Can I mix and match memory in X8DTU-F ?

[joogle]

Hi - I just bought a X8DTU-F off of eBay with the two L5640 processors.

It has 12 slots, can I add like 6 slots of RAM with like PC3-10600R of 8GB and then like 6 slots with 16gb sticks?

Would that work fine?

Thanks!

 

[Patriot]

Work and work fine are different things. For your purposes it should work.
Just make the channels all equal and not asymmetric.

As in fill the blue slots with 16 and the black with 8.

That motherboard is meant for a supermicro case... it is not a standard form factor...

 

[joogle]

thanks, yeah i bought it as a bundle for $200 with it in the case, no ram or hd though
and how about 6 are 10600r and the other 6 are DDR3-8500R? thanks

 

[Patriot]

and how about 6 are 10600r and the other 6 are DDR3-8500R? thanks

Frequency alone should be fine... it will default to the lowest common denominator and might already reduce frequency for using more than 1 dimm per channel.

I have not had much history with mixing rank though... This reference seems to suggest that you can:
http://www.dell.com/downloads/globa...ver-pedge-installing-upgrading-memory-11g.pdf

That said... Not all motherboards are as forgiving and not all memory likes to play nice with others.
I have found some micron that would not mix with any other dimms but its own... despite identical rank and frequency.

What can you normally do.... Mix rank, mix frequency, mix capacity.

What you cannot do... Mix unbuffered ECC and Registered/ buffered ECC (ddr3 and forward)

If you use mixed rank... stick the quad ranked stick in the lower number/letter slot. Aka farthest from cpu and populate every other.
If it doesn't boot. Try with just the PC3-1333R and set it to PC3-1066R if that works add the PC3-1066R dimms back.

Mixing ram can work but it is not guaranteed to work.

 

[joogle]

Thanks for the info, I just hope this machine is quiet - i understand initial boot up is loud but hope it quiets down.

 

[chinesestunna]

Thanks for the info, I just hope this machine is quiet - i understand initial boot up is loud but hope it quiets down.

Check out the SuperMicro manual for that board, all manuals I've looked at has directions on how to populate the board based on CPUs installed and if mixing rank/size is needed. They're very detailed, following those guides should reduce potential for issues

 

[Patriot]

Thanks for the info, I just hope this machine is quiet - i understand initial boot up is loud but hope it quiets down.

If it is a 1u chassis....it will always be loud.

 

[joogle]

It is a 1u chasis - i think i read about an option in the Bios to enable the quiet setting or something.

i did read the manual about memory installation but was confused about the rank/etc. stuff - i've dealt with desktops but not server hardware before.

 

[chinesestunna]

It is a 1u chasis - i think i read about an option in the Bios to enable the quiet setting or something.

i did read the manual about memory installation but was confused about the rank/etc. stuff - i've dealt with desktops but not server hardware before.

Quiet is relative here, quiet for 1U/data center is very different than home use. If you're concerned about memory mixing, why not sell some and buy identical modules?

 

[joogle]

well this is for home use and most likely somewhere underneath a table.

this is the one i bought

Supermicro 1U Dual L5640 | eBay

 

[chinesestunna]

well this is for home use and most likely somewhere underneath a table.

this is the one i bought

Supermicro 1U Dual L5640 | eBay

Yea I know that chassis, my buddy has a few and I don't want them anywhere besides basement. One problem is 1U fans are high rpm and small size to push the air and generate a shrieking noise vs. Humming. That's super annoying yo live with IMO

 

[joogle]

hmm... ok that maybe a problem then ... how is the R610 in comparison?

The price was good on this unit, got it for $200 shipped but i don't have ethernet in the garage, otherwise would have kept it there.

 

[chinesestunna]

hmm... ok that maybe a problem then ... how is the R610 in comparison?

The price was good on this unit, got it for $200 shipped but i don't have ethernet in the garage, otherwise would have kept it there.

Any 1U will be loud like @Patriot said, they are optimized for space and not noise since they're meant for DCs.
I know these are cheap but avoided for precisely that reason. I ended up paying about $200 for just a board and chips but I will mount them in tower case and use low noise cooling

 

[joogle]

Hmm.. im wondering if i should cancel the auction there is delay in shipping so he asked me if i would like a refund.

i just thought price is real good for two L5640 processors, with a motheboard, case, and power supplies.

 

[chinesestunna]

Hmm.. im wondering if i should cancel the auction there is delay in shipping so he asked me if i would like a refund.

i just thought price is real good for two L5640 processors, with a motheboard, case, and power supplies.

Oh definitely, chips alone is about $130 on eBay for the pair. Question is can you live with the noise, under table also can reflect and focus noise in undesirable ways.
Good news is that board looks like EATX with bottom left cut out so you might be able to mount it into another chassis, but then again not using the case+PSU makes it not a hot deal anymore and you're better off just buying separate
What are you planning to use this for?

 

[joogle]

I plan on using this for an Apps learning enviornment, those apps require a lot of RAM, hence i know these CPUS are low power, thought this may work well. I wish I could place it in the garage but don't have ethernet wired.

Yeah your right if I can't use the Case plus PSU then probably not worth it.

 

[chinesestunna]

I plan on using this for an Apps learning enviornment, those apps require a lot of RAM, hence i know these CPUS are low power, thought this may work well. I wish I could place it in the garage but don't have ethernet wired.

Yeah your right if I can't use the Case plus PSU then probably not worth it.

I would say if this is a temporary install for a few months to learn/test then whatever, you can sell it later. If you plan to transition and do other stuff with it I'd go with something else. 1U boxes also lack expansion options.
In my case I went with tower since it's an ESXi lab + NAS box

 

[joogle]

That's the thing, I may use it for something else later, like running ESXi for multiple OS, so am wondering what to do, only area where i have hard wired network coming is upstairs into the office.

Would a DL380 G6 server be much more quiet? I may just request to cancel this auction and then focus on that model.

thanks

 

[chinesestunna]

That's the thing, I may use it for something else later, like running ESXi for multiple OS, so am wondering what to do, only area where i have hard wired network coming is upstairs into the office.

Would a DL380 G6 server be much more quiet? I may just request to cancel this auction and then focus on that model.

thanks

Not sure about that model, but probably more quiet than 1U. Again, most rackmounts are about density and noise isn't part of design.

 

[joogle]

I think I may just keep this machine because the heatsinks also cost money it seems for these processors, it would easily be $150 if I bought two L5640s with heatsinks i think.

he mentioned hot swap hard drive bays - i hope he includes them.