Mobo backwards compatibility

joncy92

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Dec 5, 2019
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69
Hello,

I'm currently running a freenas server on a Dell T130 with a pentium g4500.
I'm looking to upgrade the board because the box itself is actually a decommissioned Nasuni Filer and parts of the BIOS are locked or modified. I'm also looking for a mobo that can leverage the Pentium's iGPU for hardware transcoding

I've found a couple of suitable boards I'm but I also want to future proof so I can upgrade to a later gen when finances permit:



Ideally I'd be looking to purchase the X11SCH-F board but I can't find any information anywhere that says it will also support older 6th gen processors like the one I currently have. The boards are both 1151 socket but the chipset is different. Will the G5400 work on this newer board or will I have to opt for the older X11SSH-F?

Many thanks
 

Etorix

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Dec 30, 2020
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There are compatible boards out there, for instance the Supermicro X11SS(L,M,H) models with C232/C236 chipset. Although the Pentium G4500 may not be worth keeping if you can find an (ECC capable) Core i3-8xxx/9xxx for a fair price before they ran totally out of stock.
 
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Are there boards out the that a more compatible or will I be upgrading board and CPU together every time?
Despite being all socket 1151 you won't find any board that supports 6th to 9th gen CPUs, I blame Intel for using the same socket, but they either support 6th/7th or 8th/9th gen CPUs.
 

joncy92

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Dec 5, 2019
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69
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to have to cop an 8th/9th gen CPU then with iGPU & quick sync for hardware acceleration in emby.
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced Xeon with these features?
 

Etorix

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Remember that up to the 9th generation, Core i3 CPUs do ECC. An i3-9100 is effectively a Xeon E-2224 at half price.
 

joncy92

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Dec 5, 2019
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Remember that up to the 9th generation, Core i3 CPUs do ECC. An i3-9100 is effectively a Xeon E-2224 at half price.

Thanks so is there any benefit to having a same gen Xeon over an i3 for serving multiple concurrent transcodes ?
 

joncy92

Explorer
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Dec 5, 2019
Messages
69
Hey all. Can anyone let me know if this is a good and compatible build for the transcoding requirements I have:

Supermicro X11SCH-F-O
Intel i3-8100 OR intel i3-9100


I already have 4 WD Red's connect via a PERC H730 in HBA mode - will that card continue to work as well?
Thanks

Thanks again for the help so far
 
Last edited:

Etorix

Wizard
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Dec 30, 2020
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2,134
Your HBA should still work, but the X11SCH has enough SATA ports to directly attach the drives.
I know nothing about transcoding, but going higher in the stack for a Xeon E-2xxx would only get you a few more MHz and possibly more cores to serve files to more simultaneous clients… which does not appear to be a major concern. So an i3-8100/9100 is probably as good as it gets for your intended use before the law of diminishing returns strikes hard.
 
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