Hi, Guys.

 

I can get a Supermicro C7Z87-OCE for $150 locally. From what I can tell, it is a Supermicro "prosumer" level board with dual NICs (Intel) and provides support for VT-D but oddly enough, does not support buffered memory. It also has 6 of the 8 SATA 3 ports under the Intel chipset but 2 of them under an ATMEL device - I doubt I would ever virtualize, but want to use unraid Plus with no needed external SATA boards. Would you use this mobo? If not, since I am trying to learn, why not?

 

I wouldn't consider if it were full price it but it is $100 cheaper than the typical "XSIL" type boards I see others using and it seems to have most of the other goodies, like IPMI, dual NICs, etc.. I am concerned about the split SATA situation - this board seems to be aimed directly at Windows users - so unraid might suffer as far as drivers and such go. How do you tell?

 

Here's a link: http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/core/z87/c7z87-oce.cfm

What say ye?

I would say go for it.  Which CPU were you planning on mating with this board?

Honestly haven't decided. I personally don't see the benefit of an Intel Xeon "V2 - V3" if you're not interested in virtualized servers - just more expense for data that is replaceable (in my case). I am thinking something along the lines of a Haswell 4770 and 8 GB of memory to start. Supermicro's site doesn't have CPU recommendations for this board yet. All I need is a processor with a couple of extra cores to dedicate to a dockerized Universal Media Server container and other than that, now that the battery backup is supported within unraid, I won't need much else. I still have a month or so to mull things over.

I was only concerned that the CPU you choose is compatible with the motherboard at its current BIOS revision.

... oddly enough, does not support buffered memory.

 

That board uses a desktop chipset, so it not only doesn't support buffered RAM, it also doesn't support ECC.  It also doesn't support Xeon processors.    The C2xx chipset boards all support ECC.

 

 

I personally don't see the benefit of an Intel Xeon "V2 - V3" if you're not interested in virtualized servers

 

The Xeons are slightly more power efficient, and have ECC support.  They're also slightly less expensive -- i.e. an E3-1246v3 is about $25 less than an i7-4770 but slightly outperforms it.    If you don't need the embedded graphics, the E3-1241v3 also outperforms the 4770 and is $15 less than the 1246 ... about $40 less than the i7.

 

A server grade motherboard with a Xeon and ECC memory is definitely a more stable platform than a desktop board with an i7, but either would make a very good system.

 

 

 

Yes - I did mention that the buffered (ECC) memory not being supported was odd. (Seems to me since it supports IPMI, has a dual NIC, supports VT-D - it seems to do everything BUT support ECC.) However, hardcore gamers are hip to server processors that outperform desktop hardware and are more stable - I think this board is aimed at that crowd.

 

Wow - didn't know that these are equivalent and CHEAPER - and I thank you for the information, Garycase. The ECC Memory - isn't it a premium cost though? When I have looked at those costs - 8 GB of non-ECC ram is around $100.  The equivalent in ECC ram is $180? (I guess that, in the grand scheme of things, saving $25-40 on CPU and spending $80 additional for ram would be nearly a wash - and worth it for stability and the opportunity to not have to acquire more hardware should I decide to try the virtualized server path.) It could also be that I am not shopping as smart - I don't know good places to look for deals on server class hardware. I look at MicroCenter and Newegg mostly.

 

So, if I look at more serious server motherboards, I would look for IPMI, dual (Intel) NICs, ECC memory and -enough- SATA ports? Like I said - I want 8 SATA 2/3 - no dependencies on external SATA controllers...so any suggestions? What else is really important?

... I did mention that the buffered (ECC) memory not being supported was odd

 

I presume you know that buffered and ECC are two different attributes.  The C2xx motherboards that support E3 series Xeons support ECC, but it's still unbuffered memory.

 

You'd need to step up to E5 series Xeons (and supporting motherboards) to get buffered RAM support.

 

As for the memory -- yes, ECC modules are a bit more, but not as much as you indicated.  Were you looking at Registered (buffered) modules?

 

For example, here are a set of Crucial unbuffered modules with and without ECC:

 

Without ECC - $125:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148663

 

With ECC - $153:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148770

 

So a $28 difference ... easily worth it for the error correction feature.

 

There's a lot of reading going on...

 

I think I understand - ECC is Error Correcting. Buffered is memory that is asynchronous  and Registered is Synchronous - actually takes an extra clock tick to "correct" or detect. Is that right? (Although I am dubious of nebular interference screwing up my Star Trek episodes....so there.)

 

Ah - to cut to the chase, are most people that are employing SuperMicro server boards looking for ECC Non-Registered memory as an attribute? Is that a fair assessment?

 

You answered drpete in another post - he was looking at a X10DRL-C - and the ONLY memory for it was ECC Registered - 4GB - $188 per module. That breaks the bank and is what I am trying to avoid. Right now - the WAF (Wife Approval Factor) is on my side with my junque built unraid box, and she is inclined to let me make a more proper machine, but spending $800-$900 is not gonna fly. If it is only a $25 premium over non-ECC unbuffered memory - that's not a problem.

 

I just don't know how to properly "shop" for a server board...what's good or not.

I just don't know how to properly "shop" for a server board...what's good or not.

 

Get a board with a C2xx chipset and you'll be fine.  i.e. a C222, C224, or C226 chipset

Look for IPMI if you want that (a VERY nice feature).

 

There are several very nice SuperMicro boards that fit this bill -- be sure and look at the detailed specs on their website to confirm it has IPMI, as not all of their boards do.    Otherwise, just pick your form factor (ATX, microATX, etc.) and then look at their choices and be sure it has the features you want ... and you're ready to go.

 

Asus and AsRock make some nice C22x boards as well.