Quick opinion/question for upgrading my current build

[boxzilla]

have my build from late 2011 early 2012 couldn't be happier with the results.

 

essentially i built based off of raj's beast tower prototype

 

currrent setup is

 

SUPERMICRO MBD-X8SIL-F-O

Intel i3 540 Clarkdale

2x2gb kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2

i have all 20 slots full with drives (2x4tb + 17x2tb + cache)

 

my bubby has offered me parts from his long planned build that he never got to and realizes now never will

 

offered his unused cpu

 

intel xeon x3440

2x8gb ram

 

he was going to build off the same board so these should be compatible with my current setup.  any opinions if its worth upgrading and as for the ram can i just add them to my open slots and have a total of 20gb of ram or do i pull the old sticks out?

 

any potential issues i should be aware about before i decide.

 

thanks so much for any advice/replies

[Ford Prefect]

...it'll depend on what you want to achieve.

 

- my believe is, that the XEON will idle as low as the i3...so not more power consumption in idle, but more (lots of) headroom if need be.

- the setup with the XEON will be vt-d capable....more options for/with future unRAID v6.

 

If the RAM can be combined will depend on both models...there is a matrix in the board manuals.

They all need to be of same RANK and with 4 modules, only a certain rank is supported...don't know exactly from my memory which one, pls check yourself

AFAIK you can mix sizes as long as they are of same size per bank.

Edit: when all four banks are fitted, the RAM bandwidth will be limited to 800MHz...if the 1st 16GB will be sufficient, they will run a bit faster when not combined with a second set of modules.

Edit-2: and with four modules, all need to be of type "registered", AKA RDIMMs, AFAIR.

 

...so, if that offer comes cheap...there is IMHO no reason to reject it. 

[Ford Prefect]

...on the other hand...I just turned my X8SIL-F with XEON L3426 and 32GB of RAM into a workstation.

I fitted a PCIe x1 GPU...works like a charm.

That may be an alternative for these pieces if they are in danger of idling in an unRAID setup 

[boxzilla]

...it'll depend on what you want to achieve.

 

- my believe is, that the XEON will idle as low as the i3...so not more power consumption in idle, but more (lots of) headroom if need be.

- the setup with the XEON will be vt-d capable....more options for/with future unRAID v6.

 

If the RAM can be combined will depend on both models...there is a matrix in the board manuals.

They all need to be of same RANK and with 4 modules, only a certain rank is supported...don't know exactly from my memory which one, pls check yourself

AFAIK you can mix sizes as long as they are of same size per bank.

Edit: when all four banks are fitted, the RAM bandwidth will be limited to 800MHz...if the 1st 16GB will be sufficient, they will run a bit faster when not combined with a second set of modules.

Edit-2: and with four modules, all need to be of type "registered", AKA RDIMMs, AFAIR.

 

...so, if that offer comes cheap...there is IMHO no reason to reject it. 

...on the other hand...I just turned my X8SIL-F with XEON L3426 and 32GB of RAM into a workstation.

I fitted a PCIe x1 GPU...works like a charm.

That may be an alternative for these pieces if they are in danger of idling in an unRAID setup 

 

thanks for the reply! i cant really make a good argument not to take the parts off his hands the more i think of it. and at the price he's offering it.  its most certainly going to be overkill for me but will also provide me with some room to grow with v6.  or like u said opt for a secondary build 

 

[Ford Prefect]

...agreed.

Looking at your actual 2x2GB part no. these seem to be UDIMMS...so no option to combine them with two more modules.

So you should accept the complete offer and re-purpose the old 4GB.

[boxzilla]

...agreed.

Looking at your actual 2x2GB part no. these seem to be UDIMMS...so no option to combine them with two more modules.

So you should accept the complete offer and re-purpose the old 4GB.

 

good to know ...

 

thanks again