doesntaffect Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 Hi folks, I am looking for advise regarding which passive PCIe x1 card to buy. Atm it looks to me that a passive card like the Nvidia GT 710 seems to be the choice nowadays. Are there any other passive / low power x1 cards know to work well with UnRaid and with a power consumption < 20W, ideally 10W or less. I do not play any games and not not need to pass through a GPU to my VMs. Any advise also on older x1 cards is welcome too. Quote Link to comment
Ford Prefect Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 ...another option could be to upgrade the CPU to a model with IGP, if Motherboard supports it/has an output port or use a motherboard with IPMI. In terms of power draw in idle and boost, this should be the best option. But what is the purpose of having a graphics card in your unraid server for using the local UI only, anyway? Quote Link to comment
doesntaffect Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 Why dedicated GPU? I am thinking to use a dedicated GPU Because the IGPU is taking up 8 PCIe lanes in my config. For my 2nd cache pool I am using a 4x M.2 Adapter atm in the x16 slot, where I can use 2 NVMEs (8 lanes) only, due to the IGPU. I'd like to upgrade this Cache pool from Raid1 (2x1TB SSDs) to Raid 10 (4x 1TB SSDs). My current CPU is a 3400G (4 Core / IGPU, limited to 30W TDP through Bios settings). I'd like to move to an 8-12 core CPU with max. 65W TDP, ideally 35W like the 4750GE - however all the bigger 8-12 core CPUs with low TDP seem to be unavailble. Bottomline, Ideally I'll be able to get a Ryzen 9 3900 (12-core / 65W) - Would be my preferred solution or stick with an IGPU-CPU like the 4750G(E). A fallback would be the 3700x, limited to 35W. I want more cores, and keep a low TDP Makes sense? Quote Link to comment
Ford Prefect Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 ...in general yes, this explains some facts, but do you need a GPU at all, like for transcoding if not for a dedicated VM? The problem with the limited no. of lanes in your x16 slot is a limitation of chipset or motherboard? Sorry, I am not that familiar with AMD based hardware. If a powerful GPU is not needed but you want any, then going the IPMI route (approx 5-6W) is the most energy efficient. I doubt that an external GPU, even when in idle, will go below that. Quote Link to comment
doesntaffect Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 My Mobo has a full x16 slot, however when using an IGPU based CPU I get 8 lanes less in the x16 slot. The IPMI thing sounds interesting since I do not need a GPU at all. My VMs use a virtual one and the system itself is sitting in a closet. Quote Link to comment
Ford Prefect Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 (edited) You could as well then skip a GPU at all (when the MB boots without one). ...IPMI offers a lot of comfort, especially if you do not want to hook a Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse to your rig, when it sits in a small closet. But for AMD (AM4) socket, I am only aware of ASROCK motherboards, that offer this, like: https://geizhals.eu/?cat=mbam4&xf=494_IPMI Edit: of course, this in itself is not a commercially feasible option. Saving, like 12W at 30cents/kWh for 24x7 is "only" worth 30 bucks per year. Edited December 3, 2020 by Ford Prefect Quote Link to comment
doesntaffect Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 I'll try the headless boot once I get my hands on a 3900. Using a MSI B450M M-ATX atm, so IPMI is not option. Quote Link to comment
Ford Prefect Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 ...see: https://dc.sheridon.de/which-am4-mainboards-boot-headless-without-gpu ...not a recent review/list but a place to start Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.