Is Super Micro X11SSL-CF-O a Reliable Choice?

ant_tm

Cadet
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
2
Just wondering what the feeling is on this board because ordered two of these (second as a replacement for the first) and both have been (sort of) DOA - the board refuses to POST when the 8-PIN CPU Power Connector is attached. SuperMicro support were not able to work it out, I've tried swapping out CPU, Memory etc - I am getting another Power Supply to try though I have pretty good confidence in the Thermaltake PSU I have.

Anyhow - not here to troubleshoot the board - just to judge the feeling over whether the board is generally reliable or if I am just really unlucky getting two faulty boards in a row. Unfortunately I am a long way detached from supply chains so returns etc are troublesome at best.

Wondering if something like a Gigabyte C246M-WU4 might not be a better gamble for my next attempt.

Other Hardware
  • Intel Xeon E3-1240 Processors BX80677E31240V6
  • 4 of Samsung M391A2K43BB1-CPB 16GB DDR4-2133 ECC Un-Buffer LP Server Memory
  • Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E250B/AM)
  • LSI SAS9211-8I 8PORT Int 6GB Sata+SAS Pcie 2.0
  • 12x 10TB WD RED (11 in RAIDZ3 + 1 hot spare)
Thanks
 

Inxsible

Guru
Joined
Aug 14, 2017
Messages
1,123
I am assuming you double & triple checked all the connections and also tried it with connecting only the bare necessities like the 24 pin power plug, 1 stick of RAM and CPU and 1 SSD.

Many on these forums use X11 based boards. I haven't heard anyone complain.
 

jgreco

Resident Grinch
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
18,681
It's more likely that you have a faulty, undersized, or somehow-not-quite-compatible PSU.

Since you failed to mention your specific PSU, I will note that you should probably be using at least a 750W PSU.

https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

Supermicro is a lot better than consumer/prosumer grade stuff like Gigabyte. They're made to go into data centers and run 24/7 until they die, which in my experience is usually at least a decade or more later.

Most of the stuff Gigabyte/ASUS/etc make are consumer/prosumer boards, and sometimes they throw in a few "server" boards, but their focus is not on the server marketplace. They don't have the expertise at server boards, and the quality is hard to judge. Supermicro basically does almost all server and application-specific boards.
 

ant_tm

Cadet
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
2
Thanks for the suggestions.

The system has been stripped and rebuilt 3 or 4 times with each motherboard so all connections retried. The first motherboard would post properly if the 8 pin connector was not connected. The second gets so far and then powers off in the same config. I have not connected any hard drives while troubleshooting.

The PSU is an1000 watt Modular Thermaltake which was top of the line 5 or 6 years ago. I’ll be trying a more recent PSU this weekend. Only a 500watt but if it posts with no drives connected then I will get an appropriate 950 or so and be happy it was never the motherboard.
 

Snow

Patron
Joined
Aug 1, 2014
Messages
309
To me
It's more likely that you have a faulty, undersized, or somehow-not-quite-compatible PSU.
That is what it seems like it is to me, I've had new and used Supermicro stuff and it just works or it dies.
Therese really never a middle road.

I want to say at least 60% of us on the forums use them as motherboard's.
Also reading the manual it says that if you do not plug in both the 24 pin and 8 pin befor you turn the board on it can damage the board and void the warranty.
Also does that power supply meet Atx 2.02 or Above and must also be SSI Compliant.

Motherboard manual link
SSI compliant Site
 

zamana

Contributor
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
163
Hi!

I have this exact same board for 11 months now and no complains at all. I did buy it from an Amazon reseller during a trip to the USA in June 2018.

The only, let's say, "regret" from my part, was that I bought a CPU with Intel Quick Sync Video (in order to have "hardware acceleration" for Plex transcoding), but this board has a C232 chipset, which isn't compatible with Quick Sync...

Other than this, I have no complains.

By the way, that's the PSU I'm using:

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Bronze-Certified-Non-Modular-CP-9020047-US/dp/B0092ML0MY
 
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