Can't decide on RAM for X8ST3-F

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Alfa147x

Active Member
Feb 7, 2014
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CPU: Intel Xeon X5650
Motherboard: Supermicro X8ST3-F

I need to move back my sticks of 16GB Corsair DDR3 to my desktop. Looking to outfit my VMware server with ram. I don't really use my server for anything serious. I'll build a environment and then shut the server down for a few weeks till I think of something else. VMs are things like OS X running a ATI 6450 with PCIe passthrough, AWS Management Portal, CentOS (low usage), and a minecraft server.

Supermicro claims that the board doesn't support ECC memory but I was able to successfully run a pair of "HYNIX 1GB PC3-10600R REG ECC DDR3-1333 ".

I'm trying to stay just above $200 and trying to get 48GB total or more if possible since it's my performance bottleneck.

Some of my options:
  • 48GB(6X8GB) Memory DDR3 PC3-10600 ECC REG Compat to Dell A3078601 SNPX3R5MC/8G
    • $239
  • Hynix 8GB HMT31GR7BFR4C-H9 PC3-10600 DDR3 1333 Server ECC REG
    • $37 x 6 = $222
  • Corsair Vengeance 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
    • $49.99 x 6 = $299.94
  • Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 1.5V BLS8G3D1609DS1S00
    • $52.48 x 6 = $314.88
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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I would look at spending $220-250 for Hynix or Samsung 48gb in 8gb sticks on ebay.

Someone on here just sold 16 for 37.5/each... those likely would have worked fine.
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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That's because the board DOES accept ECC RAM. It says right on their site.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Motherboards | Xeon Boards | X8ST3-F

System Memory

Memory Capacity
  • Supports up to 24 GB 1333 / 1066 / 800MHz DDR3 ECC / non-ECC Un-Buffered memory
  • Three Channel memory bus
  • 6 DIMM sockets
Memory Type
  • 1333 / 1066 / 800MHz Un- Buffered ECC / non-ECC DDR3 SDRAM 72-bit, 240-pin gold-plated DIMMs
DIMM Sizes
  • 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB
Memory Voltage
  • 1.5 V
Error Detection
  • Corrects single-bit errors
  • Detects double-bit errors (using ECC memory)
  • Supports Intel® x4 and x8 Single Device Data Correction (SDDC)
 
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vanfawx

Active Member
Jan 4, 2015
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Vancouver, Canada
It's a great board. It's what I have to run my home server with a L5639. The onboard 8 port SAS 1068E is a nice to have as well.

The only gotcha I ran into is the latest version of the BIOS for the board disables AES-NI. The option is just completely stripped from the BIOS. I had to go back down to 2.0 to get it back.
 

Alfa147x

Active Member
Feb 7, 2014
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It's a great board. It's what I have to run my home server with a L5639. The onboard 8 port SAS 1068E is a nice to have as well.

The only gotcha I ran into is the latest version of the BIOS for the board disables AES-NI. The option is just completely stripped from the BIOS. I had to go back down to 2.0 to get it back.

I had to buy a cheap $20 CPU to upgrade the BIOS to support the Intel Xeon X5650. I'll need to figure out what BIOS version brought support for that CPU since it does support AES-NI. I'll also need to check to see if any of my applications can take advantage of the instruction set. I'm currently running X8ST33_B07. What version are you using?
Thanks for the heads up.

How terrible was the downgrade process? Back in my hackintoshing days I recall having trouble downgrading some motherboards. This is my first server / enterprise grade motherboard and I'm learning things as I have time to play around with it.

Currently my bottleneck is drives. I stupidly bought 1x 3TB 7200RPM SATA drive and that killed my performance. I dropped in a SSD and setup vSphere Flash Read Cache but it wasn't the ideal use case and it didn't drive a performance increase.

Would you recommend picking up some SAS drive to utilize that onboard controller? This is a toy so my budget is a bit slim. Currently I'm running a few OS X VMs and as time permits I'm planning on deploying AWS Management Portal for vCenter and playing around with that.
 

vanfawx

Active Member
Jan 4, 2015
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I'm using version 2.0 of the bios. The current version 2.0B (X8ST33_B07) does NOT support AES-NI in my experience. Downgrading the BIOS was simple, had no issues. If you need version 2.0 send me a PM and I'll zip it up for you.

I would imagine 2.0 would be fine, as the L5639 and X5650 are both Westmere chips.

The onboard controller is only SAS1 so limited to 3gbps speed and 2TB disk size. I only use it for some older SSD's I have that are SATA2. Everything else I run off of a dell H200 in IT mode connected to expanders in 2 different shelves.

If you can afford it, I'd highly recommend picking up a 500GB or 1TB SSD to run your VMs on. It'll make all the difference. There are also usually people on here selling really nice SSD's for really good prices if you're in the US.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you need the BIOS or anything else!

t.
 

Rockhard

New Member
Sep 7, 2015
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Hi all,

You seem to have great experience with board.
I struggle figuring out the max memory configuration i.e. 24 GB on ECC 1333 MHz
Perhaps I can acquire some knowledge here before ordering on eBay.

The memory guide is contradictive.

-To run the memory in 1333 MHz it seems like I can only populate 1 of 2 slots per channel = 3x8GB to reach 24 GB. "DIMMs per Populated Channel = 1"

The only reference to 8 GB sticks is on the website. No mention of this in the manual.
? Will the board run these 3x8 GB sticks to make 24 GB?
? Is there no other way to get 24GB in 1333 MHz?

Second question. Will PC-10666/1333 MHz memory run at slower speed if the CPU specs are lower, or will it just not boot?

Side question. There are some tests that X58 can run 48 GB. Any experience with 48 GB X8sT3-F
Intel X58 chipset and 48GB RAM: Impossible? No! » The GAT at XIN.at

I attached 3 images from the manual and their tested memory web page.
 

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Chuckleb

Moderator
Mar 5, 2013
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Memory bandwidth will decrease. This is often seen as you populate full memory banks since there isn't sufficient power to get full speed from all slots. Mind you that for the most part, you will not notice the speed difference. It shows itself more for HPC type work that can be sensitive. In that case, you buy higher density to reduce the number of chips.
 

Rockhard

New Member
Sep 7, 2015
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Thanks - I didn't realize the bandwidth limitation.

So if I read your comment correctly I would be better off with 6x4 GB 1066 MHz sticks instead? I prioritize GB before the MHz..
 
Last edited:

vanfawx

Active Member
Jan 4, 2015
365
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Vancouver, Canada
With regards to X58 supporting more than 24GB, I've read accounts on both sides of the fence. Some people have no problems running 48GB of ram (6x8), some people can't get it to register more than 24GB, regardless of configuration. I personally run 6x4 and as has been mentioned, when all slots are full, speed drops to 1066.