What processor for a X10SL7-F mobo?

[southwow]

Thanks @Ericloewe ,

Just definitely worth nothing even though you're well into the same territory as building a new server with the cost. I know that it is certified for the asrock avoton boards as it is in their validated RAM list. Still, though, who would spend 2k on 64GB of ram for a dated platform...

 

[Ericloewe]

Yes, it works with Avoton, but not with Xeon E3 v1, v2, v3 or v4.

 

[CraigD]

I use this RAM in my X10SL7-F

I've maxed out the board with two of the CT2KIT102472BD160B kits

Have Fun

 

[Ericloewe]

Yes, the CT102472BD160B DIMMs are in wide use and correspond to one of the validated Micron parts.

 

[Dave Speed]

Thanks to all!

Parts trickled in and tonight I put things together and installed FreeNAS 11.1

Seems to be running fine. Temps around 30 deg C and the system is nice and quiet.

The next challenge is to try to migrate/recover a couple of zfs volumes. (The last box died w/o warning so my prep was, ummm, nonexistent). I'll take notes and post in the general area.

 

[Maelos]

So the X8 and X9 boards are just as good as the X10, are cheaper, and have more build options (which are also cheaper). I feel like I missed something reading all these other threads. Is there a reason NOT to go with a X8 or X9? Bad for ESXI or future proofing?

 

[Ericloewe]

X8 is rather old these days. I mean, the CPUs still work fine, but they're more power-hungry and the platform is rather limited. X9 is closer to X10, but the IPMI implementation used is older than on the X10s.

You also miss out on new CPU features that released on later processors.

 

[Chris Moore]

Is there a reason NOT to go with a X8 or X9? Bad for ESXI or future proofing?

@Ericloewe covered it pretty well. I will add that if you are looking to get into it with less cost, you can save a bit with the purchase of retired datacenter gear, however there are some new features you will not get. It depends on your circumstances, you may not mind missing out on those features because of the cost savings.
For myself, I will likely buy an X9 generation Xeon E5 board for home to save a little money vs the current X10 or X11 boards but I think the X8 generation boards are just too old for use because they consume too much power which makes for a lot more heat. I have one each of the X7 series and X8 series board that I don't use for those very reasons.
If you have the cash to afford it, you might opt for an X10 generation board. I am looking at purchasing a new server where I work and that is the revision board I am looking at because it has all the capabilities we need at a slightly lower price point and there is no real advantage for us in going to the X11 generation board.
You have to look at the features and decide what works for your purpose and fits within your price range.

 

[Maelos]

Hmm, I will have to find a reference for the X9 boards comparing them to the X10. I generally like the on board HBA controller, but in the end it will come down to cost.

 

[Chris Moore]

The next challenge is to try to migrate/recover a couple of zfs volumes.

If there was nothing wrong with the disks, it should be as simple as attaching them and importing the volume. There is even an "Import Volume" function under Storage in the GUI.

 

[joeinaz]

Hmm, I will have to find a reference for the X9 boards comparing them to the X10. I generally like the on board HBA controller, but in the end it will come down to cost.

I have an X8 (dual socket) X9, and X10. If I had to buy only one right now it would be my X9. The X8 is good if you have a solution if you have a case that can handle an E-ATX motherboard. You may also need a power supply with TWO 8 pin 12v connectors or you can cheat and use an adapter. The 4 and 6 core E5600 series CPUs are very inexpensive and so are the EEC 8GB DDR3 RDIMMs it uses. I bought two CPUs and a 24GB RAM for about $100 on eBay. My current motherboard can handle up to 192GB of RAM with 2 CPUs. The exact model is X8DTE.

My X10 board is great because it is in an ATX form factor and will fit in a normal case and has 8 on board SATA ports. It uses relatively modern CPUs. Mine is running a G3258 which I bought new last year. The big limiting factors with this board are: it requires more expensive UDIMMs if you use ECC memory and it's limited to 32GB of RAM which may limit virtualization and some storage functions on larger arrays. The exact model is X10SAE

My X9 is the best of both worlds. It has an ATX form factor, It uses inexpensive RDIMMs and it will support up to 512GB of RAM in its 8 DIMM slots. The single socket supports v1 and v2 E5-2600 series processors. My 8 core 2650 was less than $70. v3 and v4 of the 2600 CPU used in newer boards are considerably more expensive. The exact model is X9SRF.

 

[Stux]

So the X8 and X9 boards are just as good as the X10, are cheaper, and have more build options (which are also cheaper). I feel like I missed something reading all these other threads. Is there a reason NOT to go with a X8 or X9? Bad for ESXI or future proofing?

There is confusion in this thread between e3 and e5 class boards.

X9 e5 is more capable than x10 e3, but x10 e5 is more capable than X9 e5.

Comes down to ram/cpu compatibility really

The real caveat is IPMI/NVMe support etc. older boards have older BIOSes.

 

[joeinaz]

So the X8 and X9 boards are just as good as the X10, are cheaper, and have more build options (which are also cheaper). I feel like I missed something reading all these other threads. Is there a reason NOT to go with a X8 or X9? Bad for ESXI or future proofing?

There are two key factors in looking at the hardware; what you are trying to accomplish and how much do you want to spend. If money was no object I would have an X11 board with a bunch of 8TB disks and all kinds of RAM. Most people have a budget. One great thing about about FreeNAS is its ability to run on both old and new hardware. Newer motherboards offer options like m.2, 6GB/sec SATA, USB3 etc. Newer motherboards also require more expensive CPUs and memory. The idea is to build your system to meet your needs. The beauty of Supermicro is they have a board (old or new) for every purpose. The challenge is there are many ways to get there.

Start with what you want to accomplish with FreeNAS storage, how much storage you want start with, how much you want to grow in the future and how much you want to spend and then you can better nail down the hardware needed.

 

[Maelos]

X9 e5 is more capable than x10 e3, but x10 e5 is more capable than X9 e5.

The real caveat is IPMI/NVMe support etc. older boards have older BIOSes.

I am going to have to do some more research to better understand this. I want to run ESXI with FreeNAS, a webserver, and a few other VMs for learning purposes. I don't want to jack the thread so I will take this back to my post. Thanks for the info though.

 

[Dave Speed]

Well, consider where you will be in saving a few $$s.

I started with an ASRock, had it die the Intel processor death in the middle of migrating a mess of data. Got a replacement that was flaky and pulled my hair out. Finally convinced ASR it was bad and got an RMA. Bit the bullet and went for the X10SL7-F as I already had RAM to fit and a case that would support. It is not the low power solution I would have preferred, but now I have processor power to spare and see this as a good bet for trouble free operation for a long time (as I don't run it 24/7).

I am happy to report that my 3 ZFS pools (1 RAID5 equivalent of 4 drives, 1 2 drive Mirrored and 1 2 drive JBOD) were all recognized. [yes, I did have things labelled, and yes, I did bring them one at a time. Holding my breath. And, much to my amazement, IT WORKED!] I don't want to face this again soon. Getting ready to do a massive backup to my pool of sleeping SATA drives once I get the new NAS all sorted out and presentable.

 

[southwow]

Glad to see you're up and running. I may have missed something, did you sticking with the X10 board?

I'm actually stuffing mine into a supermicro case with 24 hotswap bays as I type. I ended up picking up a RES2CV360 SAS expander that can do everything I need and I think I'm actually going to be able to pull out my m1015 and use reverse breakouts for the LSI 2308 onboard to simplify things to the max. Love this board even though it only supports E3

 

[Stux]

Glad to see you're up and running. I may have missed something, did you sticking with the X10 board?

I'm actually stuffing mine into a supermicro case with 24 hotswap bays as I type. I ended up picking up a RES2CV360 SAS expander that can do everything I need and I think I'm actually going to be able to pull out my m1015 and use reverse breakouts for the LSI 2308 onboard to simplify things to the max. Love this board even though it only supports E3

I have the same expander :)

It’s sweet.

 

[Dave Speed]

Yes, I went w the X10SL7-F. Given the memory in hand, it was the most cost effective path considering that I wanted a new-from-factory board.

 

[southwow]

You wont be let down!

The only reason I was considering upgrading was the need for more memory for transcoding threads. I think I'm going to be fine!

 

[joebad1]

I built a system using the X10SL7-F motherboard a few years ago. It has been a great performer. I do remember having to disable XHCI in the BIOS, because USB 3.0 wasn't supported at the time. I'm now running 11.1-U1. Is it safe to start using USB 3.0 again?