Another Connectx-3 (IBM branded) Deal - $87.70

[Gnodu]

Only have a second but wanted to share this:

$87.70 shipped
Lenovo 00W0053 MLNX ConnectX-3 EN 2PT SFP+ 10GbE Adapter Server ZZ | eBay

Brand new- box was opened, but card was still sticker-sealed, and no evidence of wear on the connectors.

Just ordered a second one before posting. First one showed up very quickly. @DaddyGrant - dropped in my Qnap TVS-x82 and it fired right up, recognized, etc. (These things are PICKY!)

With the Ubiqiti switch-- only tried with with transceivers-- didn't have time last night to try any DACs- but worked immediately using Dell/Force10 transceivers.

 

[Jeff Robertson]

Looks like these are even a little cheaper if you don't mind HP cards:

HP 656089-001 IB FDR/EN 10/40GB 2P 544QSFP ADAPTER - 649281-B21 | eBay

HP just released a new firmware update for them as well, now it's inline with raw mellanox cards.

 

[Jeff Robertson]

Only have a second but wanted to share this:

$87.70 shipped
Lenovo 00W0053 MLNX ConnectX-3 EN 2PT SFP+ 10GbE Adapter Server ZZ | eBay

Brand new- box was opened, but card was still sticker-sealed, and no evidence of wear on the connectors.

Just ordered a second one before posting. First one showed up very quickly. @DaddyGrant - dropped in my Qnap TVS-x82 and it fired right up, recognized, etc. (These things are PICKY!)

With the Ubiqiti switch-- only tried with with transceivers-- didn't have time last night to try any DACs- but worked immediately using Dell/Force10 transceivers.

I have a TVS-1282 and purchased an intel x520 because it was a known quantity. If I had known a mellanox card would work I would have used that instead!

 

[DaddyGrant]

@Gnodu Thanks for the heads up. I just picked up one for my QNAP. Did you bend the bracket or just going naked to make it fit in the QNAP?

I like Mellanox cards as well. We use ConnectX-4 cards at my job for our VSphere environment and they have been rock solid.

 

[Gnodu]

Actually, mine came with both a 2u and 4u bracket-- I already have an x540 in there (on the 4u side, but will be removing after I give it a little burn-in time). I put it on the "short" (2U side, and there was just enough room for me to put a (horizontally mounted w a zip tie) spare Noctua 60mm fan in place-- as I know nothing about the heat profile of the Connectx-3 cards. Optimal? Probably not- but I figure better than nothing.

I have the TVS-1282 model as well, but only one blower as I did not buy the Thunderbolt model. (however, since I dumped the stock i3 for a slightly overpowered/over-heated at 100% i7-6700k (works fine-- it's tough to push it to 100%)-- so I am sensitive to anything that may add more heat.

I hope yours comes with both brackets as well! If it does not, I will probably be using the second one I bought in a 4U-- if they give me the 2u again, I'll be happy to send it your way if you need.

I work in analytics, not IT, but I've been told we use the C-4 versions as well-- and on the VMs that I have access to-- the links have always been very stable. My only personal experience has been with the C-2 versions in my hardware at home (mainly intel servers and a gaming PC in the bedroom on 10GBE fiber)- so I'm looking forward to playing with them when the second arrives.

 

[zhoulander]

I bought a few of these from this seller with BO. We went back and forth a few times and he knocked off a few bucks. Better than nothing! Then the PRO deal was posted and I picked up a few of those as well because homelab.

Blowing through my budget in the first month of the year. ಠ_ಠ

 

[TechTrend]

Would these Mellanox Connectx-3 adapters perform better for iSCSI traffic under VMware ESXi than Intel X520-DA2 adapters?

 

[DaddyGrant]

Would these Mellanox Connectx-3 adapters perform better for iSCSI traffic under VMware ESXi than Intel X520-DA2 adapters?

@TechTrend I believe the Connectx-3 has a few more features, lower heat, lower power consumption and solid reliability. Would it make a big difference for your home lab? That's up in the air.

 

[zhoulander]

I picked up a few of these. They are actually labelled"00W0055". Interesting issue though, they refuse to allow my E5-2670 SR0KX v1 + Intel S2600CP2J motherboard to boot. It's on BIOS 1.06.0001 due to no whitelist for PCI-E v3.

The "only" PCI-E 3 device I would really have installed would be this ConnectX-3 card, and maybe eventually an NVME drive if they drop a bit more in price.

The newer BIOS actually whitelists ConnectX-3 cards, so I'm thinking update the BIOS and see if it works... can anyone else provide input?

These cards work fine in my X99 test rig.