Dual Xeon V2 E5-2667 ASUS Z9PA-D8 ATX-sized server! UnRaid perfection

[jsdoc]

Ready to send my trusty dual CPU E5-2667 V2 ASUS ATX-sized server  to a new home, just want it to be an UnRaid one  

 

Standout features : 14 SATA/SAS ports onboard, USB3, IMPI/iKVM, onboard low end GPU, handy if you want to use monitor on it for GUI and keep others for passthru.   Basically can do all the unraid goodness onboard and still have all your PCIe slots for -- whatever... and cram it into ATX case.    

 

Short version:  $200 for board, $200 for dual CPUs + coolers, free shipping in US, 32GB ECC DDR3 RAM included (8GB x4) 

 

Or - read on if you'd rather have a full system build, I'm happy to flex to your needs / negotiate (price on above is firm however).   

 

https://www.servethehome.com/asus-z9pa-d8-review-dual-intel-xeon-e5-2600-atx-motherboard/

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E5-2667+v2+%40+3.30GHz&id=2154

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Xeon+E5-2667+v2+%40+3.30GHz&id=2154&cpuCount=2

 

Such a rare / neat option for ASUS to cram all this into ATX size for the E5 xeons, definitely SOHO / UnRaid friendly.   Ideal IMO.

 

Notice it even has an IPMI 2 management chip onboard (third NIC For this) - ASMB6 iKVM  https://youtube/jD95EwSad7c    

Also I added the PIKE daughtercard (ASUS Raid card)  that enables all the onboard SAS/SATA ports (14 in an ATX size!) without taking up any of the PCIe slots (it installs at the extreme edge of the board, is low profile) which is nice as it is potentially saving you the cost (and heat) of an LSI card, sparing a PCIe slot, etc.   Plus cabling all the drive cables to the edge of the board is just clean.  Thus, It's amazing what you can cram into ATX case with this thing, or of course easily upgrade an existing EATX server case if you want.   Is in perfect working order, has been behind APS battery backup it's whole life.   It's actually a board purchased (new) more recently 5-6 yrs ago, so it's not been in service all that long, IE service life much younger than it's 2012 manufacture date.  The CPU's and RAM I believe are pulls from a data center sourced used on Ebay.   

 

Personally I think this is the best CPU for this board, pretty much top of the line performance from the E5 series that was so popular since most of them have 2.4GHz ranges of clock speed, etc, while this one is 3.4 and turbo's to 4.0.  Pretty impressive that this is still in the top300 CPU list nearly 8 years later, and that's just for a single CPU....   Jumps to top 130th in dual CPU mode !   Meaning you're at basically Ryzen level performance yet not limited by running out of PCIe lanes in terms of similar priced CPU.   

 

This board will however accept any V1 or V2 series E5-2xxx CPUs.   I could easily sell the CPU's separately if you do just want the board / already have CPUs, we can converse in the thread about it.   However, these CPUs are ideal as they're high base clock vs most of the other E5s and so they'll run single threaded apps and VMs in a much more snappy way than low clocked Xeons (Not losing much from newer I-7s and you still get 32 cores...).   But they're still very reasonable on power draw / heat.   I did help fold proteins for COVID with it for about 30 days or so, so that's really the only time it's gotten a true Xeon workout - Rock solid, didn't miss a beat, don't believe it got over 60C as these air coolers are very good.   They're the tall fin based with 120mm fan in push/pull config.   One of the major brands, coolermaster I think. 

 

I basically just wanted a Threadripper upgrade as only reason to swap it out (2950x found at great price), which of course is great, but then also made me realize how still quite current and competitive this system is - does have USB 3.0, which is hard to find on servers of this era, and has onboard sound, etc.  Xeons are just such compliant "Mules" of predictable no fuss performance, and of course max compatibility with UnRaid.

 

If you do want more of a complete rig out of this: 

I have a sound insulated ATX Tower case (2 5.25" bays, 3 easy access 3.5" slots with slide out caddies, and various 2.5" mount points).   It's either BeQuiet or some similar brand.  This case is nice because it's virtually silent and has great airflow across the drives, has 2 front and one rear 120mm fan.  My drives stayed 38-40C.   If we're talking case/PSU I'll need to add about $50 for shipping for that.  Black with clear window, easy access. It's in great condition internally, has some minor scratches externally from being shifted around etc.  Has been one of my favorite cases.  So would be about $500 with case.   If PSU needed I could include one, $30-60 more depending on what you'd need

 

Would ship motherboard cpu combo for free.   Again, Case/PSU etc. would be $50 extra if you wanted to buy the complete system

 

Happy to include pics and more specific description of case etc, but wanted to gauge interest first as I'd be happy to keep and reuse the case as well.  Pretty sure I have original motherboard box and have drivers that I'll throw on a disc for you (or can link to, etc.).   ASUS did put out a bios update after SPECTRE etc.   IE it's ready to go.   

 

Note:  Shipping quotes would be for US.  Outside US could quote you actual shipping cost if interested.   

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by jsdoc

[laz]

Fantastic bit of kit. Is this still available? Would you consider selling just the CPUs+coolers without the mobo?

 

I already have a mobo for my build (GA-7PESH2) and you're right, the 2667v2 is the standout chip in the line for a lot of workloads. This will be my first unraid build after playing with Proxmox for a while. I'll have a pair of GPUs and a gaming VM on each socket, plus the usual NAS/media/services. 

 

Thanks,

[jsdoc]

Apologies, just recently sold the board / CPUs. need to update the thread.    
definitely perfect for UnRaid.   Got a great price on Threadripper or they’d still be chugging along.  

happy hunting!