Xeon D-1541 MoBo w/SFP+ & HBA?

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IamSpartacus

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From what I see there are no Xeon D-1541 boards with both onboard SFP+ ports and LSI HBA. So just in case I'm missing something, can others confirm that my only option for getting both those features on 1541 board is to go with the Gigabyte MB10-DS3 + an HBA AOC?
 

IamSpartacus

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I actually have the D-1537 board already but I'm looking for better single thread performance out of the CPU.


Only one I am aware of is the asrock Marx board ASRock Rack > D1541D4U-2O8R
Nice find! Yea that would work I'd just have to add on a Dual port 1Gb NIC.

EDIT: Unfortunately I can't find this in stock anywhere. Anyone got a link?

The other problem is the LSI3008 only supports up to 8 drives without an expander unlike the LSI2116 on my SM board. I currently have 12 drives hooked up to that control and could see myself using all 16 at some point.

Man I wish SM made a D-1541 board with that controller.
 
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Patrick

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I think they are now like $1200+ for that board which is why they are not in stock many places.

If you get super stuck I can see if I can find one for you. Shoot me an e-mail at patrick@ sth if you want me to ask through other channels.
 

IamSpartacus

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I think they are now like $1200+ for that board which is why they are not in stock many places.

If you get super stuck I can see if I can find one for you. Shoot me an e-mail at patrick@ sth if you want me to ask through other channels.
Thanks @Patrick. I don't even see them listed for sale on any sites let alone in/out of stock.
 

IamSpartacus

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I think they are now like $1200+ for that board which is why they are not in stock many places.

If you get super stuck I can see if I can find one for you. Shoot me an e-mail at patrick@ sth if you want me to ask through other channels.
@Patrick Any chance you have an avenue for this board (can't find it anywhere)? Also, do you happen to have any insight as to why ASRock decided not to include dual 1Gb NICs on this board? There is clearly room for them.
 

Mark Bradley

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@IamSpartacus - Where'd you find that on the NewEgg pages? All I see is the variant with the RJ-45 but lacking the SFP+ ports.

Also, I'd be *really* interested to hear your thoughts. I've got a dual Supermicro L5640 system that's decent but has some flaws (i.e. a broken SR-IOV chipset).

I know this board was reviewed by Patrick but does anyone have concern about ASRock for enterprise-grade boards? I don't want to come across as a Supermicro snob or anything but that's all I really know.
 

Patrick

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@Mark Bradley one other option you may want to look at is a single E5-2600 V3/ V4 board. You can get something that is lower actual power draw to what you have now and faster than either the current setup or a Xeon D.

We do have a D-1541 ASRock Rack in DemoEval and it has been hammered by folks weekly for the past 6+ months. Very good feedback on this (and the other manufacturers' Xeon D platforms.)
 

Mark Bradley

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Thanks, @Patrick, for the comments about the ASRock. That's great to know and nice to hear the feedback.

Any suggestions on a E5-26oo V3/V4 board? There seems to be a wide swath of E5-2600 V3/V4 boards out there. Well, I guess it gets more narrow when I want onboard SFP+ and LSI xxxx. I've got the card but wanted to streamline... I don't need dual processors but I don't want to take a step down in computing power from 2x L5640.

Is there a comparison of systems? Something similar to the runs you did in the Intel Xeon D-1541 or Xeon E5-2630L V3 What wins? thread.
 

Evan

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@Mark Bradley one other option you may want to look at is a single E5-2600 V3/ V4 board. You can get something that is lower actual power draw to what you have now and faster than either the current setup or a Xeon D.
Curious what E5 config will consume less power than Xeon-D or am I miss understanding and you mean less power than the L56xx dual setup being talked about ?
 

jgreco

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Curious what E5 config will consume less power than Xeon-D or am I miss understanding and you mean less power than the L56xx dual setup being talked about ?
Pretty sure that'd be the dual setup under discussion. A Xeon D-1537 X10SDV-7TP4F seems to run around 37 watts idle (two RDIMM's and a platinum PSU) and an E5-1620v4 on an X10SRL-F with two RDIMM's and a Seasonic G-650 PSU on the bench here is idling right around 38 watts as well, though that latter is part of an assembled system that has some fans running, and lacks an onboard 10G and HBA, so the comparison isn't totally fair, and obviously the Xeon D is actually winning that once you adjust for the onboard HBA.

Naturally, the 1537 will have a much more aggressive thermal limit with its 35W TDP, whereas the E5-1620v4 is a 140W part. Speed-wise, the 1537 is a 1.7-2.3GHz per core part, whereas the 1620's a 3.5-3.8GHz per core part. Overall, both end up in roughly the same territory in terms of multi-core performance, but single core performance is a massively different story. The Xeon D is a power sipper in comparison.

A dual L5640 would crush either of them, both in multi-core performance and effectiveness as a space-heater. Of course, you can move on up with the E5 platform into the 26xx's, at which point a single socket board with an E5-26* will win out, at the cost of single-core performance. The only real way to win on single-core is to go E5-16xxv4 or something like that where the core count is traded for higher clock.

I think it is fair to say that it'd be nice if the X10SDV-7TP4F had been built with a 1541 instead of a 1537, but they seem to be trying to steer towards the higher core count D-1587. However, at that price point, and with the greater TDP, and the limited board selection, it doesn't seem like there's a huge market for that.
 
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Evan

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That's actually a good idle for the E5 system , not too far off the Xeon-D.
Without the HBA onboard the Xeon-D should be idleing about 25 watts so only 10 watts more for the E5 I am pretty impressed.

E5 system may end up cheaper to build as the CPU's are easier to get.
 

IamSpartacus

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@IamSpartacus - Where'd you find that on the NewEgg pages? All I see is the variant with the RJ-45 but lacking the SFP+ ports.

Also, I'd be *really* interested to hear your thoughts. I've got a dual Supermicro L5640 system that's decent but has some flaws (i.e. a broken SR-IOV chipset).

I know this board was reviewed by Patrick but does anyone have concern about ASRock for enterprise-grade boards? I don't want to come across as a Supermicro snob or anything but that's all I really know.
Here is the board but it's already out of stock again. They probably get very little stock because it's such an expensive board.

As for SM vs. ASRock, I'll be honest this is my first ASRock Rack board. I've used plenty of ASRock's consumer boards but not their server boards so it's a bit of an unknown to me. I too love SuperMicro as my other 3 Xeon D (well currently still have 4 but will be replacing one with this new ASRock Rack board) are all SuperMicro as is my firewall. I will have to get back to you on my thoughts once I get the board installed which probably will be next Tue/Wed.


I think it is fair to say that it'd be nice if the X10SDV-7TP4F had been built with a 1541 instead of a 1537, but they seem to be trying to steer towards the higher core count D-1587. However, at that price point, and with the greater TDP, and the limited board selection, it doesn't seem like there's a huge market for that.
I agree, if the X10SDV-7TP4F had a 1541 I'd already own two of them instead of the D-1537's I own.
 

Mark Bradley

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Thanks for the Newegg link. I'll have to put a watch on that page just to see what it sells for. The evidence suggests that an E5-26xx is a good way to go, too, so that's good. Off to check some stuff out... Thanks.