just a heads up, finally ASUS w680 available.

[oncdoc]

Pro WS W680-ACE IPMI｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

Intel® W680 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, bundled with IPMI Expansion card, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 2.5 Gb, SlimSAS, enhanced power and cooling solutions

www.asus.com

I picked it up from B&H should be here tomorrow.

Also saw it at provantage.

Now to build around the board. I will take my time since prices for DDR5 Ram are not cheap.

 

[jgreco]

You're building a TrueNAS server on this board? Because it's a workstation board and isn't particularly optimal for that, plus what a super-pricey way to go. Looks like a great workstation board, but if that's the case, we'd ask that you discuss workstation builds in Off-Topic, please.

 

[oncdoc]

I was going to use it to build a trueNAS home server. The expensive part would be the components? but I'm going to wait and take my time. But perhaps the Intel 13th gen k CPUs TDP as quoted can become expensive as far as electricity is concern. But I'm hoping that high TDP CPU listing doesn't always translate into real world cost. But thank you for the post and you got me thinking.

 

[kiloohm]

Is it really off-topic? I've been working around different configurations trying to build a truenas server for days and I'm also seriously considering this motherboard.

Because I will be running Plex on this server, I do need some compute and QuickSync. I was looking at the following (prices in Canadian Dollars from local supplier)
MB: Supermicro X11SCH-F $459
CPU: Xeon E-2126 $379

The Asus W680-ACE IPMI is the same price but it opens up a whole range of CPUs with ECC support (i5 and i7) for a lot less than thee Xeon line.

 

[a.dresner]

Is it really off-topic? I've been working around different configurations trying to build a truenas server for days and I'm also seriously considering this motherboard.

Because I will be running Plex on this server, I do need some compute and QuickSync. I was looking at the following (prices in Canadian Dollars from local supplier)
MB: Supermicro X11SCH-F $459
CPU: Xeon E-2126 $379

The Asus W680-ACE IPMI is the same price but it opens up a whole range of CPUs with ECC support (i5 and i7) for a lot less than thee Xeon line.

You are spot on. This might be the best board for TrueNas Builders who want iGPU for hardware transcoding, ECC, ZFS, etc. I'm 100% on the same page with you here. Been searching for the perfect board for my second build for weeks now.. amazing that I just ran into this board and within 5 min found your post. It also support bifurcation.. nice. Claims it's designed for 24/7 use. Twin 2.5gb, IMPI... sold.

Never mind the grinch..he must have gotten that name for a reason. :D

If he wants, he can find us a better board that support quicksync

 

[a.dresner]

This is the only other mobo I could find...

SUPERMICRO MBD-X13SAE-F-O ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1700 Intel W680​

 

[a.dresner]

X13SAE-F | Motherboards | Products | Supermicro

vs

Pro WS W680-ACE IPMI - Tech Specs｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

Intel® W680 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, bundled with IPMI Expansion card, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 2.5 Gb, SlimSAS, enhanced power and cooling solutions

www.asus.com

same price... trying to build today tech, future proof.

I'm always partial to Supermicro, in fact this will be the first "server" that I have built with a board other than one. I understand why it's in the Asus workstation category, however it's designed for 24/7 use and clearly marketed to our crowd. The X13 options with Supermicro at ATX are LGA-4677 and will not support quick sync. Dropping down into workstation class, the above board is the best option. However, for home use I think this Asus is worth a go. I'm looking at Plex, Long term digital photo storage, Virtual Machines, Docker. The Asus is a much more compelling product on paper. A lot more storage options out of the box.

I hope its stable... And it's not expensive for its feature set at $400.

Sorry for the multiple posts, I posted my previous post too quickly and don't see options to edit or delete?

 

[jgreco]

Never mind the grinch..he must have gotten that name for a reason. :D

Seems like an expensive option, what with the DDR5 and all that. And $409 for the board?

If he wants, he can find us a better board that support quicksync

Sure, done, almost a year ago even.

The Supermicro X12STH and X12STL have been available for about a year, are rack-optimized (front-to-back airflow, etc), DDR4, ... with the Xeon E-2324G being sold at CDW for $277 and a 65W TDP, so $380 for the X12STH totals about $657 for a low end solution. You can also toss an 8-core very fast E-2388G (95W TDP) on there instead if you can use the compute for something like ESXi.

But perhaps the Intel 13th gen k CPUs TDP as quoted can become expensive as far as electricity is concern. But I'm hoping that high TDP CPU listing doesn't always translate into real world cost.

Of course it doesn't. TDP doesn't mean the number of watts that the CPU burns. It doesn't even really mean the number of watts the CPU *can* burn, but rather what the environment must be able to dissipate.

See https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/intel-xeon-quick-sync.107239/ etc for some details on idle power utilization.

From my perspective, I'd rather pick up an E-2388G with 8 cores/16 threads/5.1 GHz turbo and 95W TDP rather than that E-2324G from above, because the E-2388G can do so much more. Power consumption isn't just about the CPU, but also about the constant draw of other components such as memory, fans, PSU's, mainboard, etc., so finding a way to run other workloads shared on the platform is a HUGE win for power efficiency if you can do it. That's going to be where the X12ST boards really shine compared to a repurposed suboptimal workstation board.

 

[Jailer]

but it opens up a whole range of CPUs with ECC support (i5 and i7) for a lot less than thee Xeon line.

Be careful when selecting a Core series CPU. This applies to 12th and 13th gen CPU's; not all i5, i7 and i9 CPU's have ECC support enabled.

I personally would be more concerned about the immature DDR5 ECC memory market with this platform. That will improve with time of course but early adopters beware.

 

[a.dresner]

Seems like an expensive option, what with the DDR5 and all that. And $409 for the board?



Sure, done, almost a year ago even.

The Supermicro X12STH and X12STL have been available for about a year, are rack-optimized (front-to-back airflow, etc), DDR4, ... with the Xeon E-2324G being sold at CDW for $277 and a 65W TDP, so $380 for the X12STH totals about $657 for a low end solution. You can also toss an 8-core very fast E-2388G (95W TDP) on there instead if you can use the compute for something like ESXi.



Of course it doesn't. TDP doesn't mean the number of watts that the CPU burns. It doesn't even really mean the number of watts the CPU *can* burn, but rather what the environment must be able to dissipate.

See https://www.truenas.com/community/threads/intel-xeon-quick-sync.107239/ etc for some details on idle power utilization.

From my perspective, I'd rather pick up an E-2388G with 8 cores/16 threads/5.1 GHz turbo and 95W TDP rather than that E-2324G from above, because the E-2388G can do so much more. Power consumption isn't just about the CPU, but also about the constant draw of other components such as memory, fans, PSU's, mainboard, etc., so finding a way to run other workloads shared on the platform is a HUGE win for power efficiency if you can do it. That's going to be where the X12ST boards really shine compared to a repurposed suboptimal workstation board.

We couldn't be more on the same page. After 3 months of research on my own, I just built (in December) my first new server in 11 years based on the X12STH-LN4F and Intel® Xeon® E-2378G. AGREE, it's the best choice out there...with that said I felt constricted (my bad for choosing Micro ATX and also being out of practice in my foresight). I wish that the board supported bifurcation, the C256 chipset does not. I could have used one slot for a 4 port NVME card. Another port for 2.5GB intel...or an HBA card, etc.. however wIth only 3 PCI slots, and a single NVME connector, I was limited in my expandability. I didn't really need 4 1GB ports, they could have put 2 2.5, but I understand the 4x1 in case someone wants to virtualize their PFSense or something like that.

I managed to put together a tight rig, very happy with it so far...only about 50 days?

Hence my look for an ATX board with more expandability.

At our second home, I plan to try the Asus build...and let them sync over WG VPN. Where we differ in opinion is calling this Asus a suboptimal workstation board. Asus make great boards, this is not one of their gaming or entry level boards. I would take a closer look at its specs and designed 24/7 use. I will probably eat my words when it dies after 6 months.. but I'll give it a shot to get the extra ports, slots, etc.

Again, looking forward at today tech, this is one of the few choices out there (that you can actually buy) for the OP and myself use case.

Have a nice Friday!

 

[jgreco]

We couldn't be more on the same page.

Well, at least it's clear that I'm not the only one who finds the stratification of parts to be annoyingly restrictive.

I wish that the board supported bifurcation, the C256 chipset does not. I could have used one slot for a 4 port NVME card.

Supermicro sells (at a bit of a pricey premium) the AOC-SHG3-4M2P card, which contains a PLX switch, so you can get four M.2 NVMe on an x8 slot even without bifurcation. Don't know if that'd be helpful to you but thought I'd toss it out there anyways.

is calling this Asus a suboptimal workstation board

We're in a thread on a forum that discusses TrueNAS servers. I have no doubts that if you had one of these boards and put it in your workstation for a daily driver that you would be wetting your pants. From my perspective, though, which is as someone who tries to build the best TrueNAS systems, stuff like the 2.5GbE is mostly trash since the mainboard ethernets are primarily used for management and PXE. We're baseline 4x10GbE here and have been for some years now; I finally came up with a happy design utilizing a Supermicro low profile AOC-STG-I4S to do it in a single slot even on a LP machine. The ASUS also has the memory slots facing the wrong way (a server should be front-to-back not side-to-side) and there's a bunch of other semiuseless frippery -- from my perspective. So that's what I mean by "suboptimal" and "workstation" is just because I feel that there's a noteworthy distinction between types of boards, such as gaming, desktop, workstation, server... but again, nothing against ASUS or the board when used for its intended purpose.

 

[a.dresner]

That is helpful and I will most likely get that card. THANK YOU.

In my rack at the office, my servers are all from Dell...10GB ethernet, Hypervisors, etc. I get it..again, same page at that level however I stopped having time to build servers at the office as my company grew, that last one was 12 years ago..and it was in production till just last year.

At home I'm escaping from QNAP, this being my first TrueNas rig (the X12STH-LN4F is running UNRAID temporarily..long story) I have some flexibility as long as it's ECC, etc. Wish that the X12STH-LN4F was ATX, had more room for expansion.

Hopefully this forum is inclusive and provides a place for both enterprise and "this is the best I can get" for my case TrueNAS builds.

 

[jgreco]

That is helpful and I will most likely get that card. THANK YOU.

Most welcome.

Hopefully this forum is inclusive and provides a place for both enterprise and "this is the best I can get" for my case TrueNAS builds.

Well, if you can come to grips with it, the general idea around here is that the members really want you to be able to build a trustworthy TrueNAS host that safely stores your data and does cool things. This isn't particularly compatible with people who want to build a system out of a USB HDD and an 8GB AMD APU, so if you do that and then have problems, people WILL tell you why you are having problems and it's really up to you to own bad choices. We cannot magically fix it. However, if you can take suggestions, even constructive criticism, you'll find yourself being led towards solutions that you may not have been aware of. Two examples from this thread immediately come to mind, including the PLX 4x M.2 card mentioned above, and also the E-2388G vs E-2324G difference where I feel like it's a good use to virtualize that and make use of the significant extra compute capacity that is only costing you 30 watts extra max. For the most part, this is a SOHO/hobbyist/enthusiast space; the enterprise TrueNAS customers are serviced by iXsystems directly under contract. Some of us here do "this stuff" professionally and just like to hang around because there's cool people here.

 

[a.dresner]

Been building computers since the 486dx2 days, 90s. First time I had to build one, I was convinced I had to update the BIOS in my fathers PC (he was a DOS guy) and dropped the metal head of a screw driver on the board. Nevertheless, father bought a new motherboard and locked me in my room and told me to figure it out. I did. Always enjoy learning something new, especially having been away from building my own for over a decade. Getting up to speed isn't as easy as it used to be... but still fun

I'm 100% onboard with the idea of building reliable boxes that safely store our data.
ECC memory paired with ZFS
Enterprise Class Drives
Storage planning
Proper Boot devices
Server Grade Boards
The right CPU
and so on..using similar hardware as the rest of the group. I'm with you.

I also like the constructive criticism. It's how we learn and grow.

The X12STH-LN4F rig is gonna be easy to troubleshoot, lots of people will have rigs based on this board. That server is my main server, and I didn't go outside of the box at all. This other box here at my second home in Asia, will be avant-garde only with the motherboard.. every other part will be in the box so to speak. I have a feeling, it's going go to be a popular board...even if it turns out to cause us some headaches or not? ASRock has some interesting boards, impossible to get and I read about stability issues with some of their products. Supermicro and Asus have always been stable for me.

There are those of us who also spend time in other countries, like myself, where access to parts isn't as easy. Ironically, here in Thailand where many parts are made, I cannot directly access them. We are "limited" but if there is a will, there is a way if you're willing to pay. I buy drives on Amazon out here, they are made in Thailand, shipped back here from the USA for less $$ than if I could find it here.. and good luck finding enterprise drives for sale here for less than you can buy them shipped from the US.

I can still return this ASUS, but is there another server grade board that is ATX or ATX-E that has the core features of my X12STH-LN4F but more expandability baked in? Even available. There are boards that I have drooled over on the Supermicro site, but sockets that don't do built in graphics... this narrow things down quick as the OP said.

Either way, which LGA1700 CPU would you pair with the Asus board? PLEX (hw transcoding) , DATA Store, Dockers, Linux and PC VM. Core i5 13600K Core i7 13700K Core i9 13900K

I was originally thinking about the i5..but started to consider the idea of having a power virtualized windows desktop with the i7 or i9? Not sure I can even get memory of the Asus! lol

 

[Jailer]

Either way, which LGA1700 CPU would you pair with the Asus board? PLEX (hw transcoding) , DATA Store, Dockers, Linux and PC VM. Core i5 13600K Core i7 13700K Core i9 13900K

Be careful when selecting a Core series CPU. This applies to 12th and 13th gen CPU's; not all i5, i7 and i9 CPU's have ECC support enabled.

Every CPU you just listed does NOT have ECC support enabled and is exactly why I posted the reply that I quoted.

 

[a.dresner]

Every CPU you just listed does NOT have ECC support enabled and is exactly why I posted the reply that I quoted.

Do you have different information than Intel?

Intel® Core™ i9-13900K Processor (36M Cache, up to 5.80 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i9-13900K Processor (36M Cache, up to 5.80 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Intel® Core™ i7-13700K Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.40 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i7-13700K Processor (30M Cache, up to 5.40 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

Intel® Core™ i5-13600K Processor (24M Cache, up to 5.10 GHz) Product Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5-13600K Processor (24M Cache, up to 5.10 GHz) quick reference guide including specifications, features, pricing, compatibility, design documentation, ordering codes, spec codes and more.

ark.intel.com

According to Intel, they all have ECC and Quicksync.

Double check on ASUS site - they all support ECC

Please show me what I’m missing

Pro WS W680-ACE IPMI｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

Intel® W680 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, bundled with IPMI Expansion card, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 2.5 Gb, SlimSAS, enhanced power and cooling solutions

www.asus.com

 

[a.dresner]

Interesting article here:

Intel Core i9-13900K review (Page 2)

It's been a processor series that has seen leaks, performance reviews and what not. But finally today Intel unleashes its new Rocket Lake based CPU architecture; we start off with the review of the C...

www.guru3d.com

I'm not excited about that base wattage... but ECC with W680 - Check!

 

[oncdoc]

13700 non k has ECC memory support

 

[a.dresner]

K also has ECC support. K only means it's unlocked. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers.html
You want to avoid F if you want iGPU, it will require a discrete GPU

You can compare some of the processors we have been discussing here https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...Ids=230500,230574,230493,230490,230496,230499

and again, you can cross reference here at Asus

Pro WS W680-ACE IPMI｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

Intel® W680 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard, bundled with IPMI Expansion card, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 2.5 Gb, SlimSAS, enhanced power and cooling solutions

www.asus.com

I find it interesting that both the i5 13600 and i9 13900 have SIPP and VT-rp, https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/stable-it-platform-program.html

 

[a.dresner]

@jgreco What is your opinion about this board? https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/motherboard/x13sae-f

Supermicro X13SAE-F W680 Motherboard Mini-Review

In our Supermicro X13SAE-F motherboard review, we check out a 12th Gen Intel Core system with an ASPEED BMC adding IPMI capabilities

www.servethehome.com