E3-1230 vs. E3-1230L for home server

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tubs-ffm

Active Member
Sep 1, 2013
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Hello,

I am not new here but I forgot my username or it was deleted after longer time of inactivity. So I restart as a beginner.

I am planning to build-up a small 24/7 ITX server with ESXi (or maybe XEN Server) for home use. It should replace my old power hungry NAS modified Thecus with openindiana and napp-it) and my Atom based ESXi box running firewall (pfsense) and two more small linux VMs (home automation and webserver). I would like to combine everything in one box with the intention reduce power consumption and heat absorption.

For the napp-it NAS VM I would like to follow the recommendation of napp-it to use dedicated HDDs by PCI pass-through. All other VM will be a separate HDD and not on the NAS via iSCSI to be able to spin down the NAS HDDs if there is no access do the data.

The small ITX form factor is important to fulfill the criteria of the WAF (wife acceptance factor). The same for the heat absorption, if it is getting too hot in the "server room" the box will get kicked out of the storage room. For an efficient system I am planning to use a new haswell XEON cpu even it is not the cheapest you can get.

This is my target hardware so far:

  • Intel S1200V3RPL ITX with C226 <--- mistake. Is µATX form factor
  • Intel E3-1230L V3
  • 2 x Kingston KVR16LE11/8EF 8GB PC3L-12800 CL11 ECC UDIMM
  • Chembro SR30169
  • Super Flower Golden Green PRO SF-400P14XE (or any other device with high efficiency und low load)
  • Intel AXXRMM4 - RMM4 Activation Key + dedicated NIC port module"
  • Intel RMS25KB040 4-port SAS entry level HW RAID (as an option)

My questions:

  • What will be the power comsumtion of this configuration about in idle mode running ESXi (without HDDs)?
  • Will be there a benefit by using the E3-1230L V3? Or is the power consumption of the E3-1230 V3 comparable in idle mode and under light load?
  • Is PCI passthough of some SATA only possible under ESXi or can I only passthough all 6 SATA ports of the C226?
  • Is HDD spin down of the HDDs dedicated via passthough to one VM possible? (Under openindiana and napp-it running on bare metal it is possible.)

Thanky for your help.
 
Last edited:

bishop2020

New Member
Sep 1, 2013
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I've been looking at setting up a similar small form factor home server soon. I've been waiting for the ASRock E3C226D2I Mini-ITX board but had similar questions about what processor to use. Ideally I would like to use a low-power variant like the E3-1230L V3 but I'm not sure where I would be able to get one since all the L variant chips are tray-only it seems. Anyone know where to get them?
 

tubs-ffm

Active Member
Sep 1, 2013
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Isn't the S1200V3RPL a micro-atx board?
S***! Yes, you are right. It is not an ITX board.
Thank you for this answer.

My first choice was Supermicro X10SLV. But it is not yet available in Germany therefore I continued searching. But somehow I lost the overview with all data I collected during research.

Now I have to continue searching. Either a ITX board or a an comparable µATX case.
 

tubs-ffm

Active Member
Sep 1, 2013
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Take a look at the ASRock board I mentioned. Supposedly will be out sometime this month, but no details on exactly where/when we can get it. ASRock > E3C226D2I
OK. I will put it on my list and I will observe the market.

As the choice for µATX boards is better and the price sometimes even lower I also will have a look if I can find a small µATX chassis for 4x 3,5 and 2x 2,5 HDDs.
 

BlueLineSwinger

Active Member
Mar 11, 2013
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Skip the 'L' variant and just get the regular 1230. The 'L's are:
- much pricier
- harder to find
- provide negligible cooling benefit in a typical chassis
- don't reduce power consumption for the majority of applications, especially in a home NAS that largely sits idle and the CPU throttles down.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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One other question, why the Intel motherboard? Seems like you are going to spend a lot enabling features. Did you see the Supermicro X10SL7-F review? That one is about the same price, it is also micro-ATX, you get the same LSI SAS2308 HBA you mention above but get 8 ports instead of Intel's 4. Total cost for the X10SL7-F is around $250-260. That Intel setup looks like it will cost upwards of $450.

On the L v. non-L, I would personally go with the non-L. The E3-1230 V3 has awesome idle consumption characteristics and is faster.
 

tubs-ffm

Active Member
Sep 1, 2013
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One other question, why the Intel motherboard? Seems like you are going to spend a lot enabling features. Did you see the Supermicro X10SL7-F review?
Thanks. The X10SL7-F was my first choice. This board is also recommended on the napp-it homepage. But then I wanted to go with a small ITX chassis and thought with the Intel board to found the right combination till I noticed the big mistake. The intel board is µATX size. So for sure. The choice between S1200V3RPL and X10SL7-F will be easy - Supermico will win this game.

But now I am not sure if I I should skip give-up my idea with a small ITX housing and go for a µATX chassis. This will make the choice easier. Lian Li PC-V354 or Lian Li PC-Q25 are not too big.

On the L v. non-L, I would personally go with the non-L. The E3-1230 V3 has awesome idle consumption characteristics and is faster.
Any idea about the power consumption of such a system in idle mode running ESXi?
 

modernist

New Member
Aug 28, 2013
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Hi, I have a similar ESXi setup that I built a couple years ago. Lian Li Q25 mini ITX case with Intel DQ67EP, i5-2390t, IBM BR10i 8x SATA card, 3x 3.5" green drives and 4x 2.5" HDD. Overall, I've been very happy with this setup for my home file server and a couple of Windows and Linux VMs.

What will be the power comsumption of this configuration about in idle mode running ESXi (without HDDs)?
Mine idles around 50W with 7 drives and a power-efficient Sandy Bridge processor. I would guess an E3-1230v3 would probably be in the same neighborhood, depending on number of drives.

Is PCI passthough of some SATA only possible under ESXi or can I only passthough all 6 SATA ports of the C226?
You'll need to passthrough an entire PCI device, so it'd probably be all 6 ports of the C226.

Is HDD spin down of the HDDs dedicated via passthough to one VM possible? (Under openindiana and napp-it running on bare metal it is possible.)
Yes, if you pass through the RAID controller (like I do with my IBM BR10i card), the guest OS will see it exactly the same as a physical controller, which means that spindown control, temperature sensing, and other hardware controls will be there just like normal.