Sanity check new build for later this year

[fischju]

Hello,

I've spent some time researching and am onto two paths forward for a build, with the likelihood of each going to parts availability.

Option 1:
Intel Xeon W-1370P
AsRock Rack W480M
64GB DDR4 Registered ECC
8xSeagate Ironwolf 18TBs in a RAIDZ2 (Or RAIDZ3?)
10GbE Intel network card
500gb M.2 boot drive
Seasonic PRIME 850w
4U case with hot-swappable bays like the Sliger CX4712

Option 2:
W680 board that supports DDR4 (ASRock IMB-X1314?). These are very hard to find right now.
ECC enabled i5, (12600K?)
Same RAM, HDDs, NIC, drive, case.

QuickSync CPU is a must, I wasn't intending to use a GPU unless I need one in which case I'd get a low end Intel ARC for AV1.

Do I need an HBA card if my motherboard supports 8xSATA?

Purpose: Primarily media storage and serving, for upcoming ripping and transfer of blu-rays to AV1 encodes (encoded on my desktop). Secondary as long term storage of various other video, like hours of full-res GoPro footage.

Thoughts?

 

[Etorix]

Do I need an HBA card if my motherboard supports 8xSATA?

No.

Thoughts?

Xeon W-1000 or Core CPUs do not support RDIMM, you need ECC UDIMM.
Other than that either list is fine, though the Alder Lake option may not yet have full scheduler support for the hybrid architecture.
Have you considered C256 + Xeon E-2300?
Have you considered second-hand motherboard and CPU? That would be a better value.

 

[fischju]

I am on the lookout for used kits, but with these only being a generation old it seems difficult.

Do people have a preferred retailer? I can only find the E-2378G on Newegg and it's a pretty big price jump compared to the W-1370P even though the specs are very similar. Is there generally a reason to choose the server parts over workstation parts of the same Xeon generation, besides lower TDP?

Good check on the UDIMM, I didn't catch that.

 

[Etorix]

Indeed, refurbished kit could be C246+E-2100/2200 or C236+E3v5/6. Or Xeon-D or Xeon E5—these would require a GPU, but take RDIMM.

No particular reason to take server parts over workstation parts, but I didn't expect the price differential to be against the server CPU.

 

[Davvo]

Do I need an HBA card if my motherboard supports 8xSATA?

For future readers: you need to if you virtualize TN (not the OP's case).

Do people have a preferred retailer?

Look at (iirc) The Art of Server on eBay.
Server-grade is generally more reliable or has more suitable features.

 

[fischju]

For future readers: you need to if you virtualize TN (not the OP's case).


Look at (iirc) The Art of Server on eBay.
Server-grade is generally more reliable or has more suitable features.

Good to know about the virtualization piece, but I will be running it on the metal.

I'm going to check out more ebay stuff to find deals, but it's hard with how unintuitive the Xeon naming scheme is. I may just buy components outright (and potentially used) for the experience of building my own server rather than try to get a whole unit.

Thanks for the advice, one more thing, would you do Z2 or Z3 in my configuration of 8x18tb disks?

 

[Davvo]

but it's hard with how unintuitive the Xeon naming scheme is.

Understanbly so, luckily there are a few users that master Intel's naming scheme on this forum, and a few topics as well.

Thanks for the advice, one more thing, would you do Z2 or Z3 in my configuration of 8x18tb disks?

With 18TB disks I would suggest Z3, but it's up to you; Z1 would be reckless, Z2 is the bare minimum.
Make the choice based on how critical the data you will store is and if you have other backups.