Building my own home server I went a different route with the latest, fastest i3 processor (at the time i3-7350k, not i3-8350k) to prioritize lower power and single thread execution speed.
E5670 holds up surprisingly well, similar total performance – 1/2 single thread execution speed 2x threads – in a similar power envelope for half the cost.
The value in those used workstations is mostly in the case and that is hard to replicate in these days of style-driven (wtf?) computer hardware where everything has LEDs and is generally targeted to excite 12-year-olds.
E5670 holds up surprisingly well, similar total performance – 1/2 single thread execution speed 2x threads – in a similar power envelope for half the cost.
The value in those used workstations is mostly in the case and that is hard to replicate in these days of style-driven (wtf?) computer hardware where everything has LEDs and is generally targeted to excite 12-year-olds.