Intel Xeon W-1300 and W580 motherboards

[erson]

So Intel has posted the new Intel Xeon W-1300 models on Products formerly Rocket Lake. So I'm guessing that Patrick et al. will post an article about that.

So what about W580 motherboards? So far I just found two Supermicro motherboards
X12SAE-5 | Motherboards | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc.
X12SCA-5F | Motherboards | Products | Super Micro Computer, Inc.

Not surprisingly they stuck with pretty much the same layout as for the models with the W480 chipset. Wish there were options utilizing the PCIe 4.0 2x8+1x4 and 1x8+3x4 that are possible with Xeon W-1300 series (and for the desktop models as well).

I get a feeling that this generation will be a bit anemic in anticipation of the Alder Lake versions, even though I think the roadmap being leaked seems a bit too optimistic since Rocket Lake wasn't released in the beginning of Q1 as they are showing.

So have you found any other W580 motherboards? Hopefully ASRock and Asus will release something.

 

[AgentCrimson]

They are using PCIE 4.0.

 

[evilpaul]

Are there any other boards available yet? I've Googled and still nothing is coming up from ASUS, Gigabyte or Asrock.

The Supermicro boards have the SATA ports 5/6 disabled (for an additional M.2) which I kind of need to use or buy an HBA which have gone up in price the past month.

ShopBLT has the W-1300's available on a "buy them from Intel if they get an order" basis. Which sounds less than speedy, and I've never dealt with them before. They don't have either of the Supermicro boards listed assuming their site's search is working (the website is...a little terrible, right?).

 

[rootshell]

Bumping an older thread.

Has anyone found any MBs other than the 2 offered by SM?
Has anyone purchased a X12SCA-5F yet and have any feedback?

 

[Stephan]

Everyone is waiting for Amber Lake. So Socket LGA-1700 and later LGA-1800.

 

[PrimeXFN]

Has anyone found any MBs other than the 2 offered by SM?
Has anyone purchased a X12SCA-5F yet and have any feedback?

Building two X12SCA-5F / Xeon W-1350 systems now.
First impression is that the board is very picky on memory, at least when running ECC. SM only has their own sticks on the QVL.

First memory was a generic 2x16GB kit, 2666 ECC UDIMM. Board (both of them) throws a memory error when any of it is in channel 2 (but it's fine in channel 1).
Tried some rando SuperMicro sticks I had laying around (also ECC UDIMM, but I may have mixed speeds) with same result, though I later got it to work.
Non-ECC G.Skill memory was fine.

Bought a Kingston kit (2x16GB 2933 ECC UDIMM) and it seemed to work at first. Even the generic worked when installed alongside the Kingston. However, I've since had even it (the Kingston alone) error on POST a few times and require a power cycle to start working again.

 

[rootshell]

yea, I noticed they only have 1 stick of DDR4-3200 listed on the QVL and it's only 8GB. Kinda redic.

 

[PrimeXFN]

Wanted to provide a followup for anyone that had been considering this solution - just don't. I've not been happy with either system I built on this board. Specifically:
1. Memory compatibility is garbage
2. While SuperMicro enabled fTPM with the latest BIOS revision, the implementation is unusable in Windows Server 2022 (the dTPM works fine) and SM support's response is "Server is not supported on this board" with no willingness to engage further.
3. While you can purchase and license the IPMI upgrade to supposedly enable the ability to flash the BIOS, per SM support, the platform doesn't actually support this capability.

Frankly, between this and the utterly broken X10SLM BIOS issue, I'm really starting to question if I want to continue using SuperMicro solutions.

 

[djeflig]

Wanted to provide a followup for anyone that had been considering this solution - just don't. I've not been happy with either system I built on this board. Specifically:
1. Memory compatibility is garbage
2. While SuperMicro enabled fTPM with the latest BIOS revision, the implementation is unusable in Windows Server 2022 (the dTPM works fine) and SM support's response is "Server is not supported on this board" with no willingness to engage further.
3. While you can purchase and license the IPMI upgrade to supposedly enable the ability to flash the BIOS, per SM support, the platform doesn't actually support this capability.

Frankly, between this and the utterly broken X10SLM BIOS issue, I'm really starting to question if I want to continue using SuperMicro solutions.

Thanks for this. I am planning to buy the X12sca-5f and I was going to pair it with a couple of kingston 32gb KSM32ED8/32ME ram modules since the KSM24ES8/8ME worked so well with my x11ssh-f, but reading your notes I’m a bit at a loss what to do. Did you happen to find anything that worked?

Also, thanks for alerting me about the oob license. Reading supermicros page it does say that the X12sca-f doesn’t support flashing the bios remotely but is there any other benefits with oob? I’ve used the feature some on my x11ssh-f and it sure is nice to be able to but I guess it isn’t a requirement for me.

 

[Stephan]

Welp I am skipping the W680 platform entirely, just too many bugs (you need patches, otherwise won't return from standby) and bad RAM compatibility really is a deal breaker. Nevermind the Great Chip Shortage still preventing new boards from even reaching the market. Intel CEO seems to have put everything else in priority before a new "entry" workstation product line. Next thing you know RAS/EDAC reporting stops working and you bought ECC RAM, but are blind to failures.

Unfortunately you can't easily go back 1-2 generations (C246, C236) if you want to buy new, because either CPUs are gone or mad expensive, or the motherboards are.

OOB management using an Aspeed is a must-have if you want to or have to fix stuff remotely. Like a BIOS which forgot its settings and is now sitting there, waiting for you to hit F1 or DEL to enter Setup. Of course if this is the router, you need another way in then.

 

[PrimeXFN]

Thanks for this. I am planning to buy the X12sca-5f and I was going to pair it with a couple of kingston 32gb KSM32ED8/32ME ram modules since the KSM24ES8/8ME worked so well with my x11ssh-f, but reading your notes I’m a bit at a loss what to do. Did you happen to find anything that worked?

Also, thanks for alerting me about the oob license. Reading supermicros page it does say that the X12sca-f doesn’t support flashing the bios remotely but is there any other benefits with oob? I’ve used the feature some on my x11ssh-f and it sure is nice to be able to but I guess it isn’t a requirement for me.

I ended up having pretty decent luck with the Kingston KSM29ED8/16HD sticks after-all as well as Micron MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2B1. I'm still bitter though, and am wary any time I do a reboot if I'm not physically present--tough I cannot offhand recall any recent boot failures.

To be clear, the OOB IPMI interface works just fine w/o the license for power operations, remote KVM, etc. I purchased the license as, at the time, it was advertised to enable BIOS flashing through the interface. That turned out to be false. I believe it unlocks other features as well but that was the only one I cared about.

My recommendation, quite unfortunately, is to skip this iteration, and perhaps W680 after it as @Stephan suggests. An AMD-based solution is probably the wiser choice for the time being.

 

[djeflig]

I ended up having pretty decent luck with the Kingston KSM29ED8/16HD sticks after-all as well as Micron MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2B1. I'm still bitter though, and am wary any time I do a reboot if I'm not physically present--tough I cannot offhand recall any recent boot failures.

To be clear, the OOB IPMI interface works just fine w/o the license for power operations, remote KVM, etc. I purchased the license as, at the time, it was advertised to enable BIOS flashing through the interface. That turned out to be false. I believe it unlocks other features as well but that was the only one I cared about.

My recommendation, quite unfortunately, is to skip this iteration, and perhaps W680 after it as @Stephan suggests. An AMD-based solution is probably the wiser choice for the time being.

Are you combining the two ram brands/modells? Kind of grasping at straws, really want this to work. But I think you wrote something about it sometimes crashing with only the Kingston ram as well? Have you tried them with memtest? Sounds risky to have for exemple a zfs share under those circumstances, ecc or not.

About oob, I really love the IPMI/kvm, I’m currently using it on my x11ssh-f. But as you seem to understand, I was more wondering if the oob license would be at all interesting without the ability to flash bios remote which I gather it really isn’t.

 

[PrimeXFN]

Are you combining the two ram brands/modells? Kind of grasping at straws, really want this to work. But I think you wrote something about it sometimes crashing with only the Kingston ram as well? Have you tried them with memtest? Sounds risky to have for exemple a zfs share under those circumstances, ecc or not.

Not mixed. I have one system with 4 of the Kingston sticks and one system with 2 of the Micron sticks. I had the Kingston-based system fail to boot once (maybe twice?) when building, but I do not recall having had a reoccurrence since the system went live. Additionally, I do not recall having any issues with the Micron-based system. In all cases I'm describing though, the problem purely manifested as a loop/hang during POST itself. Once the OS booted, the systems have seemed stable.

 

[djeflig]

Not mixed. I have one system with 4 of the Kingston sticks and one system with 2 of the Micron sticks. I had the Kingston-based system fail to boot once (maybe twice?) when building, but I do not recall having had a reoccurrence since the system went live. Additionally, I do not recall having any issues with the Micron-based system. In all cases I'm describing though, the problem purely manifested as a loop/hang during POST itself. Once the OS booted, the systems have seemed stable.

So according to your experiance the Micron sticks seem more reliable than the Kingstons? I can get a cheaper deal on them so to me that’s actually a good thing. Also, I think I’ve had a couple of boot loops/crashes during POST on my current setup as well (under the two years I’ve had it) so that actually doesn’t sound that bad either.
As you might’ve noticed I’m actually starting to lean towards buying it anyway. The thing I find odd though is how little info there’s out there from people who actually own this board. Between this forum, reddit and the unraid forum I’ve found maybe 5-6 people. Maybe I’m looking at the wrong places, though.

 

[PrimeXFN]

So according to your experiance the Micron sticks seem more reliable than the Kingstons? I can get a cheaper deal on them so to me that’s actually a good thing. Also, I think I’ve had a couple of boot loops/crashes during POST on my current setup as well (under the two years I’ve had it) so that actually doesn’t sound that bad either.
As you might’ve noticed I’m actually starting to lean towards buying it anyway. The thing I find odd though is how little info there’s out there from people who actually own this board. Between this forum, reddit and the unraid forum I’ve found maybe 5-6 people. Maybe I’m looking at the wrong places, though.

Yes, my very anecdotal experience would lead me to suggest the Micron sticks ( MTA18ASF4G72AZ-3G2B1) for this board. Or, alternatively, see if the SuperMicro branded sticks on the QVL are available--they weren't when I built.

I agree, this has kind of been a forgotten generation. I don't know the reason why - maybe it's the additional product segmentation Intel has added coupled with the very competitive AMD-based offerings. Incidentally, I've done some builds on the ASRock Rack AM4 platforms and they haven't exactly been trouble-free either.

 

[rootshell]

My recommendation, quite unfortunately, is to skip this iteration, and perhaps W680 after it as @Stephan suggests. An AMD-based solution is probably the wiser choice for the time being.

I'm coming to the same conclusion. W680 is basically worthless for home server duty until there's actually a stick of DDR5 ECC RAM for purchase anywhere at any price. Literally a vapor-ware release, other than for PC-type use with non-ECC. Just laughable given Intel promos and marketing touting the Intel 12 gen + W680 = ECC. Guess that may be true, just the minor detail that the DDR5 ECC ram is unobtanium.

Really wanted an iGPU and lower idle power consumption, but at this point, I'm probably going to switch gears to a low end EPYC or Ryzen platform. Sick of waiting. Been waiting for a year. Probably going to be waiting another year before DDR5 ECC is actual available to purchase. Pretty redic.

 

[unwind-protect]

I'm coming to the same conclusion. W680 is basically worthless for home server duty until there's actually a stick of DDR5 ECC RAM for purchase anywhere at any price. Literally a vapor-ware release, other than for PC-type use with non-ECC. Just laughable given Intel promos and marketing touting the Intel 12 gen + W680 = ECC. Guess that may be true, just the minor detail that the DDR5 ECC ram is unobtanium.

Really wanted an iGPU and lower idle power consumption, but at this point, I'm probably going to switch gears to a low end EPYC or Ryzen platform. Sick of waiting. Been waiting for a year. Probably going to be waiting another year before DDR5 ECC is actual available to purchase. Pretty redic.

Why not use the ASRock board that does W680 with DDR4 ECC unreg?

I mean DDR4 ECC unreg is expensive, too, and kind of hard to get, but a lot better than DDR5

 

[Almighty]

Why not use the ASRock board that does W680 with DDR4 ECC unreg?

I mean DDR4 ECC unreg is expensive, too, and kind of hard to get, but a lot better than DDR5

IMB-X1314 ? Can you even buy that anywhere?

 

[RolloZ170]

IMB-X1314 ? Can you even buy that anywhere?

ASRock Industrial IMB-X1314 Alder Lake-S Micro ATX Motherboard, 3 x 2.5GbE LAN, Quad Display

IMB-X1314 supports Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake-S processors up to 125W TDP. It features quad display via HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, and LVDS. With flexible connectivity from three Intel 2.5GbE LAN, M.2 3042 slot with SIM slot for LTE, and M.2 2230 slot for WIFI. The motherboard provides plenty of...

mitxpc.com

 

[Almighty]

ASRock Industrial IMB-X1314 Alder Lake-S Micro ATX Motherboard, 3 x 2.5GbE LAN, Quad Display

IMB-X1314 supports Intel's 12th Gen Alder Lake-S processors up to 125W TDP. It features quad display via HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, and LVDS. With flexible connectivity from three Intel 2.5GbE LAN, M.2 3042 slot with SIM slot for LTE, and M.2 2230 slot for WIFI. The motherboard provides plenty of...

mitxpc.com

I haven't found any actually in stock anywhere for months