New Unraid server inputs

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

pedda pedal

Member
Nov 14, 2015
38
0
6
Hi guys, i'm getting ready to switch out my old server for a new one and i would like some input.
The root os will most likely be Unraid for nas purposes and some linux/windows vms, these vms are not gonna do any heavy task duties only some databases, clouds etc.

X11SCH-F | Motherboards | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc.
Intel® Xeon® E-2236 Processor (12M Cache, 3.40 GHz) Product Specifications
Along with 32gb udimm ecc memory

Will this handle unraid along with the VMs no problem?
This socket has a maximun of 8 cores which for future upgrading isn't too good.

How about AMD? Ryzen 5 gen 3 are about the same pricepoint but i haven't run AMD for 15 years but i've read good things. The AM4 socket also has higher core cpus going up to 12 cores for future upgrading along with the option for built in 10gbe and pcie4. unfortunetly it seems that Supermicro doesn't have any AM4 motherboards and i like Supermicro.

Then theres the 3647 /SP4 options but that is way beyond my current needs.

So , whats your thoughts? Are there other options?
 

Spartacus

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2019
788
328
63
Austin, TX
Either work, I recommend the Xeon for the ECC and IPMI personally, either CPU should be able to handle average VM workload fine.
Passmark for the 2236 chip would calc about 15k (the top end version being about 20k).
On the ryzen 5 side the passmarks max at about 21k (but have better expand options for the ryzen 7 as well as future generations without a new board).

Frankly though the X10 is alot cheaper, still is DDR4 ram, and could get you better cost/performance ratio IMO, not sure how important power usage is to you though.
 

pedda pedal

Member
Nov 14, 2015
38
0
6
Either work, I recommend the Xeon for the ECC and IPMI personally, either CPU should be able to handle average VM workload fine.
Passmark for the 2236 chip would calc about 15k (the top end version being about 20k).
On the ryzen 5 side the passmarks max at about 21k (but have better expand options for the ryzen 7 as well as future generations without a new board).

Frankly though the X10 is alot cheaper, still is DDR4 ram, and could get you better cost/performance ratio IMO, not sure how important power usage is to you though.
Yes i also like intel however i would get fewer pcie lanes, no pcie4 and no 10gbe, so the amd option is better future proof i suppose. From what iv'e read ryzen also suppports ecc no?

But complimenting the intel build with a x550 nic shouldn't be too expensive either.

I suppose i can use the motherboard vga allthough the cpu is a non G version right?
 

Spartacus

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2019
788
328
63
Austin, TX
But complimenting the intel build with a x550 nic shouldn't be too expensive either.

I suppose i can use the motherboard vga allthough the cpu is a non G version right?
The Xeon supports true L/RDIMM giving you a higher maximum ram compared to the UDIMM (though with only a few VMs its not a huge concern).
I use a cheap dual port mellanox connect-x3 card for my 10g SFP+.

Why do you need motherboard vga when you have IPMI? (CPU version has no effect on that)
 

zer0sum

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2013
849
473
63
Is PCIE4 really a compelling reason to spend so much money?
I'd rather spend my money on memory and NVME drives, as I rarely find my vm's constrained by CPU.
But everyone has different workloads of course :)

As @Spartacus said a Mellanox CX3 will run 10/40/56GbE and they only cost $25 or so.

I'm still on the X9 series Supermicro boards for my Unraid and Hypervisors because I'm addicted to ram and low prices :)

You should maybe consider the X9 for Xeon v1/v2 with DDR3, or the X10 for Xeon v3/v4 with DDR4.

My current favorite "bargain" components are as follows:

Silverstone CS380 mid tower case (8 x 3.5" hot swap, 2 x 5.25" bays) - $159
ATX power supply of your choice

SuperMicro X9SRL-F ATX motherboard (7 x PCIE slots with bifurcation, 2 x LAN, IPMI) - $180
Intel Xeon E5-2695v2, 2.4/3.2ghz, 30M cache, 12/24 cores/threads - $130
Intel Xeon E5-2667v2, 3.3/4ghz, 25M cache, 8/16cores/threads - $130

Hynix 32G DDR3 ECC PC3-10600R ram - $25/each

Mellanox ConnectX-3 10/40/56GbE dual port NIC (flashed HP649281-B21) - $25
40G QSFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Cable for 10/40/56G point to point - $23
10GBASE-SR SFP+ 850nm 300m DOM Transceiver Module - $18
Mellanox MAM1Q00A-QSA-SP Cable Adapter Ethernet 40Gbs to 10Gbs QSFP to SFP+ - $25

NVME enterprise SSD controllers and drives:
Funtin PCIe NVMe SSD Adapter, U.2 (SFF-8639) for 2.5" NVMe SSD - $40
SuperMicro AOC-SLG3-4E4T, quad-Port Oculink NVMe HBA - $140
Samsung PM983 2.5" 3.84TB NVME SSD U2 ~$400
Samsung PM963 2.5" 960GB NVME SSD U2 ~$100

NVME consumer SSD controllers and drives:
ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 Card with 4 x NVME slots - $55
Intel 660P M2.2280 NVME 1TB (slower drive but cheap) - $80
HP EX920 M2.2280 NVME 1TB - $110

SSD SATA controllers and drives:
IBM M1215 SAS/SATA 12G HBA, breakout cables to 8 x SATA ports (flashed to LSI SAS3008 IT mode firmware) - $80
Mini SAS SFF-8643 to 4 x SATA forward breakout cable - - $28
Samsung PM863 2.5" 3.84TB SATA SSD ~$300
Sandisk cloudspeed ECO 2.5" 1.92TB SATA SSD < $150
Micron M500/M600 2.5" 960GB SATA SSD < $80

Switches
Juniper EX2300C
MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN, 1 x POE/LAN, 4 x SFP+ ports - $130
MikroTik CRS309-1G-8S+IN, 1 x POE/LAN, 8 x SFP+ ports - $240
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: itronin

BoredSysadmin

Not affiliated with Maxell
Mar 2, 2019
1,050
437
83
I like @zer0sum suggestions, the only thing I'd change is on switch side and go with forum famous Brocade switch , like icx6610, is more powerful, but also noisier.
 

pedda pedal

Member
Nov 14, 2015
38
0
6
The Xeon supports true L/RDIMM giving you a higher maximum ram compared to the UDIMM (though with only a few VMs its not a huge concern).
I use a cheap dual port mellanox connect-x3 card for my 10g SFP+.

Why do you need motherboard vga when you have IPMI? (CPU version has no effect on that)
Yes ofcourse i will use ipmi i just thought maybe the motherboard needs some sort of possible video output to be able to boot at all, as is the case with other sockets.

Why does the 2100-2200 cpus have a G option at all? Since if it will be for a server it will use a server mb with vga out/ipmi and if it will sit in a desktop setup it will most likely be accompanied with a pci graphics card.
 

pedda pedal

Member
Nov 14, 2015
38
0
6
Is PCIE4 really a compelling reason to spend so much money?
I'd rather spend my money on memory and NVME drives, as I rarely find my vm's constrained by CPU.
But everyone has different workloads of course :)

As @Spartacus said a Mellanox CX3 will run 10/40/56GbE and they only cost $25 or so.

I'm still on the X9 series Supermicro boards for my Unraid and Hypervisors because I'm addicted to ram and low prices :)

You should maybe consider the X9 for Xeon v1/v2 with DDR3, or the X10 for Xeon v3/v4 with DDR4.

My current favorite "bargain" components are as follows:

Silverstone CS380 mid tower case (8 x 3.5" hot swap, 2 x 5.25" bays) - $159
ATX power supply of your choice

SuperMicro X9SRL-F ATX motherboard (7 x PCIE slots with bifurcation, 2 x LAN, IPMI) - $180
Intel Xeon E5-2695v2, 2.4/3.2ghz, 30M cache, 12/24 cores/threads - $130
Intel Xeon E5-2667v2, 3.3/4ghz, 25M cache, 8/16cores/threads - $130

Hynix 32G DDR3 ECC PC3-10600R ram - $25/each

Mellanox ConnectX-3 10/40/56GbE dual port NIC (flashed HP649281-B21) - $25
40G QSFP+ Passive Direct Attach Copper Cable for 10/40/56G point to point - $23
10GBASE-SR SFP+ 850nm 300m DOM Transceiver Module - $18
Mellanox MAM1Q00A-QSA-SP Cable Adapter Ethernet 40Gbs to 10Gbs QSFP to SFP+ - $25

NVME enterprise SSD controllers and drives:
Funtin PCIe NVMe SSD Adapter, U.2 (SFF-8639) for 2.5" NVMe SSD - $40
SuperMicro AOC-SLG3-4E4T, quad-Port Oculink NVMe HBA - $140
Samsung PM983 2.5" 3.84TB NVME SSD U2 ~$400
Samsung PM963 2.5" 960GB NVME SSD U2 ~$100

NVME consumer SSD controllers and drives:
ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 Card with 4 x NVME slots - $55
Intel 660P M2.2280 NVME 1TB (slower drive but cheap) - $80
HP EX920 M2.2280 NVME 1TB - $110

SSD SATA controllers and drives:
IBM M1215 SAS/SATA 12G HBA, breakout cables to 8 x SATA ports (flashed to LSI SAS3008 IT mode firmware) - $80
Mini SAS SFF-8643 to 4 x SATA forward breakout cable - - $28
Samsung PM863 2.5" 3.84TB SATA SSD ~$300
Sandisk cloudspeed ECO 2.5" 1.92TB SATA SSD < $150
Micron M500/M600 2.5" 960GB SATA SSD < $80

Switches
Juniper EX2300C
MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN, 1 x POE/LAN, 4 x SFP+ ports - $130
MikroTik CRS309-1G-8S+IN, 1 x POE/LAN, 8 x SFP+ ports - $240
Well the pcix4 would be for futureproofing, not that i need it now.

I'm actually upgrading from the supermicro x9 srl-f that has a 1650v3 cpu, i'm very happy with it but i've had it for years and since i'm switching software platform i thought i'd just upgrade everything hardware wise aswell and go lower tdp also.