I have 3x Dell R620's w/ Xeon E5-2650 (8 Core @ 2.0GHz) each with 384GB RAM, multiple SSD's and Dual 10GbE. Since i already have the sunk cost of the Chassis + RAM I was thinking about upgrading the R620's to give them a new lease on life I already have a 14 server with Dual Xeon E5-2690v2 (10 Core @ 3.0 GHz) processors so I was looking to upgrade the R620's to match. All these machines run VMware ESXi and host VMs of various types that execute a constant workload 24x7.
I recently added a Dell R340 w/ E-2186G (6 Core @3.8GHz) running ESXi as a build server to speed up some CI/CD automated testing jobs that could use single core performance boost. The R620's run some other workloads that could definetly benefit from faster core performance (2.0GHz -> 3.0GHz).
We ran a test and got the following results of our Build Job Performance:
2650 - 25min
2690v2 - 18min
2186G - 11min
1. Dell says the R620 supports both v1 and v2 Xeons but do I need to verify if the motherboard is a certain revision or model to make sure its supported?
2. The E5-2650 is 95w and the E5-2690v2 is 130w. I haven't been able to validate if the heat sink that came with the E5-2650 (Dell P/N M112P) is rated to work on the E5-2690v2 or if I need a different heat sink. I was only able to find one other Dell P/N (N6YNR) that goes with the R620 but it doesn't look to be any different and shows in multiple searches to be a substitute for the M112P. Any ideas if I can use the M112P or do I need a different heat sink?
3. What about thermal paste / pad? I probably want to replace the thermal paste that's on the heat sink... Most thermal paste for enthusiasts have a ~3 year application life but as a server that's running decent load 24x7 in a climate controlled data center, I probably want something that is going to last a long time. Thoughts/recommendations?
4. New vs Used Intel CPU's? This is the biggest question of all. I found a reputable dealer selling Used E5-2690v2 for $150/each but my typical supplier says he can only get New for $350/each. Both come with 30 day warranties. I'm assuming if I install the CPU and burn it in for 48hr, its either going to work for a long time or fail right off the bat so New vs Used isn't much of an argument?
I recently added a Dell R340 w/ E-2186G (6 Core @3.8GHz) running ESXi as a build server to speed up some CI/CD automated testing jobs that could use single core performance boost. The R620's run some other workloads that could definetly benefit from faster core performance (2.0GHz -> 3.0GHz).
We ran a test and got the following results of our Build Job Performance:
2650 - 25min
2690v2 - 18min
2186G - 11min
1. Dell says the R620 supports both v1 and v2 Xeons but do I need to verify if the motherboard is a certain revision or model to make sure its supported?
2. The E5-2650 is 95w and the E5-2690v2 is 130w. I haven't been able to validate if the heat sink that came with the E5-2650 (Dell P/N M112P) is rated to work on the E5-2690v2 or if I need a different heat sink. I was only able to find one other Dell P/N (N6YNR) that goes with the R620 but it doesn't look to be any different and shows in multiple searches to be a substitute for the M112P. Any ideas if I can use the M112P or do I need a different heat sink?
3. What about thermal paste / pad? I probably want to replace the thermal paste that's on the heat sink... Most thermal paste for enthusiasts have a ~3 year application life but as a server that's running decent load 24x7 in a climate controlled data center, I probably want something that is going to last a long time. Thoughts/recommendations?
4. New vs Used Intel CPU's? This is the biggest question of all. I found a reputable dealer selling Used E5-2690v2 for $150/each but my typical supplier says he can only get New for $350/each. Both come with 30 day warranties. I'm assuming if I install the CPU and burn it in for 48hr, its either going to work for a long time or fail right off the bat so New vs Used isn't much of an argument?