Help me make my mind up i5-650 vs g620 for ZFS CIFS server

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somename

Gawd
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Jan 6, 2007
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I'm just trying to make sure if I'm not overlooking anything in finalizing a server build. Either CPUs will be paired with a serverboard(3420 or c202 chipset) to run with ECC RAM(ECC is apparently supported with server chipset with either CPUs from my googling. Please correct me if I'm wrong).

This server will run Solaris 11 for CIFS server but will also run backup AD controller in 2008 R2 Server Core within a VM. If I go with i5 650, I would run them in ESXi 5 and in VirtualBox on top of Solaris if I go with g620.

Pros and Cons that I see.

Pros for i5
Better performance, especially if I decide to go with ZFS encryption (AES-NI with i5)
Can run ESXi

Cons for i5
More expensive
Older tech(limits my CPU upgrade option)
Higher power consumption

Pros for g620
Cheaper
1155 socket(I can drop in Xeon e3 later on if I want to)
Should consume lower power

Cons for g620
Slower.
No VT-d. Have to use VirtualBox on top of Solaris

I'm leaning toward g620 at the moment since I think g620 would be enough for my need as I don't have plans for ZFS encryption now and VirtualBox seems to handle Server Core 2008 R2 VM okay at the moment(I'm running Solaris+VirtualBox setup on an Athlon II x2 box right now). Also, one big plus I didn't mention in the pro above is that I can do ZFS mirror on the Solaris 11 installtion disk whereas I would need to get another RAID card(the box already has an m1015 for ZFS volumes for CIFS) for mirroring if I go with i5(and thus ESXi). While I do have scheduled backups for everything, I'd really prefer mirroring for boot drives since swapping disks is so much simpler than restoring backups.

On the flip side, I'm considering i5 650 since ESXi is definitely more stable solution. I do not terribly care for VirtualBox. It's definitely a desktop solution not really suited to run something 24/7. Also, while I can drop in Xeon e3 later for more feature and performance on if I go with g620, that's more money later on, i5 650 will give me all the features and performance I'd need for foreseeable future.

Thanks for all the help.
 
Can you possibly scrape up about $60? If so, go with i5-2400. SB architecture and supports vt-d.
 
I switched from running OpenIndiana natively + VirtualBox 2.4 on a C2D Q9200 CPU to a Xeon E3-1220 (SuperMicro X9SCM-F with C204 chipset) running ESXi 5. I am glad to be rid of VirtualBox - anything higher than VirtualBox 2.4 I find very unstable. 2.4 has very slow I/O and nearly freezes if I try to run OpenVPN.

I hate VirtualBox with a passion. I probably could have run ESXi on the Q9200 but I needed to upgrade the motherboard because I could not run 3 M1015 cards + my 10 gbe card at the same time.
 
The problem with i5-2400 is it doesn't have ECC support. With desktop Sandy Bridge, only pentium and i3 lines have ecc support.

I am currently running Solaris 11 with latest VirtualBox build, and it works okay for me. Of course, I'm only running 1 VM with Server Core 2008 R2 doing only a back up AD controller role, so my needs are minimal compared to most. I'm not a big fan of VirtualBox, but it's an adequate solution for me.

More I think about my choices, I think the only thing that keeps me from going with ESXi is having to get another RAID card to do boot drive mirror where as I can just do ZFS mirror on Solaris boot drive.

The zero-cost mirroring, lower hardware cost, and lower power usage of Solaris 11+VirtualBox on g620 are the reasons I'm willing to suffer with VirtualBox over ESXi running on i5 650. I just want to make sure there isn't something I'm overlooking since it's the last hardware change I'll do for a couple of years hopefully.
 
somename said:
I'm just trying to make sure if I'm not overlooking anything in finalizing a server build. Either CPUs will be paired with a serverboard(3420 or c202 chipset) to run with ECC RAM(ECC is apparently supported with server chipset with either CPUs from my googling. Please correct me if I'm wrong).

This server will run Solaris 11 for CIFS server but will also run backup AD controller in 2008 R2 Server Core within a VM. If I go with i5 650, I would run them in ESXi 5 and in VirtualBox on top of Solaris if I go with g620.

Pros and Cons that I see.

Pros for i5
Better performance, especially if I decide to go with ZFS encryption (AES-NI with i5)
Can run ESXi

Cons for i5
More expensive
Older tech(limits my CPU upgrade option)
Higher power consumption

Pros for g620
Cheaper
1155 socket(I can drop in Xeon e3 later on if I want to)
Should consume lower power

Cons for g620
Slower.
No VT-d. Have to use VirtualBox on top of Solaris

I'm leaning toward g620 at the moment since I think g620 would be enough for my need as I don't have plans for ZFS encryption now and VirtualBox seems to handle Server Core 2008 R2 VM okay at the moment(I'm running Solaris+VirtualBox setup on an Athlon II x2 box right now). Also, one big plus I didn't mention in the pro above is that I can do ZFS mirror on the Solaris 11 installtion disk whereas I would need to get another RAID card(the box already has an m1015 for ZFS volumes for CIFS) for mirroring if I go with i5(and thus ESXi). While I do have scheduled backups for everything, I'd really prefer mirroring for boot drives since swapping disks is so much simpler than restoring backups.

On the flip side, I'm considering i5 650 since ESXi is definitely more stable solution. I do not terribly care for VirtualBox. It's definitely a desktop solution not really suited to run something 24/7. Also, while I can drop in Xeon e3 later for more feature and performance on if I go with g620, that's more money later on, i5 650 will give me all the features and performance I'd need for foreseeable future.

Thanks for all the help.
Click to expand...

if you buy too cheap, you buy twice
never buy a cpu without vt-d with your needs in mind

You may try virtualbox but i am sure, you will end at ESXi
Its easy, stable and fast
 
Last edited:
About ECC Memory, I've been told and check on
=> http://ark.intel.com/search/advance...ext=2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors
... that only Xeon and :

Core i, 1st generation :
  • Core i3-330E
  • Core i5-520E
  • Core i7-620LE
  • Core i7-620UE
  • Core i7-610E
  • Core i7-660UE

Core i, 2nd generation (Sandy Bridge) :
  • Core i3-2310E
  • Core i3-2340UE
  • Core i5-2515E
  • Core i7-2610UE
  • Core i7-2655LE
  • Core i7-2715QE
can handle ECC capability..

If I set up ECC memory with Core I5 2400s, does it works ? will ECC mode be disable ?

Cheers.

SteF
 
The i3's and G series pentiums should work with ECC when paired with the appropriate chipset. (Notice ARK doesn't have a yes/no for the ECC column for those processors like it does for the standard i5's, i7's, etc - it's because they (i3/G-series) officially support it with the C202/204/206 chipsets, while the i5's/i7's don't).

I haven't actually verified this myself, but there are vendors (HP, etc.) selling i3's (SB) with ECC support so it's obviously possible.
 
In ARK, you can tick "ECC Memory Supported" in the lower left column to see and browse supported processor with ECC.

May be HP, Dell & Co use processor from the list below ... ?
 
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