Dual v2 Server Build Questions/Advice sought

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Blackied

New Member
May 27, 2020
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Hi All,

At long last I've finally got some spare change and time enough to upgrade my ancient file server.
For reference, this is what I've been working with:

Xeon x3440
Intel 2600 mobo
12GB ram
Unraid
4x 8TB
4x 4TB
2x 240gb cache
Currently parity takes approximately 18hrs to run, and the thing can only transcode 1 stream in Emby before maxing out CPU in general.

I'm wanting to be able to do some more self hosting, along with running more streams at higher quality and have a play with some home lab stuff. FYI I'm in Aus. Here's what I currently have in mind based on my research:
CPU: E5-2696 x2 (~$110USDea)
Mobo:
Option 1: Asus Z9PR-D12 w/ 1u heatsinks (~$120USD shipped) (ASUS Motherboard Z9PR-D12 Intel LGA 2011 Socket R with 2 x 1U Heatsink | eBay)
Option 2: SuperMicro X9DRH-IF (~$199USD shipped) (SuperMicro X9DRH-IF Xeon Motherboard (MBD-X9DRH-IF) | eBay)
RAM: 32GB 1600 DDR3 already owned. (4x 8GB)

I have a case that should fit either board fine, and I plan to transfer the drives and OS over to the new rig once built. I'm also thinking of getting a x540 for 10GbE and 2x NVMe SSDs for cache with NVME/PCIe adapters.

I suppose my questions are, since it's been so long since I've done a server build I'm really out of practice:
1) Is there any reason to choose the SM over the Asus given the cost difference (plus it comes with heatsinks)?
2) Would it be worth getting a graphics card to assist with the transcoding jobs or just leave it on the CPUs?
3) Is there anything obvious I'm forgetting?

Thanks,
Dan
 

gregsachs

Active Member
Aug 14, 2018
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I run dual 2650 v2, no video card, and my box has no issues running ~4 streams plus doing other things. I do not think you will need a video card for typical use. The 2650v2 is ~3x the 3440, the 2696 ~4x the 3440, and each thread on either e5 is 1.5x the 3440. I found ~6 months ago that the 2650v2 was the sweet spot in $/performance, but that may have changed.
Might want more ram, depending on os/vms/etc
 

Blackied

New Member
May 27, 2020
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You're correct, the 2650v2 is still the sweet spot for bang for buck, I suspect I'm drawn to the extra core counts. Maybe I'll trade down on the CPU after all. RAM I can pick up later as I need thankfully.

Any thoughts on the motherboards?
 

gregsachs

Active Member
Aug 14, 2018
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my box is an intel 1u r1208 with a s2600gl, I'd probably rank SM slightly over Asus, but it seems like personal choice...
You could also do a single 2696v2 depending on pci layout. I run 10gbe to my main switch, but for home use with a single server there is really no need.
 

Kauri

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Mar 26, 2017
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i have the same board, is there anyway to boot from an NVME SSD PCIE Adapter ?
 

Whaaat

Active Member
Jan 31, 2020
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is there anyway to boot from an NVME SSD PCIE Adapter ?
if the board doesn't support direct boot from nvme it can be done anyway placing Clover EFI bootloader on a flash drive and selecting this drive as the first boot device.
 

Blackied

New Member
May 27, 2020
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Hi all,
I ended up getting a SM X9DRL-IF which has arrived here. I also picked up a 1tb Samsung PM961 with the aim of using it as a new cache drive. via a NVMe to PCIe adapter. However, the adapter is x16 slot size while the mobo only has x8 slots. Is there any way I can make that work, or if not, what adapter should I buy instead?
 

itronin

Well-Known Member
Nov 24, 2018
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Denver, Colorado
x16 adapter? which adapter did you get?
Is it by chance a quad m.2 nvme? If it is non-plx based your motherboard will have to support PCIe bifurcation and you'll need an x16 slot or at a minimum an open-ended x8. I'm going to guess non plx. With an open ended x8 you'll need to figure out which slots in the x8 map to which nvme slots - trial and error or educated guesses.

If you want a dual nvme x8 the supermicro AOC-SLG3-2M2 works well.
Again though the motherboard needs to support PCIe bifurcation for this card too.

If you are only going to use a single m.2 nvme then the $25.00 startech works really well. Its x4 but will work just peachy in an x8 slot and this may be your best option.
 
Last edited:

Markess

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2018
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Northern California
Hi all,
I ended up getting a SM X9DRL-IF which has arrived here. I also picked up a 1tb Samsung PM961 with the aim of using it as a new cache drive. via a NVMe to PCIe adapter. However, the adapter is x16 slot size while the mobo only has x8 slots. Is there any way I can make that work, or if not, what adapter should I buy instead?

You don't mention if its a PCIe adapter for multiple drives, or a simple adapter for a single drive. If its for multiple drives, @itronin covered it above.

If its a single drive adapter and you're handy, you can probably take a dremel/saw to it and cut it down to fit an x8 slot. Single drive adapters (at least all the ones I've seen) are only configured for x4 (or x2 for some older ones), since that's what most drives are. The rest of the pads on the card (through x8 & x16) aren't connected to anything and simply provide stability in the slot. If you look at the adapter, it's pretty obvious which pads are connected electrically.

For single drives I've been using these lately. They have notches in the edge connector to allow them to be inserted in x4, x8, or x16 slots. Just an example, as I'm not sure what's easily available in Aus.

M2.NVMe Adapter (Amazon)
 

dooferorg

New Member
Jul 7, 2020
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As someone that tried the ASUS Hyper M.2 thingy on my X9 board, it did not work. Some reports of it working on the LN4F but it seems less than solid. I went for the single-drive adapters on Amazon as well. Works great. I have enough slots to do what I need.

ALSO, don't try and boot the X9 boards using UEFI trying to boot from a RAIDed pair of NVMe drives. I found, to my dismay, that there's an issue with the UEFI implementation of it on the X9 boards and sometimes they don't boot any more - requiring a BIOS reflash to resurrect them. Not something you want on a fileserver :eek:

I have an Intel X520 for my 10G connection on the fileserver and it works great.