Motherboard for dual 2680 v2 server

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

Svarto

New Member
Dec 5, 2017
4
0
1
43
Hi All,

I have found 2x Xeon E5 2680 v2 on the cheap and want to build a home server with these.

Overall it is important for me that it runs quite, so I will be getting Noctua fans for CPU and chassis. The real driver though is which motherboard to get.

My requirements for the motherboard is to be able to run the server entirely headless, so KVM over LAN is something I think is required. After that it is some good Fan controls to be able to cool properly without too much noise and ECC ram support. That leaves me with a few options I hoped you could help me with:

AsRock EP2C602 - I really liked this board but have read a lot about Fan problems where they just run at 100%, not sure if that is something happening to all of them or only a few.

Super micro X9DRL-EF - I like this one but I'm worried the dual CPUs sit to close together so I can't install a big enough CPU fan for example Noctua NH-U12DXi4?

Intel S2600CP2, this one seems to need an additional module for KVM over LAN...

Not sure if anyone has experience with these and which is the best / most stable? Are there any other options I am missing?

Thanks a ton for all help!
 

msg7086

Active Member
May 2, 2017
423
148
43
36
Just a thought -- have you considered using AIO liquid cooling for your CPUs?

In that case you probably no longer need lots of fans and it should run pretty quiet.
 

Pri

Active Member
Jul 30, 2014
124
52
28
I have two of those Noctua NH-U12DXi4 and for sure they will not fit on the X9DRL-EF. The sockets are too close to each other for that. They would fit on the S2600CP2 but like you say, extra KVM module needed.

I went with an Asrockrack board but its really old now. I don't have any recommendations for you. If this is for a server I probably wouldn't go AIO just because it needs to be online 24.7 consistently and those AIO's sometimes have problems that could end up with a real bad day. If this is for a workstation I'd go AIO though.
 

Svarto

New Member
Dec 5, 2017
4
0
1
43
Thanks a lot for the answers. Overall I think liquid cooling is a bit beyond me at the moment, a bit worried to have that running when I am travelling and expecting the server to be one 24/7.

@Pri, interesting that you had an AsRock board, how did you find it? I guess it is not the model I am looking at. It is hard to find good reviews of different boards from so long time ago.
 

Pri

Active Member
Jul 30, 2014
124
52
28
@Pri, interesting that you had an AsRock board, how did you find it? I guess it is not the model I am looking at. It is hard to find good reviews of different boards from so long time ago.
I got it in 2014 from Amazon. Back then it was still current I think. I'm using the EP2C602-4L/D16 - It has some quirks (mostly IPMI related) but it's functional and very stable.

One word to the wise, most of these old boards use JAVA for IPMI and the latest JAVA versions do not work with these old IPMI applets because the security certificate they use for signing are considered depreciated. There is no way to make it work at all with newer JAVA versions so you have to use an older version of JAVA (v8 build 121 or earlier).

I don't believe that Supermicro is affected because they have their own IPMI application and don't require the JAVA applet be run. So just keep that in mind in your search as you mentioned you wanted IPMI in your original post. Of course if you're happy to run an older version of Java it's a non-issue.
 

msg7086

Active Member
May 2, 2017
423
148
43
36
Well my AIO has been working 24x7 for 4+ years and has no problem at all. YMMV but yea it might be easier if it's a workstation and not a server.

With SM they provide IPMIView and it is easier to deal with.
 

Monoman

Active Member
Oct 16, 2013
408
160
43
I have java 8 update 151 and have no issues with IPMI via SM x9 series MB...
 

Pri

Active Member
Jul 30, 2014
124
52
28
I have java 8 update 151 and have no issues with IPMI via SM x9 series MB...
Like I said, SuperMicro is not affected. The ones that are, are like my asrock board where they relied on the IPMI delivering a JAVA app through the browser and the support for the motherboard has long ended and so they've not updated the BMC firmware to deliver a newer JAVA remote app which has the newer certificates.

SuperMicro, Dell, HP etc are not affected.
 

Joel

Active Member
Jan 30, 2015
850
191
43
42
Also throwing in ASUS Z9PA-D8 for consideration. ATX form factor, though the two procs are fairly close. Mine has 2x Hyper 212 Evo coolers covering 2667V2 processors. Runs cool and quiet even while mining.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
7,625
2,043
113
I have an Intel board, and just got 2x 2680 V2 myself I plan to install. I did purchase the add-on for remote management.

The motherboard/rest of build are installed in an Intel 4u/Tower chassis. The motherboard I have is larger and only fits in 1 of the 2 Intel 4U chassis I purchased... keep that in mind if you look at this route. I like the Intel 4U as they're quiet and very affordable.
 

Jeepee1970

New Member
Feb 8, 2017
20
0
1
53
Also throwing in ASUS Z9PA-D8 for consideration. ATX form factor, though the two procs are fairly close. Mine has 2x Hyper 212 Evo coolers covering 2667V2 processors. Runs cool and quiet even while mining.
What case, if I may ask.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn ONEPLUS A3003 met Tapatalk
 

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,708
515
113
Canada
I think my money would go on an X9DRD-7LNF4, if I could find one reasonably priced, should even manage to get the Noctua's on there too :)
 

andrewwong2000

New Member
Oct 28, 2017
7
5
3
52
I have X9DRD-7LNF4s .. My Noctua 3RU fans only fit if I only use 12 DIMM slots . They aren’t the same as your fans but check height clearance - it’s tight


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

pricklypunter

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2015
1,708
515
113
Canada
I think, given that these boards all seem to be using the narrow ILM layout, that in order to use any decent heatsink you'll also be wanting to use low or ultra-low profile RAM to give clearance :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joel

BlackArchon

Member
Jun 23, 2016
71
10
8
The Noctua NH-U12DX i4 (120 mm fan) was my choice for a LGA2011 narrow ILM mainboard because it isn't too huge. There is also an even smaller version of it, the Noctua NH-U9DX i4 (92 mm fan) - from this one there is also a 3U special version available. I really like these fans. :)
 

EffrafaxOfWug

Radioactive Member
Feb 12, 2015
1,394
511
113
One word to the wise, most of these old boards use JAVA for IPMI and the latest JAVA versions do not work with these old IPMI applets because the security certificate they use for signing are considered depreciated. There is no way to make it work at all with newer JAVA versions so you have to use an older version of JAVA (v8 build 121 or earlier).
Minor off-topic derail but if this is the issue where java refuses to run the app because it's signed with ye olde MD5 ("Unsigned application requesting unrestricted access to system. The following resource is signed with a weak signature algorithm - MD5withRSA and is treated as unsigned"); you can work around this by disabling the check in the java security config:
Code:
Open $java/lib/security/java.security in a text editor
Find the line containing the following and comment it out with a hash;
jdk.jar.disabledAlgorithms=MD2, MD5, RSA keySize < 1024
This at least allows you to keep using an up to date version of java. Note that I use java portable in conjunction with pale moon portable for this so YMMV; IPMI is the only thing I use it for so I'm not in danger of compromising security for anything else.

ASRock at least released an IPMI update recently for my boards that fixed this issue (i.e. basically the same binary but not signed with a weak hash) which obviates the above workaround, but I suspect there's many java-only IPMI's that will be stuck with needing this workaround for the foreseeable.
 

Joel

Active Member
Jan 30, 2015
850
191
43
42
What case, if I may ask.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn ONEPLUS A3003 met Tapatalk
Fractal Define R4. Literally *ANY* ATX case will fit this board though. The ASUS is also standard ILM, not narrow, so coolers aren't a problem either. Finding a board, on the other hand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeepee1970