searching for low-power embedded mITX motherboard

[lollysticky]

I could not locate a section on where to ask for build advice, so I decided to drop it here. I hope it's OK

Currently, I have system with a mATX Supermicro X10SLM+-F (with a Xeon ES-1240V3 CPU) that functions as both a fileserver and virtualisation machine.

Due to shifting priorities (marriage ), this machine is not being used much anymore. Also, it makes more noise and uses more power than I would like to. I would like to make a smaller version of this box that is quieter and more energy-efficient, and -preferably- cheap. I could then use the old mATX system as fileserver and move the other functionality to this small box. The functions it would need to perform (on a very occasional basis):
- webserver (only internal stuff, no heavy duty stuff)
- some small virtualisation (docker, no heavy duty stuff)
- perhaps mediaserver and mail server

So hence my new search. I'm looking for a motherboard with the following characteristics:
- embedded CPU: Intel Xeon D or Pentium D
- mini-ITX preferably, mATX but then I need to buy a new case
- IPMI
- 1 SATA DOM port or 1 SATA M.2 slot
- 4 cores/threads maximum
- low-power

I've been eyeballing the X10SDV-2C-TLN2F, but I find the price quite big compared to what I need. In my opinion, the machine can be a bit slower, as long as the noise/energy/price is low enough.

Another contender is the Supermicro X10SDV-2C-TP4F, but I find it has less features then the mITX board and is only slightly cheaper. But I really like the package (Supermicro SuperServer 5018D-LN4T ).


I am in urgent need for some advice Perhaps I'm missing something, or there are other brands out there :/

 

[britinpdx]

Welcome to the forum, lot's of helpful folks around these parts who can assist with your questions.

I'm going to start off by asking how much power does your current system draw and what are your targets ?

I had a Supermicro 5018D-MTF 1U superserver, containing a X10SLM-F motherboard and a PWS-351-1H 350W "gold" power supply, and I was very surprised at the small amount of power that it consumed.

When configured with a G3220 CPU, 2x 2GB PC3-10600E and 120GB SSD, the system idled in Server 2012 at about 17W.
Replacing the SSD with 4x Samsung HD204UI 2TB drives, running Xpenology the system idled at about 33W.

I would think that the X10SLM+-F motherboard with a Xeon ES-1240V3 CPU (did you mean E3 or ES?) would form the basis of a low idle power system with the ability to scale performance well with power consumption.

 

[lollysticky]

on idle mode, it draws around 60W. i would like to half it. the system has 6 drives in it, which are already a bit older (1tb and 2Tb drives). The system is also quite big in my opinion and makes more noise than it should be. I'm therefore focusing on the tptal package; power, noise and compactness

Perhaps you are right about the solid basis. I could get a smaller matx case, move the motherboard and 1/2 drivesm and move the other drives to a backup server.

 

[modernist]

I'm in kind of the same boat with my E3-1240v3 home server (ASRock E3C226D2I ITX motherboard), which was loud and heating up my home office like crazy especially in the summer months. The X10SDV-2C-TLN2F with the D-1508 is tempting, but first I figured I would try to optimize what I have. So far I've been able to reduce my steady-state power consumption from 100-120W down to 60-75W by removing unneeded disks, adjusting my Crashplan and Docker configs to allow the four hot HGST Deskstar drives to stay spun down most of the time, and improve the fan speed management. This is with two HD security camera feeds being processed full-time in a Sighthound VM. I'm hoping to bring it down a few more watts by removing the M1015 HBA card and using only the motherboard ports. My motherboard doesn't seem to allow changing VCC, but otherwise another option may be to disable turbo and reduce the CPU voltage a bit, essentially running it as an "L" chip. I'm happy with the results so far, and with the fans ~500RPM and disks spun down it's almost silent. However, going much further below 60W may be difficult.