imrazor :
I was considering picking up one of these used, and adding a supercheap Xeon L5638 or E5645 for a bargian basement VM server. I don't have much experience with server/workstation boards, so I began investigating. Here are the specs:
http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon3000/X58/X8STi.cfm
Taking a closer look at the board raised a few questions. Here's a closeup of the board:
http://sishardware.com/imgs/a/a/c/v/x/supermicro_x8sti_computer_server_board___motherboard_1_lgw.jpg
While the specs state that the board has a PCIe x16 v2.0 slot, the slot looks unusually long. Is it really suitable for a video card? Would a video card need to be physically modified? Would a standard ATX power supply work with it? The cooler mounting holes look a little small too; would an Arctic Freezer Pro 7 work with this? Does it need a backplate on the CPU?
imrazor,
The Supermicro X8STi has a lot of potential as a VM server. It uses one of the best Xeon series, the LGA1366 which have some fast and reliable 4 and 6-core CPU's that today are amazingly inexpensive. CPU"s that cost $1,500 in 2010 are $80 now. I upgraded a Dell Precision T3500 in December and made a chart of the potential CPU's with Passmark CPU scores and Ebay prices:
LGA1366 CPU’s:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
http://ark.intel.com/products
4-Core: Passmark CPU Average Ebay_12.13.15
_W-3500 series / 45nm / 8MB cache / 130W / 24GB > 800,1066 / HT
I. W3520
II. W3530 2.8 / 3.06GHz _5372 [5587 actual] _$11 > $65
III. W3540 2.93 / 3.2 _5492
IV. W3550 3.06 / 3.33 _5761
V. W3565 3.2 / 3.46 _6083
VI. W3570 3.2 / 3.46 _6261 _$25 > $50
VII. W3580 3.33 / 3.6 _6586 _$50 > $95
_X-5500 series (8MB cache / 45nm / 95W_ 2009)
I. X5550 2.67 / 3.06 _5422
II. X5560 2.8 / 3.2 _5442
III. X5570 2.93 / 3/33 _5638 _$14 > $45
IV. X5590 3.33 / 3.6 _9216 _$37 >
_W-5500 series (8MB cache / 45nm / 95W_ 2009)
I. W5580 3.2 / 3.46 (130W) _5718 _$21 > $50
II. W5590 3.33 / 3.6 _6314 _$32 > $200
_X-5600 series 32nm/ 8MB/ 95W_ 2011)
I. X5647 2.93 / 3.2 _5996
II. X5667 3.07 / 3.46 _4655 _$16 > $40
III. X5672 3.2 / 3.6 _5148 _$45 > $87
IV. X5677 3.46 / 3.73 (130W)_7046 _$33 > $80
V. X5687 3.6 / 3.86 _7217 _$70 > $130
6-Core
_X-5600 series 32nm / 12MB / 95W_2011)
I.- X5660 2.87 / 3.2 _7587 _$68 > [$100] > $180
II. X5670 2.93 / 3.33 _ 8130 _ $50 > $100
II.- X5675 3.07 / 3.46 _8584 _$78 > [$112] > $215
III. -X5680 3.33 / 3.6 (130W) _9011 _$113> [$140] > $274
IV. -X5690 3.47 / 3.73 (2011) _9216 _$182 >[$220] > $291
_W-3600 series / 32nm / 12MB / 130W > 24GB >
I. W3670 3.2 / 3.46 (1066) _6261 _$90 > $160
II. W3680 3.33 / 3.6 (1333) _9398 _$140 > $208
III. W3690 3.47 / 3.73 _9703 _$160 > $400
Many current CPU coolers are avaialbe for the LGA1366
The X8STi is full ATX form factor and, I'd recommend a mid or full tower case with 8 drive bays.
The W-Series were made for single CPU use and X-Series are for dual CPU systems, but can be used as single CPU's I rehabilitated the T3500 for visualization use and chose an X5677 4-core (3.47 /3.73) for $60 as it was a more modern 32nm design. For VM use, I'd suggest A 6-core X5670 for about $70-90.
The Supermicro X8STi has integrated graphics which may or may not sufficient for your use, but it appears to have a PCI 2.0 x16 slot and if the configuration of the slot (it might have to be mounted with the bracket removed) with the and the budget supports it, you might consider a used GTX 650 ti or similar so the integrated video system doesn't use the CPU and system RAM.
The board supports 24GB of DDR3-1333 and I recommend using 24GB of PC3-10600E which is ECC unbuffered. There is piles of it on Ebay. For the T3500 project I bought 8GB (4X 2GB) for $43. For another LGA1366 project, a 12-core Precision T5500 I bought 48GB (6X4GB + 3X8GB) for about $140. LGA1366 uses the X59 chipset which is triple channel so the best results use 3X of each choice- two sets of three identical modules. In my T3500 I have 6X2GB Samsung single rank and the T5500 has 6X4GB Samsung for CPU1 and 3X8GB Samsung for CPU2.
Performance using a Supermicro X8STi can be very good. On Passmark, there are 8 systems tested:
CPU:
8735 (i7-980X @ 3.6GHz)
5668 (Xeon X5560)
5244 (i7-920)
3D:
6573 (Radeon HD 7970)
2559 (GTX 560)
The i7-980X is 6-core @ 3.33 /3.6GHz and appears to be the i7 version of the Xeon W3680 and is unlocked so it may be overclocked. However, these are expensive- about $250 and I don't recommend overclocking fro a server, not do I think it's necessary. A W3680 cost about $160 but an X5670 (6-core 2.9 /3.33) is more in the $80 range.
Yes, very good potential for a very reasonable price given the performance possibilities.
Cheers,
BambiBoom
Modeling:
1. HP z420 (2015) > Xeon E5-1660 v2 (6-core @ 3.7 / 4.0GHz) > 32GB DDR3 1866 ECC RAM > Quadro K4200 (4GB) > Intel 730 480GB (9SSDSC2BP480G4R5) > Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > 600W PSU> > Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > Logitech z2300 speakers > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)>
[ Passmark Rating = 5064 > CPU= 13989 / 2D= 819 / 3D= 4596 / Mem= 2772 / Disk= 4555] [Cinebench R15 > CPU = 1014 OpenGL= 126.59 FPS] 7.8.15
Rendering:
2. Dell Precision T5500 (2011) (Revised) > 2X
Xeon X5680 (6 -core @ 3.33 / 3.6GHz), 48GB DDR3 1333 ECC Reg. > Quadro K2200 (4GB ) > PERC H310 / Samsung 840 250GB / WD RE4 Enterprise 1TB > M-Audio 192 sound card > Logitech z313 > 875W PSU > Windows 7 Professional 64> HP 2711x (27", 1920 X 1080)
[ Passmark system rating = 3844 / CPU = 15047 / 2D= 662 / 3D= 3550 / Mem= 1785 / Disk= 2649] (12.30.15)
Research:
3. Dell Precision T3500 (2011) (Rev 2)
Xeon X5677 4-core @ 3.46 / 3.73GHz > 12GB (6X 2GB) DDR3-1333 ECC > Quadro 4000 (2GB) > PERC 6/i + Seagate 300GB 15K SAS ST3300657SS + WD Black 500GB > 525W PSU> Windows 7 Professional 64-bit > 2X Dell 19" LCD
[Passmark system rating = 2751, CPU = 7236 / 2D= 658 / 3D=2020 / Mem= 1875 / Disk=1221]
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