Help finding a MOBO for my build

[adamtj]

Hello,

I am in the process on picking out the parts for my next freenas/plex server.


I am building the server around the e5-2670 because they are ridiculously cheap right now and I require the processing power for the +10 hd transcodes my system gets tasked with regularly.


Other then the CPU I know I would like 128gb registered ECC of ram to be a future possibility (32 to start).

12 drives is my eventual goal (6 to start)


My main issue is finding a Mobo up to the challenge.

Everything I have seen so far doesn't seem to have onboard video (I assume I would need to get a GPU to run a header?)



Any input is appreciated even if it is to tell me I am going at this incorrectly.



Cheers

 

[ChriZ]

One example could be the x9dr3-f

 

[religiouslyconfused]

Or x10 if you are going to use e5 v3 cpu.

 

[Johev]

He's not going with the v3 as those are not "ridiculously cheap" :).

 

[AVB]

I was just noticing how inexpensive the E5-2670 chips were this morning and thought the X9SRL-F would be a good match.

 

[adamtj]

Hi AVB,

That is the MoBo I ended up getting. Just a quick PSA thought the CPU heatsink mounting configuration is "LSI Narrow" which limits your heatsink selection greatly for none passive cooling.

I ended up using: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00E1JGFA0/ref=pe_386430_188542500_TE_dp_1

 

[ChriZ]

Don't know about local price and availability, but the one I linked above seems like a wiser choice in the long run...
Has an on-board sas controller for 8 extra disks and can house a second CPU if needed.
But of course all depends on the use case..

 

[jgreco]

Hi AVB,

That is the MoBo I ended up getting. Just a quick PSA thought the CPU heatsink mounting configuration is "LSI Narrow"

You mean "narrow ILM"

which limits your heatsink selection greatly for none passive cooling.

I ended up using: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00E1JGFA0/ref=pe_386430_188542500_TE_dp_1

Why would you get some gamer grade cooler? Why not just get the Supermicro cooler that was actually designed for the board?

 

[AVB]

That did seem to be one of the better choices although some of that "gamer grade" will outperform what is standard issue.

Why would you get some gamer grade cooler? Why not just get the Supermicro cooler that was actually designed for the board?

 

[AVB]

The odds of needing dual processors for home use has always been pretty low and since that SAS controller will most likely be attached to SATA drives the 10 SATA connectors on the X9SRL-F mostly make up for it. That's how I looked at it.

Don't know about local price and availability, but the one I linked above seems like a wiser choice in the long run...
Has an on-board sas controller for 8 extra disks and can house a second CPU if needed.
But of course all depends on the use case..

 

[jgreco]

That did seem to be one of the better choices although some of that "gamer grade" will outperform what is standard issue.

The "gamer grade" will outperform for its often shorter and more pathetic lifetime, yes. The Supermicro stuff is simply designed and intended for use inside a server that is often never opened up again after it's deployed. It never ceases to amaze me when I pull a ten year old server out of the data center and things are still working.

 

[AVB]

I can agree with that for a number of things but a CPU cooler maybe not. You know that SuperMicro isn't making the cooler nor the fan. There is, however. an expectant level of quality that most consumer gear doesn't need to attain. Notice I said most, not all. For example, I would say that any on board video is based on consumer video chips and not on any special server video ones.....come to think of it that might be the ONLY other example I can come up with.

 

[jgreco]

I can agree with that for a number of things but a CPU cooler maybe not. You know that SuperMicro isn't making the cooler nor the fan. There is, however. an expectant level of quality that most consumer gear doesn't need to attain.

Supermicro is almost certainly contracting with someone for the heatsink, and of course it would be folly to try to manufacture your own fans for industrial purposes when there are already awesome fan manufacturers like Sunon, Nidec, and Sanyo Denki out there to source fans from, companies producing millions of fans for all sorts of industrial and telecom applications. I don't see what your point is, there. Sourcing high quality components from competent manufacturers is a good thing.

As for the previously mentioned Noctua unit, it says "award-winning NF-B9 92mm premium fan features Noctua's renowned SSO bearing as well as advanced aerodynamic optimizations", which seems to suggest that this is something Noctua engineered themselves, with one of the design goals being "quiet cooling."

I don't actually know what Noctua's fan sales volumes are, but I'm going to bet that it's essentially a boutique application. They're not making these things in large quantity. They're making them for gamers. They've essentially sourced them from themselves, and there's no reason to think they have any particular competence at building fans that will still be spinning in ten years. So they're probably fine as case fans, but I really wouldn't want to rely on them for CPU cooling.

 

[russnas]

That supermicro does have a good shroud on it though, havent seen that on gamer heatsinks since the heat is dispersed all around not just one side

I have a gamers heatsink, a old artic cooler without the fan since i got 2 fans pulling air from its sides, i was thinking about making a shroud and have alot of the air pulled through it from the front, but that may get blocked with dust

Also the fan it came with is weak, the supermicro one is upto 8000rpm so it can perform overtime. So make sure the fans are good