WTB 2X xeon ES-26xx & RAM

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vv111y

Member
May 6, 2011
76
4
8
Niagara Falls, Canada
For the 4gpu supermicro board X9DRG-QF I need 2 xeon's:
Supermicro | Products | Motherboards | Xeon® Boards | X9DRG-QF
I also have the previous gen mobo Super Micro Computer, Inc. - Products | Motherboards | Xeon Boards | X8DTG-QF
For both I need RAM.

I figure for the cpu's E5-2650 would be the best choice. The other 26xx that do 8GT/s are: 2637, 2643, 2650L, 2660, 2665, 2667, 2670, 2680, 2687W, 2690. If there is a better overall deal with any of these please let me know.

I know very little about the ES chips. I am nervous about them, but the retail prices are almost impossible to swallow. How bad are they? What exactly am I risking? Both workstations will just be number-crunchers, no VM's, so I guess Vt-d isn't important?

For RAM I am looking at either 8GB or 16GB sticks, depending on price.
tested RAM compatibility for both:
16GB
Samsung M393B2G70BH0-CH9
Hynix HMT31GR7AFR4C-H9, HMT31GR7BFR4C-H9
Kingston KVR13LR9D4/16HA, KVR13LR9Q8/16EF

8GB
Kingston
KVR13LR9D4/8HE
KVR13LR9D8/8EF
KVR13LR9S4/8HA

I may also need to get HD's for them. I'll check my inventory and update.

Thanks, and take care
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
When you buy an ES CPU you need to get the revision code - sometimes call the Q-code. This is a 4 character ID for the revision of the chip. If it starts with 'Q' then the chip is ES and if it starts with 'S' then the chip is a released product.

Look us the 'Q' code at CPU-world.com to map it to a rev level. Revs A0, A1, etc are pretty much junk. Rev B0, B1, etc are probably stable but will likely not have their microcodes in a standard BIOS so you'd need to know how to edit the bios to be sure you could even get it to boot. They also often have key features disabled (like VT-d, etc). Probably not for the feint of heart or any form of NooB.

Rev C0 is final test. Usually very stable, little if any difference from final release
Rev C1 is early customer release. Big users (google, Facebook, etc) get these and are allowed by the ES NDA to use them in commercial service.
Rev C2 is final released product (unless there is a defect - which is why you occasionally see D-series revs).

Most of the time with the server MB makers (SM, Asus, Intel) any chip with rev C0 or higher will have its microcodes in all bios. B2 and earlier will be removed after initial testing is complete.

This eBay store usually has a good selection of ES CPUs and I can vouch for them being reputable (well, as reputable as you can be sellig things that are not technically saleable). Offers 30 day unconditional money back guarantee to - so if you have a compatibility issue he'll take it back.

Xeon, Core 2 Quad items in Central Valley Computer Parts Inc store on eBay!
 

dba

Moderator
Feb 20, 2012
1,477
184
63
San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Nice. I knew that "C1 = pretty good", but your explanation is far more useful. I learned something today!

When you buy an ES CPU you need to get the revision code - sometimes call the Q-code. This is a 4 character ID for the revision of the chip. If it starts with 'Q' then the chip is ES and if it starts with 'S' then the chip is a released product.

Look us the 'Q' code at CPU-world.com to map it to a rev level. Revs A0, A1, etc are pretty much junk. Rev B0, B1, etc are probably stable but will likely not have their microcodes in a standard BIOS so you'd need to know how to edit the bios to be sure you could even get it to boot. They also often have key features disabled (like VT-d, etc). Probably not for the feint of heart or any form of NooB.

Rev C0 is final test. Usually very stable, little if any difference from final release
Rev C1 is early customer release. Big users (google, Facebook, etc) get these and are allowed by the ES NDA to use them in commercial service.
Rev C2 is final released product (unless there is a defect - which is why you occasionally see D-series revs).

Most of the time with the server MB makers (SM, Asus, Intel) any chip with rev C0 or higher will have its microcodes in all bios. B2 and earlier will be removed after initial testing is complete.

This eBay store usually has a good selection of ES CPUs and I can vouch for them being reputable (well, as reputable as you can be sellig things that are not technically saleable). Offers 30 day unconditional money back guarantee to - so if you have a compatibility issue he'll take it back.

Xeon, Core 2 Quad items in Central Valley Computer Parts Inc store on eBay!
 

vv111y

Member
May 6, 2011
76
4
8
Niagara Falls, Canada
Thanks PigLover, this is just what I needed.

Great find b3nzOn8 (benzonate?), that didn't come up in my searches. Thanks. Nathan_P did a good job.

I'm glad I asked here :thumbsup:
 

rayt

New Member
Apr 18, 2013
10
0
1
On Supermicro multiprocessor motherboards, must all CPUs have the same revision code?

This thread can save me lots of money if i can mix a C2 production E5-2687w with and ES c0 or c1 revision.

Or I sell my single C2 and buy 2 C1s, and possibly make a profit on the trade.;)