[solved] ATOM vs Xeon - is double the price twice as good?

[AT0MAC]

I am currently waiting for parts to build my new unRAID NAS server but as I am waiting I still look around to see what I have maybe missed.

 

I have ordered the SuperMicro X7SPA-HF-D525 ATOM board, wich here in Denmark cost me around $285.

I already have 2x2 GB Hynix DDR3 1333 RAM laying around from another computer.

 

 

For $585 (close to double) I instead could have bought:

 

• SuperMicro X9SCL+-F MB
  
• Intel E3-1220L CPU
  
• Kingston KTA-MP1333/2G RAM
  
• Scythe Kozuti SCKZT-1000 CPU Fan
  

 

What would the main difference be?

Is my initial setup good enough for a smaller home oriented NAS?

Is the Xeon build really 2x as good?

[c3]

No reason to go with a Xeon for just unRAID. The X9SC? series supports i3 processors as well, but even that would not get close to the ATOM price.

 

You'll be very happy with your X7SPA-HF-D525. Quite a few people using it and some very nice scripts.

 

The Xeon is worth the price when you are going to build a virtualization platform like Atlas, but then we typically see the E3-1230 or E3-1240 with 8 threads.

[Johnm]

They are both good platforms.

Both are rock solid and built to run 24/7

 

As pointed out, I would probably get an I3 for the X9SCM if you are not doing virtualizing.

 

The ATOM is not as desirable these days simply because of the I3 sandybridge having the same low power consumption as the ATOM when idol but more horsepower when needed for things like transcoding.

 

For running unraid, the ATOM will be absolutely fine. you could even use it to serve 14 drives by adding an HBA to it.

I have several ATOM servers and they are exactly the same speed when serving files.. they run cool and quiet and and are always there with no worries about crashing.

 

The only issues the ATOM could run into is if you try to do on the fly transcoding.

and more then 14 drives.

 

the Xeon is really meant for heavy workloads and high CPU demands in a 24/7 setting.

If you were running an application server or virtualization.. then it is the way to go.

 

The X9SCM is meant for expandability, if you want to hang 100 hard drives off it along with a fiberchannal card .

It is also a great platfor from entry level Virtualization at the enterprise level.

 

is it worth twice the price? probably not for what you described as your needs...

Especially if it is for a smaller home oriented NAS?

 

You already ordered a solid build. it is to late to second guess yourself now... You will love it.

the real problem is when you want a second unraid server.... what to you buy then?!?!?

[AT0MAC]

Thank you for the input

 

 

I will most likely not do any virtualization and when ever I have to transcode something I am already getting used to doing it on my i7 machine before moving it to external storage - so I am sure I will be happy with the Atom 

 

 

Thank you for the replies guys