MB recommendation

[jcrus2001]

I am looking to build my first unraid server, I am planning on using it to host VM's so virtualization is key. I plan to run AMD processor (price and number of cores) My question is looking at MB on the market today , which one do you recommend. I thought about getting a Asus M4A89GTD -- any thoughts?

 

 

thanks

JW

[batt01]

I think the trend now to go with Intel CPUs. I just moved from a TriCore AMD to a Intel Core I5. I think the reason is they perform better and comsume less power.

[jcrus2001]

My only issue with Intel CPU is cost  and I need to get 8 or more cores,  Does the I5 have 8 or more cores or threading?

 

thanks for the advice.

[JonathanM]

My only issue with Intel CPU is cost  and I need to get 8 or more cores,  Does the I5 have 8 or more cores or threading?

 

thanks for the advice.

Keep in mind that AMD cores != Intel cores.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/11/amd-sued-over-allegedly-misleading-bulldozer-core-count/

I would be more inclined to use benchmarks to choose a processor instead of core counts.

[jcrus2001]

thank you -- I was not aware of the misleading information on AMD processors -- or alleged miss information. 

[JonathanM]

thank you -- I was not aware of the misleading information on AMD processors -- or alleged miss information.

It's not a simple matter, as you will learn as you do more research. There are tasks (and benchmarks) that favour AMD's approach, others are more suited to Intel.

 

The only blanket statement I feel comfortable making is that you will use less wattage per unit of work done with Intel.

[jcrus2001]

my only issue with intel is the price to get 8 cores I have to pay more $$$$$ than with AMD. Has anyone using AMD seen any performance issues when using them for VMs?

[HellDiverUK]

Has anyone using AMD seen any performance issues when using them for VMs?

 

No.

 

I run a FX6300 for VMs, and it runs really, really well.  It's a FX6300 on a M5A78 LE R2 board, and it has 32GB of DDR3-1600 ECC RAM.  It's quite power efficient all things considered, I've no real issues with the machine at all.

 

The FX8320E is a great chip for running a load of VMs on, too.

[garycase]

my only issue with intel is the price to get 8 cores I have to pay more $$$$$ than with AMD. Has anyone using AMD seen any performance issues when using them for VMs?

 

VM's will run okay on AMD, but don't get too focused on the number of cores -- look at the overall performance of the processor.    A low-end AMD 8-core CPU, e.g. an FX8320, is indeed very low cost, and has a reasonable amount of "horsepower" -- scoring 8024 on PassMark.    Note, however, that a quad-core Core i5 that doesn't cost much more than the FX comes very close in performance -- for < $200 you can get an i5-4590 that scores 7214 on PassMark (90% of the FX8320) ... and does that with a TDP of 84 watts -- well below the 120 watts the FX 8320 draws.  For a bit over $200 you can get i5's that do even better ... up to 7792 on a Skylake i5-6600k.    And if you step up to a Core i7, you'll get performance better than you can get on ANY of the 8-core AMDs, while still drawing far less power.

 

If you really want 8 cores, and don't mind a 125w CPU, there's currently a superb deal available on e-bay of some E5 series Xeon E5-2670's that were pulled out of data center usage => these are available in the $90 or less range, and score 12518 on PassMark (or over 18000 if you get 2 and use a dual CPU motherboard, as many folks are doing).    See this thread:

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=46077.msg445381#msg445381

Even though these are first generation E5's, they still blow any AMD 8-core CPU out of the water ... and with the deals you can get on the CPU and registered RAM modules on e-bay you can build an amazing system for just a few hundred $$  (the biggest expense is a suitable motherboard).