Supermicro 1U E5 Mining Servers $500

[MiniKnight]

Ok hear me out. V1 and V2 chips are cheap esp if you get like e5-2603 v1's. A stick of ddr3 per CPU is cheap. They're new open box servers for $500 + maybe $50-75 in parts to finish them off. You can get V2's and CPU mine with them too.

New 1U Supermicro SYS-1027GR-TRF Server Dual LGA2011 X9DRG-HF Rails Heatsinks | eBay

You can put 3 GPUs in each too. Here's the spec page Supermicro | Products | SuperServers | 1U | 1027GR-TRF

They're gonna be screamers, but if your gonna mine with GPUs in a DC that's a hellova deal. They've even got Platinum PSUs that are 1800w redundant.

That's not too far off from cobbling a system together and you can build 3 GPUs at a time with IPMI

 

[aij]

I saw those the other day and was intrigued. They're pricey for CPU mining. They seem pricey for GPU mining. (Though maybe not for rack-based GPU mining? I haven't really looked into it much.)

It could be a good deal if you want both CPU and GPU power though. I'm not even sure what to compare to in that space.

From the spec sheet:

Note: Different GPU/Xeon Phi cards require special brackets, for more information please refer to the user's manual​

Not sure how much of a problem that is in practice, but that's where I stopped looking.

 

[Patrick]

@MiniKnight nice find. @aij the other benefit of these is that most data centers will look at these systems and say OK. I have seen mining rigs turned down or DC's pricing colocation space for open air miners so high as to make them non-competitive.

Also, a 1.2kW Platinum PSU is usually around half the cost of that system itself.

The bigger negative is that you only get 3 GPUs per system.

 

[marcoi]

can you fit none standard video cards in it? or do they need to be blower models. plus what about extra power hookups for each video card?

 

[Bradford]

Unless I am missing something, you can only fit single width GPUs in there (which is what I expected for it being 1u)

 

[Patrick]

Unless I am missing something, you can only fit single width GPUs in there (which is what I expected for it being 1u)

These are made for dual width.

 

[Bradford]

These are made for dual width.

You're right! If I squint hard enough at the SuperMicro pics (WTH don't they have larger images?) I can see. Very cool! Tempting... I still need to get my C7000 and blades going before I buy any more HW

 

[Marsh]

Check this out, I am thinking buying one.

source: The lukMiner blog

you can get a 4-node 7210 Xeon Phi system from Asrock Rack for order $3k (full system, with four CPUs!)

Asrock Rack has run some experiments of their own on these systems, and confirm 2800H/s per 7210 CPU, and 3kH per 7250 CPU on those system. Ie. roughly 11kH/s for order $3k (in the 4×7210 system)

 

[Joel]

@MiniKnight, that's an interesting option. So to compare to the 4u boxes I've built:

Rosewill RSV-L4500 - $110
Spotswood GPU kit - $70
X9SRL - $200
Supermicro 1200w PSU: $230
Risers - $60
Upgraded fans - $60
2603 & heatsink, 1x 4gb memory - $40

$770 + GPUs, to light 7 GPUs instead of 3 @ ~$500.

Pros of self build:
- Cheaper per gpu socket
- GPUs would likely run cooler
- blower style GPU not necessary
- Quieter if not in datacenter
- Easier to meet power target

Pros of 1u:
- More robust (no Chinese risers)
- Density! 12 GPUs per 4u instead of 7.
The main constraint then becomes getting enough power to your racks in a datacenter, as a full rack of these could easily hit 30KW depending on GPU used, vs. 12-15kKW using 4u rigs.

 

[Jeggs101]

@Joel are you using the -F version for remote reboot? That's another plus on the 1U. Are you really powering 7x high-end cards like 1080 Ti's using a 300w PL with a 1200W PSU? A 1200w PSU leaves under 170w for each GPU anyway right?

@Marsh other than mining worthless hardware since that architecture is going away. That means they're selling those phi's for under $750 each. Closeout pricing.

 

[Joel]

@Joel are you using the -F version for remote reboot? That's another plus on the 1U. Are you really powering 7x high-end cards like 1080 Ti's using a 300w PL with a 1200W PSU? A 1200w PSU leaves under 170w for each GPU anyway right?

@Marsh other than mining worthless hardware since that architecture is going away. That means they're selling those phi's for under $750 each. Closeout pricing.

Mine are -Fs with the IPMI goodness.

Most of my GPUs are a mix of 1060s and 960s with a lone 980. The 9xx gpus are barely above breakeven right now. GPU prices were already going nuts when I started this crypto (funny?) business.

I have been playing with nvidia-smi and my trusty killawatt to keep everything within the PSU limit. I actually use a 2680v2 in mine, and with everything at full tilt pulls ~1250w. Doesn't take much reduction to get w@wall down to 1100 where I'm happier, and h/w is better.

Edit: Deets of my setup with pron can be found here:

https://forums.servethehome.com/ind...ot-it-today-new-pics.15930/page-3#post-179228

 

[maze]

Pros of 1u:
- More robust (no Chinese risers)
- Density! 12 GPUs per 4u instead of 7.
The main constraint then becomes getting enough power to your racks in a datacenter, as a full rack of these could easily hit 30KW depending on GPU used, vs. 12-15kKW using 4u rigs.

If your not against shipping your stuff to say iceland.. 30kw isnt a problem.. those guys run some seriously tight density. Try contactibg the old thordc upthere.. back when I was checking in ‘14 or so, 30 was a breeze

 

[Joel]

If your not against shipping your stuff to say iceland.. 30kw isnt a problem.. those guys run some seriously tight density. Try contactibg the old thordc upthere.. back when I was checking in ‘14 or so, 30 was a breeze

I'm sure. I've seen the Genesis operation on Youtube...