Unconventional Server Box: Using a Xeon 36 Core 2.0GHz for P99?
 

Hello everyone,

I'm planning a new, power-efficient always-on server for my home and have a line on some very cheap decommissioned hardware. The heart of it would be a Xeon 36 Core 2.0GHz processor.

I know this is complete overkill, but I'm curious about its potential specific to our Project 1999 ecosystem. My goal is to run a highly responsive game client while also hosting other related services. My questions for the tech-savvy folks here are:

Client Performance: Everquest, especially the classic client we use, is notoriously single-threaded. With a base clock of only 2.0GHz, would this CPU actually provide a worse gameplay experience compared to a modern, fewer-core CPU with a much higher clock speed (e.g., 4.0GHz+)? Or would the sheer number of cores allow the OS to perfectly isolate the game thread without any interference from background tasks, resulting in decent stability?

Hosting Utility: Where I think this CPU might shine is running multiple services simultaneously. Could it comfortably host a private, small-group test server (e.g., for testing raid encounters or custom content) running in a Linux VM, while also running the regular P99 client on the host machine, and perhaps also hosting a DPS parser database or Teamspeak server, all without breaking a sweat?

Power & Heat: The obvious downside. For those with similar "retired server" setups, is the constant power draw and fan noise from a 36-core Xeon system significant enough to be a nuisance for a machine that's on 24/7?

I'm trying to decide if this is a unique opportunity to build the ultimate "all-in-one" P99 machine or if the low single-thread speed makes it a poor choice for our specific, classic game. Any insight or experience would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks