Xeon E-2100/2200 + Supermicro for home lab. UK availability?

[loxsmith]

I have been trying to build a new "home lab" server around the E-2100 series for some months now but can't get the parts. And now we have the E-2200 series, probably also equally unobtainable. I thought I'd ask for any pointers towards a system builder/parts provider in the UK who may be able to help. I'm happy to self-build but would use a builder to save hassle, however I've been unable to find a supplier (scan, lambda-tek, amazon, servercase, etc) with all the parts I need.

I was looking to build a server around a Supermicro X11SCH-LN4F with an E-2146G and 32GB initially. Now I'm looking with interest at the E-2278G. I'll want to put 4-6 drives in the system, to be used with ZFS (possibly SmartOS).

My one concern (apart from the lack of parts) is power draw. Are there any real-world experiences of power usage "at the wall" (kill-a-watt?) for such a system? I expect it to be mostly idle; I'm not too concerned about power draw when I'm pushing it because that will be for short periods.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Evan]

4-6 drives in a system like that idle assuming say WD red or low power sata drives you may see about 40w idle , probably safe to say 45w or below

 

[EffrafaxOfWug]

It's going to be highly dependent on load... I assume your "idle" assumes almost zero disc and CPU activity? What sort of case and power supply, as those can have a big effect on draw at the wall.

FWIW as a back-of-a-fag-packet you can add 10W for an HBA, 5W for IPMI, 5W for RAM, 5W for a high rpm fan and 5W per hard drive (at idle, active it's more like 10W). My comparatively ancient Xeon E3 v3 system with six NAS drives, two SATA SSDs and an X710 10GbE NIC powered through a Seasonic 350W gold PSU idles at about 60-70W.

I get pretty all of my hardware via LambaTek these days as they're one of the few UK resellers that ever bother with the "prosumer" stuff like the ASRockRack and the small Supermicro boards - but their availability cadence is pretty slow compared to most (and it's been even slower over the last six months). It might be worthwhile asking them if they plan on stocking the board you're after.

 

[Evan]

Idle was assumed actually idle. No HBA, no 10G. (Does include IPMI) Just the basic all in one system.
Let’s say a 10tb WD red drive idles only at 3w, only double that at 6w active.

It’s s but if careful selection to get the the figures I was thinking but it’s certainly should be possible. (Granted I don’t have any experience in E3’s but they should be very efficient)

 

[loxsmith]

Hi the case I am looking at is a Silverstone CS380. I don't know whether these CPUs (the E-2x00 series) are passively cooled ?
Yes I was thinking alongs the lines of WD Reds or similar. Probably with a gold PSU, I was thinking I'd need a 300W-ish to be safe?
I reckon if idle is below 60w for the the whole system than that is good.

Still drawing a blank on where to get them though... am going to contact Lambda-tek to see if they can help.

 

[Speedster]

I don't know whether these CPUs (the E-2x00 series) are passively cooled ?

They aren't, you'll need a heatsink and airflow over them. The lowest spec part (2104G) has a TDP of 65W.

 

[TerryPhillips]

My current setup and power consumption. Being from the US, the CPUs were ordered from Provantage and I had to wait on them.

SuperMicro X11SCH-LN4F
Intel E-2176
4x 16GB
Chelsio T580 Dual Port 40GB via DAC cables
Adaptec 3154-24i
2x Intel Optane 480GB 905p (via M.2 cables)
2x Samsung 500GB 860Evo
4x Samsung 250GB 860Evo
6x Seagate 2.5 1TB 7200 spinners
5 Nuctura 140mm fans, 1x 80mm, 2x 40mm
Seasonic 450w Fanless Platinum PS

Power monitored at the wall:
90w with 8 VMs @ 18% host CPU load (240v/50Hz)

I'll update when I have a chance to fire up vmfleet with higher load values...

 

[loxsmith]

Hello, I thought I'd drop a note to say that I have finally got my server.

SuperMicro X11SCH-LN4F
Intel E-2146G
2x 16GB
6x Seagate Ironwolf 8TB
1x Corsair Force MP510

I'm running Arch Linux and currently pulling around 65w at the wall. Still setting things up though. Interestingly, it was delivered with a test install of Windows 10 and that pulled nearer 100W.

 

[Rand__]

So why back to the 2146? Too much power draw on the 2278?

 

[daumas]

I'm seeing lower power at idle in my setup.

Old server: SuperMicro X8 w/ Xeon L3426, 2x4GB ECC RDIMM, 5 HDDs - 54 watts at idle
New: SuperMicro X11SCH-LN4F w/ Xeon E-2288G, 2x16GB ECC UDIMM, 1 m.2, 6 HDDs - 48 watts at idle

 

[loxsmith]

The 2278 is still unobtanium. It's also more than double the price. I decided to go for the 2146 as it's the price/performance sweet spot. I may upgrade it in due course to get the 2278 or whatever is cool, compatible and obtainable at that time.
I'm still tweaking things so the power may drop. I measured it at the wall using a china power meter.