A few months back I started this thread about using old DDR3 2GB RAM...which instead led to running a test unRAID server on an old gaming rig. And it worked! I managed to get PLEX running correctly, streaming media to a DLNA compatible TV set. I also managed to get a Win 7 VM running. It wouldn't update at all and it didn't have sound. But it worked (and the main goal was to experiment deploying VMs).

 

Sadly the trial licence ran out (I didn't see the value in buying a 2nd licence for something that I only wanted to experiment on) and things died down. Meanwhile my file server continues to show it's age and PLEX is a non-option. So it's time to update things - and I've got two options (and I welcome input):

 

- use the i7-920, 6GB RAM and GA-EX58-UD3R motherboard as the upgrade. Cost = $0 - these are the components from the previously mentioned test server. But there's a HUGE question mark over HPA. You see, despite me setting the BIOS to not backup an image of itself to a HDD.....it did. When I tried to add the two drives I was used in the test server to the array, unRAID refused to accept one of them as parity as it was smaller than the other. No prizes for pointing the finger at HPA. For a test server this is a non-issue as there's no production data to worry about. For my real server? A major concern.....

 

- Use a 1090T in the existing motherboard I have (M4A78L-M) and bring in extra RAM for good measure. Cost = $90 or so. Not much money, prolongs the life of my server and no HPA issues. I had to flash the BIOS which went flawlessly. There's a question mark over the CPU itself - it's used and I've no way of knowing if it's been thrashed or not (it has a 30 day guarantee basically). But then the i7-920 was overclocked for years with a good quality air cooler. So provided I use a good CPU heatsink/fan (Noctua naturally) then this risk is minimised?

 

If the HPA hadn't reared it's head during testing then I think this would be a fairly straightforward decision. I know what I'm getting from the i7 and the performance between the two CPUs is close enough. But add in the HPA (and the challenge of routing SATA cables around an ATX board versus the current micro-ATX board) and it becomes a more subtle decision. I can continue to experiment with VMs, learn how to deploy them accurately pending a more serious upgrade in 12 months or so.

 

Questions/comments are encouraged....if only to help me make the best decision!

 

 

Footnote: my existing server spend a considerable period (months if not years) switched off for reasons that would take too long to explain. It's just been taken off line after running flawlessly for near 6 months straight.....and I'd say that the existing components are near-new as a result. The 1090T CPU is going to be the oldest piece of kit in the box....

Though they are similar class/caliber CPUs I'd gravitate towards the Intel chip due to the faster DDR3 RAM... except for the HPA issue.  Is a BIOS upgrade available for that board that might address the problem?

 

The 1090T should be fine if you go that route, and has the advantage of faster single core clock speed as well as slightly faster Passmark scores.  I've had good luck with used CPUs from well known sellers so that wouldn't bother me.

 

This is a bit of a coin toss .  Maybe renew the trial license and see if you can work out the HPA issue?

I ran the same setup you're asking about now for over two years, i7-920 and x58-ud4p, works flawless but I never used the onboard sata controllers. I use m1015 instead to get the SATA-III support, so I can't speak to if HBA is an issue still or not on the Gigabyte boards.

 

Over the years as I got more into VM's and Docker with UnRaid adding support for those, I upgraded the DDR3 ram from 8GB to 48GB. Also swapped out the i7-920 and put in a Xeon 5660. Fantastic platform, so I say stick with it since its worked for you and its worked for me.

Thanks for the responses both.

 

I ended up going for the AMD option as I just couldn't get the HPA issue resolved in a satisfactory manner. I did a test server rebuild using new USB trial software, pre cleared the drives (a pair of 320GB drives), made certain that the BIOS option to copy the BIOS to the HDD was switched off.....and I still ended up with one drive smaller than the other. There's something silly that I'm not getting right - just not worked out what it is (yet). But as a result I just can't trust it on a live server.

 

Therefore the AMD option was chosen. Took my time to ensure I made no mistakes - the worst issues I ran into was getting the BIOS settings just right - for instance this processor can run VMs, provided a specific BIOS option is enabled. But it all runs, PLEX has been added (a new feature for me) and movies are streaming really well.

 

It has meant that I've observed an interesting 'feature' for unRAID. The boot menu provides MemTest+ which is of course great for testing memory. But there's no similar option to test CPUs. Granted the main focus of such torture tests as Prime 95 is to test overclocked boxes to make sure they can handle the stress - but since there's a massive growth industry in reusing e5-2670s bought from eBay it seems this is a bit of a miss for unRAID?

 

I'm sure wiser heads will tell me why it's not a good idea (for the record I used Ultimate Boot CD to access Prime95 from a USB boot stick. 6 hours later with no errors and temperates well under worrying levels gave me a lot of confidence in the CPU). But it seems like it's something to include along with MemTest - and I'd love to be involved in making it happen.

Interesting idea, I also did a Prime95 on my most recent used CPU purchase as I would guess many of us do.

 

Glad things are working out with the AMD.