Hi community,

 

I'm currently thinking about using the CPU a Motherboard which will maybe replaced from a desktop setup and use it in my Unraid server.

 

Currently, I'm using this setup:
Intel Xeon E-2246G on Supermicro X11SCH-LN4F with 96 GiB DDR4 ECC
4 HDD for the array and 2 SSDs for cache + 2 NVMEs for Docker and VMs

 

I could then exchange the Motherboard and CPU to this combination:
Intel i7-12700k on PRO Z790-A WIFI DDR4 with 32 GiB non ECC @4000mhz (nice Samsung B-Die)
the board would have the 6 Sata ports I'm using currently but would not support IPMI and ECC

 

Would this switch make sense with regard to performance, and how do you think would the power consumption change?

I would have this spare hardware, if my son would upgrade his setup to an AMD AM5 9800x3D system, the i7 is currently in his rig.
Maybe some additional information why I already have the AMD AM5 9800X3D - I could not resist getting the 9950X3D for my desktop system and currently the 9800X3D is selling so bad at Ebay and co that I would lose +100€. Then I thought to keep it and put it with a cheap mobo in my sons PC and use the Intel for Unraid.

 

Is this idea total nonsense, or would this improve and future-proof my Unraid server enough?
It's not that my server feels underpowered currently - with running Homeassistant VM, pi-Hole LXC, + ~20 running Dockers including Nextcloud, Vaultwarden, Jellyfin, LyrionMusicServer and from time to time some game servers

I could then sell the old Xeon + Ram + Supermicro or build a second Server for family members
What do you think?

 

I did something similar 6 months ago as I was not happy with the fan control I was able to get with my supermicro MB. I went from intel xeon E-2288G on supermicro X11SCA-F to i7-12700k on a z690 edge MB with 64GB on-die ECC DDR5 RAM. Now I'm quite happy as my fans runs a lot quieter.  It's more power efficient and the igpu on the 12700k runs circles around the igpu on 2288G. Best upgrade I did for my server in a while. Go for it!

Sounds like a solid upgrade for sure.

 

Your old xeon has a significant idle power consumption about 36W on idle, while the 12700K can go 6-7W on idle with the right power states. The full power consumption is even worse on that xeon per watt.

 

Hardware transcoding on the 12700K is pretty amazing, I recently also just upgraded to a i5-13500 and I was blown away by the performance with the UHD 770 (12700k also has the same iGPU). Jellyfin handles it like a beast and I am so happy that I upgraded. Coming from a 5800X and raw dogging transcoding from CPU, its was night and day difference.

It also makes a lot of sense in terms of performance since you'd have higher clock speeds and more cores and threads. I would also take advantage of CPU pinning your docker apps to the E cores and VMs to the P cores.

One thing I would also recommend is to make sure that you run that ram in non XMP. it would definitely make it more stable and consume less power. XMP voltages run at 1.35V while stock is at 1.2V. Ram speeds are negligible in terms of performance in a server sense.

Give your son a nudge and tactically acquire his old PC 😉

Thanks for your reply - I've actually changed plans, I could not resist going a bit more modern and ordered an X14SAE-F and an Intel Ultra 7 265K + 94 GB ECC DDR5.
It was certainly not the most economical decision, but I was in the mood for such an over-the-top project for my needs.

On 4/10/2025 at 1:17 PM, gilladur said:

Thanks for your reply - I've actually changed plans, I could not resist going a bit more modern and ordered an X14SAE-F and an Intel Ultra 7 265K + 94 GB ECC DDR5.
It was certainly not the most economical decision, but I was in the mood for such an over-the-top project for my needs.

Where did you order the X14SAE-F from? I just bought a used Asus W680 mobo from Amazon and was planning on getting a 12700k to go with it, but then I saw W880 motherboards are a thing. However, I haven't seen any in stock anywhere.