Loaded Dell R730 - 2 x E5-2643 v3, 128GB, iDRAC8 Enterprise, etc.

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Terry Kennedy

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I think this is a good deal, but my current "modern" servers are Dell R710 X5680-based units, so I may be off base...

I negotiated an eBay seller down to $1853.60 for:

Dell R730 2.5" 8-bay chassis w/ dual 750W PSU
2 x E5-2643 v3
128GB DDR4-2133 RAM (8 x 16GB)
PERC H730 (SAS 3108)
Dual X540 10GbE + dual I350 GigE mezzanine
DVD-ROM
iDRAC 8 Enterprise perpetual license
No drives or filler plates

The listing they created for me was for 10, and I only needed 1. The eBay listing is Dell R730 12-Core Server 2x E5-2643 v3 3.4GHz 128GB-16 H730 2.5in RPS CL | eBay and appears to be "non-published" (it doesn't show up in searches).

I'd be interested in knowing if this is a good (or great) deal, and if anyone wants some of the other 9, feel free to use the above link (I don't get any "cut" or other benefit if you do).

Also, what's the difference between the E5-2643 v3 and the V4? Aside from supporting faster RAM, I don't see what all the fuss is about? But like I said, my idea of "modern" is the X5680, so I haven't been keeping up...

[Note - any clickable links in the above other than the listing ID are auto-inserted advertising links and not mine.]
 

BLinux

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T_Minus

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Def. not a deal based on the systems I just built with SM chassis, more power, with SSD, etc.
If you like Dell and\or need that exact setup and don't want to piece it together it's probably an alright deal, esp with warranty.
 

Terry Kennedy

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Nice picture of a fully-loaded system to go with their "Barebone" listing. :confused:

That listing has no power supplies, so add $160 for 2 of the 750W supplies from the same seller (from the "click here" on that listing).
I don't know if the misc stuff would add up to $300? They do offer 3-yr warranty...
The iDRAC Enterprise license is about $35, so we're now at $105 savings by buying all of the pieces and putting it together myself. If my R710s are any indication of the way Dell is going, putting anything into a system (including replacing a memory stick with the exact same model) triggers a "Hey, bud - you got a license to do this?" message from the Lifecycle Controller. On the R710 you can say "Get lost", but I expect they start enforcing this more in the newer systems, particularly as things like iDRAC Enterprise are now license keys and not physical components. Plus, as you mention, the pre-assembled system has a 3-year warranty. I'm adding some SAS 12Gb/S SSDs I already have (Dell-certified Toshiba PX05SVB048Y), rails and a bezel. I don't expect the rails or bezel to fail, and have high hopes for the SSDs, so I won't have to worry about failures until 2022. :D

The seller I bought from started at $1908 for the system w/ 32GB of memory, no DVD-ROM or iDRAC Enterprise, and a lower-value Broadcom Ethernet mezzanine card (listing 202734011968, now ended). So it seemed like a good deal to get all of those upgrades and end up paying less.
 

Terry Kennedy

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Def. not a deal based on the systems I just built with SM chassis, more power, with SSD, etc.
It depends where you're starting from. Barring the occasional close-out / overstock of new SM chassis, we're looking at used ones. If the 2RU ones are anything like the 3RU SC836, the market is flooded with rail-less older ones that don't come with things the new ones do, like the rear bay and air shroud.
If you like Dell and\or need that exact setup and don't want to piece it together it's probably an alright deal, esp with warranty.
As you know, I do builds from scratch like my RAIDzillas. But for general-purpose stuff I like Dells due to the level of integration (7 PCIe slots + dedicated RAID controller slot) in a 2RU chassis, the different Ethernet mezzanine cards, etc. HP is completely out of consideration due to their annoying [lack of] support options for used equipment, unless sold as "HP Recertified" at insane pricing, and there isn't enough variety of Lenovo models and not many of the existing models in the used/surplus channel.
 

T_Minus

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It depends where you're starting from. Barring the occasional close-out / overstock of new SM chassis, we're looking at used ones. If the 2RU ones are anything like the 3RU SC836, the market is flooded with rail-less older ones that don't come with things the new ones do, like the rear bay and air shroud.

As you know, I do builds from scratch like my RAIDzillas. But for general-purpose stuff I like Dells due to the level of integration (7 PCIe slots + dedicated RAID controller slot) in a 2RU chassis, the different Ethernet mezzanine cards, etc. HP is completely out of consideration due to their annoying [lack of] support options for used equipment, unless sold as "HP Recertified" at insane pricing, and there isn't enough variety of Lenovo models and not many of the existing models in the used/surplus channel.
Come on man... you asked for opinions I gave you one. You can argue all you want if you are trying to justify your purchase and make yourself feel better. It's not a Great Deal unless you want that exact system and don't want to piece together the RAM, CPU and any other accessory you got.


My shared opinion is based on BIN prices on ebay now NOT deals I've gotten, if you want to go there I can walk all over your system with a much better one for much less but I thought that wasn't fair apples to apples. My price comparison includes things such as cables, racks, etc. for a 100% ready to go system.

The supermicro I'm talking about is NOT built from scratch it's a SuperServer where you add RAM, CPU, Drives and go, it's not a bare bones 846 or 216 where you need to check backplanes, standoffs, add motherboards, etc...

As long as you're happy that's all that matters. I'm not going to hold your hand though and tell you that you got a screaming deal.
 
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Terry Kennedy

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meh, better deals are avialable around these prices.


View attachment 11675
Argh - my browser crashed and I lost what I was typing (anybody know where "Draft saved" stuff goes here?).

That's an interesting tool I wasn't aware of, thanks for posting it!

I can't use the 730xd chassis, only the regular 730. I also need maximum single-core performance, not loads of cores. After weeding out the undesirable chassis / CPUs from your list, the first one of interest is the 12th, but it has fake RAID, doesn't support SAS drives, and has no DVD or remote management. It is also from the same seller I bought from.

When I run the same search with narrower selections, I get:



Interestingly, all of the highlighted items are from the same seller I bought from.

Based on that, I think I got a good deal (perhaps not great) for a Dell server in the configuration I needed. If I were building a system from scratch myself, I could probably have saved money the way Slimer suggests.

Edited for spelling at 4AM - content unchanged
 
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Terry Kennedy

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The supermicro I'm talking about is NOT built from scratch it's a SuperServer where you add RAM, CPU, Drives and go, it's not a bare bones 846 or 216 where you need to check backplanes, standoffs, add motherboards, etc...

As long as you're happy that's all that matters. I'm not going to hold your hand though and tell you that you got a screaming deal.
Ok, I'll bite. As I mentioned in my first post, I haven't kept up with newer systems, either pre-built Dells or DIY boxes.

If you were configuring a system to my stated needs, where would you start? I assume that you have a specific Supermicro model or models in mind - you can just tell me which and I'll do the research, I don't need you to actually go and search eBay for each item, build me a spreadsheet, etc.

Not trying to be snarky, just trying to learn - after all, I'll likely be upgrading more R710s in the future and if I can do it for less than the Dell I picked out, I'd like to find out about it. Thanks!
 
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marcoi

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I recently got a dell r730. I like the dell servers. The seller still has the link up for sale.
I paid under 2200 with shipping for it. I also had them make a custom link with the e5-2680v3 CPU. At the time of purchase the memory alone (256GB) was like 1600ish, so with the CPU, 10G nic, Enterprise license and raid card, etc. I was happy enough.
Only gotcha was it was a dell OEMR so it had a branding on it, but all the dell bios updates worked without issue. The vendor did offer to send me a replacement with dell bios but i decided i was ok with the unit.

Dell PowerEdge R730XD OEM 24 SFF (2)E5-2680V3 12-C 2.50Ghz 256GB H730 (2)10G + ( | eBay
 

T_Minus

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Ok, I'll bite. As I mentioned in my first post, I haven't kept up with newer systems, either pre-built Dells or DIY boxes.

If you were configuring a system to my stated needs, where would you start? I assume that you have a specific Supermicro model or models in mind - you can just tell me which and I'll do the research, I don't need you to actually go and search eBay for each item, build me a spreadsheet, etc.

Not trying to be snarky, just trying to learn - after all, I'll likely be upgrading more R710s in the future and if I can do it for less than the Dell I picked out, I'd like to find out about it. Thanks!
SuperMicro E5 V3\4 servers have come down in price in the last 6 months as has all E5 v3 hardware in general, however CPU prices have stabilized and slightly increased already :( Still can get some great deals via BO, but for example I got a dozen CPUs for ~$300 and this week the cheapest I found them for was $399. I've also been watching 1080 TI FE drop to $400 BIN with no BO to $550 which they've been at for a few months, prior $550-650 was the norm. Prices are jumping around but there's a lot of great BIN deals if you check daily. RAM Prices are the same.. $40 to $85 for 32GB RDIMM, $150 to $250 for 64GB RDIMM.

You can get 2-Node, 4-Node and standard 2U chassis for $999 or less depending on what you're going after.

Part #s change by 1 or 2 numbers or a + drastically change the features the chassis may have such as NVME, GPU space, etc... When I hope on ebay later tonight I'll send you some examples.
 
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Terry Kennedy

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You can get 2-Node, 4-Node and standard 2U chassis for $999 or less depending on what you're going after.

Part #s change by 1 or 2 numbers or a + drastically change the features the chassis may have such as NVME, GPU space, etc... When I hop on ebay later tonight I'll send you some examples.
Thanks! I don't need any NVMe, GPU, etc. - just 8 or 16 2.5" bays with 12Gb SAS behind a LSI RAID HBA (no expander), internal DVD-ROM, and 2 PCIe x16 FH/FL slots (assuming there's 2 x 10GbE on the mainboard or mezzanine, otherwise another FH/HL slot for an X540-T2 or similar).