This is excellent news!  I've put in an order.

 

I know this ram is compatible , but it doesn't say it's supported on supermicro's page.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239370

 

Will I run into any problems?

 

I don't know why it should not work perfectly (standard disclaimer applies  ).

I'm using KVR13E9/8I which works flawlessly.

 

Kingston's website's memory selector recommends the one you pointed out for this mobo.

I've read the entire thread.  Are there still issues with Reds and this board?  Are the issues present only when using ESXI or even with raw unRaid? 

Another update to this motherboard.

 

It is incompatible with my Subsonic S12II-520bronze.  It had me stumped for quite some time but it's now working fine with a coolermaster power supply

Are there any gotches when using this board with ESX ?

Do both network cards work?

Controller issues?

Does bare metal unRAID handle the LSI without issue?

 

 

I'm spec'ing out a new machine for ESX and possibly XEN, but since my job uses VMWare, I'll probably go that route.

Everything worked well for me aside from the power supply I originally had.

 

I haven't tried to use both nics yet so that I don't know.

 

I flashed the controller to IT mode and passed it through without any errors. 

Been on since the day i bought it. Both NICs working fine!

I had to open my mouth... Just plugged a TV card into the x8 (x4) PCIe slot and i can't seem to be able to passthrough in ESXI. Any advice?

 

This is all i see. I have a card in the x16 (x8) slot already...

 

According to the manual, the PCH (Lynx Point) should support this PCIe slot.

 

I had the same problem with an AVerMedia Duet on my Sandy Bridge X9SCM-F when I updated from 1.0c to 2.0 to support Ivy Bridge CPU.  Before the bios upgrade it was visible in ESXi 5.0 and after the upgrade it was invisible.  I found that the tuner wasn't visible on my Ivy Bridge DH77EB Intel MB with a bare metal Windows install.  I was able to update the bios on my Intel MB so that the tuner was visible.  I don't remember seeing anything about it in any bios upgrades for my X9SCM-F.  What I believe is the problem is that the bios had compatibility for PCIe 3.0 which broke compatibility for some PCIe 1.0 cards.  Likely that is the same situation for your Haswell board that actually supports PCIe 3.0.  I would test the card in another PC without ESXi and make sure it works there.  Also look in the bios of your ESXi MB and see if you can see indication of recognized PCIe cards.  My Intel would list them but my SuperMicro just showed interrupts/resource indications for slots so you may have to look with another card installed and removed to see it in the bios.  If you can tell when a card is plugged into a slot in the bios and your tuner card doesn't show up it is probably what I've been talking about.  Your only option if I'm correct is to get a bios update that fixes the problem.  The Intel bios that fixed it for me said it was a timing issue and PCIe 3.0.

 

 

Hope that helps.

@BobPhoenix, thanks for taking the time. I will try the card in another PC tomorrow. Very unfortunate as this hampers my dreams of the ultimate all-in-one server

Quick, probably incredibly dumb question...

 

I've got one of these boards on order, and I've had a look through the pdf of the manual - of all of the fan connectors on the board, which is the one that is best to connect the cpu cooler fan to?

 

And which are best for chassis fans? (I'll have 3 fans in my Fractal Design Define XL case)

 

Thanks

I've read the entire thread.  Are there still issues with Reds and this board?  Are the issues present only when using ESXI or even with raw unRaid?

 

When plugged into the onboard LSI controller, no red drives are detected.

 

 

... which is the one that is best to connect the cpu cooler fan to?

 

I'm fairly sure the CPU fan connector is marked with silk-screening on the motherboard.

 

 

And which are best for chassis fans? (I'll have 3 fans in my Fractal Design Define XL case)

 

While you can connect the case fans to the motherboard headers, I'd be more inclined to connect them to the built-in fan controller on the Define XL case.

 

 

Quick, probably incredibly dumb question...

 

I've got one of these boards on order, and I've had a look through the pdf of the manual - of all of the fan connectors on the board, which is the one that is best to connect the cpu cooler fan to?

 

And which are best for chassis fans? (I'll have 3 fans in my Fractal Design Define XL case)

 

Thanks

 

FANA is the CPU fan connector

 

FAN1-4 can be used for chassis fans. I would avoid drawing power from the motherboard for fans as they share a power budget with the slots. I made something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812119248 which powers the fans from the PSU directly, yet connects to the motherboard for fan control.

Typical - FANA is the furthest from the cpu socket!

 

I had missed FANA completely, and used FAN1. Will have to see if the fan cable will reach down there without me having to reposition the cpu cooler. If not I guess an extension cable will sort the problem.

FANA is the CPU fan connector

 

I never realized that. What is this based on? The manual seemed to be silent about this.

(I connected my CPU fan to the closest fan connector and everything works like a charm, but I'm still curious).

I think you're right, the manual says nothing on the subject. You can use any fan header for the CPU fan. They all should work. However they are not all equal. There are only two PWM controllers (yet 5 fan headers). One is fanA, and the other fan1-4. So, in order to get separate control over the CPU fan from chassis fans, use fanA. I learned this the same place as finding out the fans compete for power with the PCIe slots; SuperMicro support. And I do use an "extension cable" of sorts, as mentioned I do not want to draw power from the motherboard for fans, so the short splitter gives me room to reach.

I've read the entire thread.  Are there still issues with Reds and this board?  Are the issues present only when using ESXI or even with raw unRaid?

 

When plugged into the onboard LSI controller, no red drives are detected.

 

Thank you for answering.  I know you where having troubles with these drives last fall and it looks like it is still an issue.  I was hoping a firmware update would have resolved this by now.  I'll look for different options instead.  Thanks again.

FANA is the CPU fan connector

 

I never realized that. What is this based on? The manual seemed to be silent about this.

(I connected my CPU fan to the closest fan connector and everything works like a charm, but I'm still curious).

 

The manual is indeed pretty much silent, although it does IMPLY that FanA is for the CPU.  It shows "FAN1-FAN4,FANA" and then says "System/CPU fan headers".  You can read this as 5 fan headers that are the system and CPU fan headers; or as 4 headers and one more that are the system fan headers and the CPU fan header.

 

In any event, the system should be monitoring the fan speed for the CPU fan, so if there's no fan connected to whichever connector it's expected on, the system likely won't boot.  My guess is that it's indeed FANA.  By the way, looking at the pictures of the board in the manual, I'd think the cable from the heatsink shouldn't have a problem reaching that -- although it may depend on which orientation you mounted the heatsink in.

 

I currently have the cpu fan plugged into FAN1 and all seems to be ok. I do agree that FANA sounds like a more sensible choice.

 

The cable on the cooler would reach, except I seem to have mounted the cooler upside down as in the label on the top of the cooler is upside down when you look at it in the case. I don't want to mess around pulling the cooler off and re-mounting it, so I've ordered an extension cable, which also means I can run the cable around the back of the chassis so it'll look neater 

 

I didn't realise it wasn't a good idea to run the chassis fans from the onboard connectors, however after seeing that comment here I've connected them to the fan controller on the case.

 

By doing that am I missing out on the possibility of the motherboard adjusting fan speed when necessary? The case fan controller is a 3 position one - 5V, 7V and 12V IIRC.

 

Apologies for going slightly OT

If you connect the fans to the motherboard headers, it will indeed be able to control the speed;  but that really shouldn't be necessary.  I'd just leave them connected to the case controller and set it to the middle speed.  Monitor your drive temps during a parity check; and if they're good, just leave it as is.  You may even want to see if the lowest speed works okay -- although I suspect they're quiet enough on the middle settings to just leave it there.

 

Thanks,

 

with regard to the comments about the fan connectors competing for power with the PCIe slots. How much of an issue, if any, would that be with this board?

 

There isn't an abundance of expansion slots on the board, and in my case the only things likely to get plugged into the slots that are there will be the SATA/eSATA card that I currently have which is in the x4 (I think) slot, and possibly an M1015 or similar in the x8 (or is it 16?) in the future.

 

I'm not going to be plugging a power hungry GPU in there, so in reality would there be a problem driving the fans from the onboard connectors?

 

I will probably leave things as they are, but I'm interested in the theories/reasonings behind it all.

If the fan headers are fully populated (5, one on each header), there can easily be power problems with any PCIe cards installed. Even a few fans can make running PCIe cards a challenge. If you are up and running, don't worry about it.

 

Any power hungry GPU should NOT be using PCIe for power. They should have on card power connector(s). The current GTX780 is a 250W card, far beyond the power budget (~60W). The M1015 is a 13.5W card.

 

There's really not any "competition" with the PCIe bus for power if you use the onboard fan headers.    The power runs on the circuit board for the PCIe bus are entirely separate from those to fan headers.    What IS true is that all the power for both of these is coming from the 24-pin ATX header ... but there's PLENTY of current capacity provided by this header -- the only device that's not true for is the CPU, and that's why it has an auxiliary power connection to the PSU.    In multiple-rail power supplies, there could be issues because all of the devices on the motherboard were on one rail, while the other power outputs were a different rail;  but with a single rail PSU this isn't a concern.

 

Bottom line:  If you want to use the onboard headers, just use them 

As I've noted earlier, however, I'd use the built-in controller on the case, as this lets you adjust the speed base on your HDD temps, which isn't something that would be factored in to any adjustment done by the BIOS power control code (which is monitoring motherboard sensors).  What you might want to do is plug the rear fan into the motherboard, since that airflow contributes to motherboard cooling; but leave the front fans plugged into the case controllers.

 

For a single rail PSU, it 'should' not be an issue, however I remember many motherboards would have a maximum recommended wattage of fan for the fan headers.

 

for 1 or 2 fans, if they are not high powered fans I don't see that as a problem.

 

For any high powered high rpm fans, I would think twice and get the motherboard manufacturer's recommendation.

 

The supermicro motherboards are usually designed for low wattage fans. I've had many rackmount supermicro's and they all had the fans on the motherboard.  Granted we were not dealing with 250w GPU video cards, but the fans were DENKI and SANYO with pretty high RPMS/CFM ratings.

 

This doesn't provide a collect $200 and after go ticket.  In those cases, we had everything Supermicro, Case, FAN, PSU.  So YMMV and I would still recommmend reviewing the max wattage per fan header before loading up.

 

The safest way is probably to use a fan controller on a regular molex or tie the fans directly into a Molex.

 

In my case, I'll be adding 3 140MM low RPM fans, probably on the fan headers.  I doubt I would put in more then that.

The number of rails in the PSU has nothing to do with motherboard power design. Power distribution around a motherboard is very complicated. PSU can have a rating of 850W, but it has to be properly connected to power your CPU, GPU, etc. Connect it incorrectly, and things wont work.

 

Why do GPUs have PCIe power connectors? Not because the PSU rail may not have enough power. Because the motherboard can not distribute the power required. PCIe slots are budgeted by lanes, x8 and x16 get 25W, others 10W. Exceed these limits and you risk damaging the motherboard. Hopefully, it will just not start, or shutdown unexpectedly. However, border cases will result in overheating and component damage.

 

Supermicro motherboard have a reputation for being picky about power supplies, this is in part due to the design by Supermicro for systems to be build with their components, motherboard, chassis, power supply, fans, and cards. When not using all Supermicro components, things get dicey. Unfortunately, it is very easy to overload the power distribution of a motherboard. 25W here, 15W there, it adds up fast.

 

In the case of the X10SL7, the onboard LSI is part of the PCI power budget as it is PCI connected. See page 1-8 of the manual. You can see many "onboard" items are PCI connected.

 

Lastly, it is not a competition, it is a budget. In a competition, someone wins, the rest don't. With a budget, give a little here, take a little there, things stay running. Exceed the budget, everything goes lights out (the power traces on your motherboard go fizz, the cap goes POP!).