5860 Supports up 2TB DDR5 4800Mhz memory and 4 x 3.5″ Hard Drives.  The T5860 also has an optional 1350W Power Supply that allows you to install amazing gaming graphics cards.  Let us show you how you can build an effective Precision T5860 Gaming Computer.

 

Where to buy?

 

If you haven’t already acquired a Precision T5860 we’d recommend checking out a company called Serverworlds.  They sell the T5860’s cheap and they provide free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.   You can also try to snag them cheap on Ebay.  However, Ebay can be a bit of a gamble because you never know what you are going to get.

The goal is to purchase the T5860 with a good processor and memory already installed and then you can source the graphics cards, hard drives, and other optional components from other sources.

 

 

What Processor(s) should I get?

 

High Clock speed CPU’s are the way to go.

 

Recommended Processor:

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W3-2525 8C 3.5Ghz 22.5MB | 4.5Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRN4J)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W5-2545 12C 3.5Ghz 30MB | 4.7Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRN4G)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W5-2555X 14C 3.3Ghz 33.75MB | 4.8Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRN4F)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W5-2465X 16C 3.1Ghz 33.75MB | 4.7Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRM9F)

 

Not a gamer and need more Cores?

 

High Core Count Processors:

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W5-2565X 18C 3.2Ghz 37.5MB | 4.8Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRN4E)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W7-2475X 20C 2.6Ghz 37.5MB | 4.8Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRM9E)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W7-2575X 22C 3.0Ghz 45MB | 4.8Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRN4D)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W7-2495X 24C 2.50Ghz 45MB | 4.8Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRM9D)

Up to 1 x Intel Xeon W7-2595X 26C 2.80Ghz 48.75MB | 4.8Ghz Max Turbo Frequency (SRN4C)

 

 

How much Memory should I get?

 

The base line should be a minimum of 32GB of memory for gaming.  However, 64GB to 256GB that would be ideal for developers.

 

Memory PNs:

 

16GB 4800Mhz 1Rx8 DDR5 Reg Module (1V1N1)

16GB 5600Mhz 1Rx8 DDR5 Reg Module (5DR48)

32GB 4800Mhz 2Rx8 DDR5 Reg Module (W08W9)

32GB 5600Mhz 2Rx8 DDR5 Reg Module (P8XPW)

64GB 4800Mhz 2Rx4 DDR5 Reg Module (J52K5)

64GB 5600Mhz 2Rx4 DDR5 Reg Module (58F8N)

96GB 5600Mhz 2Rx4 DDR5 Reg Module (FFX9N)

128GB 5600Mhz 4Rx4 DDR5 Reg Module (GD7H7)

 

 

 

What Hard Drive should I get?

 

Ideally you would want to have a NVME.2 Solid State Drive as your boot device as well as storage for faster read speeds.  If you are limited on budget, you could go with a small NVME.2 SSD for your boot device and a larger capacity 7.2K SATA drive to hold your larger files/programs/games.

 

The T5860 has 2 x NVMe M.2 Slots on the system board. 

 

NVMe Adapters:

 

Precision 5860 Tower 2 x NVME Backplane (1DKP4)

Precision 5860 Tower 1 x NVMe and 1 x SATA Backplane (GCGMK)

Precision 5860 Tower 1 x NVMe Backplane Board (WF1NJ)

Precision 5860 Tower NVMe Tray (5C9PM)

 

Dell Ultra SSD M.2 PCIe x4 Quad Port Adapter (400-BPJP)

 

Recommended NVME.2 SSDs:

 

Samsung 990 EVO  – 1TB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V9E1T0B/AM)

Samsung 990 EVO  – 2TB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V9E2T0B/AM)

Samsung 990 EVO Plus  – 4TB PCIe NVMe – M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V9S4T0B/AM)

 

Recommended large Capacity SATA Drives:

 

Seagate 8TB IronWolf SATA HDD 7.2K 6Gb/s 3.5″(ST8000VNZ04)

Seagate 12TB IronWolf SATA HDD 7.2K 6Gb/s 3.5″ (ST12000VN0007)

Seagate 16TB Exos SATA HDD 6GB/s 7.2K 3.5″ (ST16000NM000J)

Seagate 24TB Exos SATA HDD 6GB/s 7.2K 3.5″ (ST20000NM007D)

 

Raid Controllers:

 

Working on this….

 

What Graphics Card should I get?

 

The Precision 5860 features a standard 750W Power Supply.  The 1350W Power Supply will give you pretty much endless options for graphics cards.

 

Precision 5860 Tower 750W Power Supply (343WC)

Precision 5860 Tower 1350W Power Supply

 

Recommended Graphics Cards:

 

NVIDIA GeForce 4060Ti 8GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce 4070 12GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce 4070TI 12GB Graphics Card

NVIDIA GeForce 4080 12GB Graphics Card

 

What type of Monitor should I get?

 

Ideally it would be nice to get a monitor with a 144Hz or 244hz refresh rate or better monitor.  However, it really depends on the games you play.  If you play first person shooter games a 144hz or 240Hz or better monitor is a must.  If you play other games that do not require quick response time then a 60hz monitor should work fine.

 

Recommended Monitors:

 

 

Acer  XZ270 Gaming 27″ 240Hz 1MS Gaming Monitor

ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM 27″ 280Hz 1MS Monitor

 

Recap:

 

Using the criteria above you can help you build a high-end gaming system using a Precision 5860 Tower Workstation.

 

Sample Configuration:

 

Precision 5860 Tower Workstation

1 x Intel Xeon

64GB PC4800Mhz (4 x 16GB)

Samsung 990 2TB NVME.2 SSD Onboard

NVIDIA RTX 4060 TI 8GB Graphics Card

1 x Gigabit + 1 x 10GB Copper Onboard

1350W Power Supply

11 Pro 64Bit

 

Videos:

Precision 5860 Tower Workstation NVMe Backplane Install

 

We have tested this system with games like Dota 2, CS2, PubG, Overwatch 2, DayZ.  The frames can range from 90FPS to 200FPS depending on the game and settings that you choose.  The system was tested using a 240Hz 24.5″ Asus Monitor.