Lucky eBayer snags 128-core Intel server for $700 — HP server has 1TB RAM and 16 Xeon CPUs worth more than $4,000

A savvy eBay buyer has acquired a fully populated HP C7000 blade enclosure for approximately $700, a deal valued at over $4,000. The hardware bundle includes 16 BL460c G8 server blades, each equipped with an Intel Xeon E5-2660 processor, totaling 128 physical cores and 256 logical threads. The system also features 1TB of DDR3 RAM, which accounts for the bulk of the bundle's resale value. While the hardware is based on the older Sandy Bridge-EP architecture, it remains highly capable for specific enterprise workloads. However, potential buyers should note significant power consumption, with the setup drawing nearly 1.5kW under load, and the lack of official firmware support for the aging C600 chipset. Despite these limitations, the low cost of high-capacity DDR3 memory continues to drive demand for such refurbished enterprise-grade equipment among hobbyists and small-scale server operators looking for cost-effective compute density.