Building a LGA1366 WS and 2011 WS. Need help! Thanks

wildpig1234

Limp Gawd
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Dec 25, 2011
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Just dropped $280 for the base Z800 with case. 2 x5650 cpu for $110, 96GB ram for $160, $30 for 120GB SSD. Total $580.

The MB is a beast with 6 pcie that can fit any pcie card in any slot, although only 2 are full 75watt x16. It has 14 onboard SATA connectors.

Compared to the latest skylake, seems like skylake will win hand down in single core bench, but as soon as you get to multi core optimized task, z800 would kill it...

Planning on putting a quadro 6000, which still has one of the top fp64 for nvida!


I cant believe how cheap the cpu are for the lower tier 1366. e5520 for like $3 ;)
 
How about a dual lga 2011 system? You could grab a used workstation case off of Ebay for $300-400. Used e5-2670s are selling for $65 and ddr3 ecc selling for $11 per 8gb stick. Total with drives comes to $800-$850. Fully built systems to save some hassle can found for ~$900-950. With the boost in IPC and 4 extra cores, the dual 2670 systems tend to give 80% greater performance in multi threaded tasks.

Still, that's a great deal. LGA 1366 was truly a legendary platform. I'm still running 2 x5650s @ 4.2 ghz in an EVGA SR-2 and it holds its own in a lot of scenarios.
 
How about a dual lga 2011 system? You could grab a used workstation case off of Ebay for $300-400. Used e5-2670s are selling for $65 and ddr3 ecc selling for $11 per 8gb stick. Total with drives comes to $800-$850. Fully built systems to save some hassle can found for ~$900-950. With the boost in IPC and 4 extra cores, the dual 2670 systems tend to give 80% greater performance in multi threaded tasks.

Still, that's a great deal. LGA 1366 was truly a legendary platform. I'm still running 2 x5650s @ 4.2 ghz in an EVGA SR-2 and it holds its own in a lot of scenarios.

So here's nice MB dual cpu lga 2011 for 315$:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/381685025254?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&fromMakeTrack=true

With even more ram slots for $309:

OEM Supermicro X9DR3-LN4F+-B Dual LGA2011/ Intel C606/ DDR3/ SATA3/ OPENBOX!!

Supermicro Server Motherboard X9DR3-LN4F+ I/O LGA2011 Dual Socket DDR3 SATA3

Cheapest EEB case $89:

CHENBRO SR10569-CO Server Case-Newegg.com

E5-2670 x2 $150:

LOT OF 2 INTEL XEON E5-2670 2.6GHZ 20M 8GT/S CPU SR0H8 FOR HP SL270S G8

128GB (16x 8GB) DDR3 ECC $215:

128gb (16x 8gb) PC3L-10600R 2Rx4 DDR3-1333MHz ECC Reg Server Memory RAM

2x CPU fan/heatsink $50:

Cooler Master Hyper T4 - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes - Newegg.com

Total so far $820

Where can I get a psu with 2x 8pin ATX connectors?

Where do you see 8GB ram modules for $11 each? That's really good price!!! Would the ram from lga1366 be compatible?



I am guessing that this configuration would blow away the latest skylake setup when it comes to multicore tasks?

Anyone can suggest an equivalent set up that's cheaper but just as good? like any oem workstation?

The MB on the z800 has a lot of ram slots and sata ports and pcie. So I don't want anything less for a 2011 WS.
 
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Seems like supermicron MB requires proprietary case? It just says Extended enhanced ATX?
 
Seems like supermicron MB requires proprietary case? It just says Extended enhanced ATX?
Good question really....i think these dual socket xeon builds are pretty impressive when overclocked for the money!
 
Good question really....i think these dual socket xeon builds are pretty impressive when overclocked for the money!

It's hard to beat $600 to have a dual cpu 24 thread 96GB ram. that would have costed more than an arm and leg just a few yrs ago. Can only go cheaper by maybe going with LGA775 but that would mean really old stuffs like DDR2 and less parts.

2011 is getting to be pretty good price now too. the mid range old xeon cpus are dirt cheap nowaday. and the speed is fast enough for most single core task anyway. as soon as you start getting into multicore task, the latest skylake is blown away. Also the amount of rams that these older 1366 and 2011 can accept is like insane. skylake can only do 64gb ram. that is like just the starting point for 1366 and 2011.

If anyone got any experience with supermicro MB and case , much appreciate talking with you. their MB seems very good. but the case is a bit of an issue it seems.
 
Seems like supermicron MB requires proprietary case? It just says Extended enhanced ATX?


Dual socket workstation mobos from Asus or Supermicro are in the EATX form factor BUT the mounting holes use the EEB pattern, which only a few cases support. If you're looking to buy a case I'd actually recommend the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. I have one myself for a LGA-2011v3 new workstation build. Its one of the best cases out there (both from my own opinion and various hardware sites), and its low price makes it all the better.

Phanteks Enthoo Pro It's even cheaper at $79 after rebate:
Phanteks Enthoo Pro series PH-ES614PC_BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case-Newegg.com

Various other SSI EEB cases:
Choose A Case - PCPartPicker

$65 e5-2670
Intel Xeon E5-2670 2.6 Ghz. 8-Core SR0KX, natex.us

$11 8gb ram
Kingston 8Gb. 2Rx4 PC3L-10600R AM472D3LD4P13C9EC ECC Memory, Natex.us

LGA1366 uses DDR3 ECC, so it should work too. I actually have some 4gb DDR3 ECC sticks that I'd be willing to get rid of too for little to no cost, but that's a separate topic beyond this thread.

As for the motherboard, it really depends your needs and willingness to tolerate a cheaper board or a server board. Some server boards are seriously lacking for workstation use, but if you can live with it then you can save a serious amount of money.

Server mobo, 2x 2670, and 128gb of ram for $490
Intel S2600CP2J Motherboard w/Dual E5-2670 SR0H8 & 128GB RAM Natex.us

I'm using EVGA SuperNova 1200w G2 PSUs in both my SR-2 x5660 build and my broadwell-EP workstation builds. Works great for both of them, but it might be overkill if you're not planning on running many other things like GPUs Any good 800w+ PSU should have the connectors you need and will be sufficient for your build.

If you want to take the partially built or fully built route below are some helpful Ebay keywords. Note that a lot of these have best offer, and you can save a fair bit by giving a reasonable offer. Most fully built systems with 2x 2670s and 128gb will be sold for offers between $850 and $950, depending on what other features you want, and how desperate the seller is to get rid of the system. You can actually get some pretty big discounts from the list price (which can be as high as $1700-$2500) because those systems tend to sell so much slower than the barebones ones. Always try making an offer, you have nothing to lose, you can always fall back on building your own system. Remember though you are getting a prebuilt system so there's a premium to be paid for that, so lowballing with ridiculous offers doesn't help (from my experience). Also items with a lot of activity and watchers might be harder to get much of a discount from.

Some of these systems are missing HDD or video cards or OS, which might be a benefit especially since you mentioned getting a separate GPU.

For barebones systems (no CPU, RAM, GPU, or HDD):
Dell Precision T7600 Barebones No Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No RAID No HDD
HP Z820 Workstation Barebones w/ 1x Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No HDD
HP Z820 Workstation Barebones w/ 2x Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No HDD

Price on the lower two are a bit high but you can always make an offer for a more reasonable price. I've dealt with that seller before and he's very reasonable.

Here's the keywords I used
(lenovo d30, z820, t7600) -z800 in Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay

For more full featured systems (with 1 processor already):
2670 -z620 -z420 -s30 -t3600 -t3610 -t5600 -m6600 in PC Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay
Not many good deals here anymore.
above search excludes the z620, which requires a specialized board for the second cpu, so its not worth it unless the second cpu is included.

For fully built systems (2x 2670).
2670 (64gb, 128gb) -z620 -z420 -s30 -t3600 -t3610 -(1x 2.60ghz) in PC Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay

2670 (64gb, 96gb, 128gb) -t3600 -t3610 -s30 (-z620, "2x 2.60ghz") in PC Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay

I would try making some offers, I was able to get a t7610 2x e5-2670 with 128gb of ram, 2x 250gb HDD, and Windows 7 for less than $1000. No video card though.

2670 z620 "2x 2.60ghz" (64gb, 96gb) | eBay
Here are some z620 with 2nd processor included. The RAM with 8gb sticks is capped at 96gb (12 dimm total)

Hope this helps.
 
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Phanteks Enthoo Pro It's even cheaper at $79 after rebate:
Phanteks Enthoo Pro series PH-ES614PC_BK Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case-Newegg.com


$65 e5-2670
Intel Xeon E5-2670 2.6 Ghz. 8-Core SR0KX, natex.us

$11 8gb ram
Kingston 8Gb. 2Rx4 PC3L-10600R AM472D3LD4P13C9EC ECC Memory, Natex.us

LGA1366 uses DDR3 ECC, so it should work too. I actually have some 4gb DDR3 ECC sticks that I'd be willing to get rid of too for little to no cost, but that's a separate topic beyond this thread.

As for the motherboard, it really depends your needs and willingness to tolerate a cheaper board or a server board. Some server boards are seriously lacking for workstation use, but if you can live with it then you can save a serious amount of money.

Server mobo, 2x 2670, and 128gb of ram for $490
Intel S2600CP2J Motherboard w/Dual E5-2670 SR0H8 & 128GB RAM Natex.us

I'm using EVGA SuperNova 1200w G2 PSUs in both my SR-2 x5660 build and my broadwell-EP workstation builds. Works great for both of them, but it might be overkill if you're not planning on running many other things like GPUs Any good 800w+ PSU should have the connectors you need and will be sufficient for your build.


For barebones systems (no CPU, RAM, GPU, or HDD):
Dell Precision T7600 Barebones No Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No RAID No HDD
HP Z820 Workstation Barebones w/ 1x Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No HDD
HP Z820 Workstation Barebones w/ 2x Heatsinks No CPU No RAM No HDD

Price on the lower two are a bit high but you can always make an offer for a more reasonable price. I've dealt with that seller before and he's very reasonable.

Here's the keywords I used
(lenovo d30, z820, t7600) -z800 in Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay

For more full featured systems (with 1 processor already):
2670 -z620 -z420 -s30 -t3600 -t3610 -t5600 -m6600 in PC Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay
Not many good deals here anymore.
above search excludes the z620, which requires a specialized board for the second cpu, so its not worth it unless the second cpu is included.

For fully built systems (2x 2670).
2670 (64gb, 128gb) -z620 -z420 -s30 -t3600 -t3610 -(1x 2.60ghz) in PC Desktops and All-In-Ones | eBay

I would try making some offers, I was able to get a t7610 2x e5-2670 with 128gb of ram, 2x 250gb HDD, and Windows 7 for less than $1000. No video card though.

2670 z620 "2x 2.60ghz" (64gb, 96gb) | eBay
Here are some z620 with 2nd processor included. The RAM with 8gb sticks is capped at 96gb (12 dimm total)

Hope this helps.


Thanks a lot! That helps a lot. I like to put things together so I don't mind assembling my own. It also seems cheaper than all the half builts.

This seems to be a real good bargains : Intel S2600CP2J Motherboard w/Dual E5-2670 SR0H8 & 128GB RAM Natex.us . It got 2 cpus and 128gb included. that's excellent! heat sinks will run me another $50. with a case for $80. that would be $620. This seems to be cheaper than any of the dell T7600 or hp z820. I also don't like the fact that that those oem use proprietary connectors and psu on their system.

How about this for psu?

Rosewill Hive-850, Hive Series 850W Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS Bronze Certified, Single +12V Rail, Intel 4th Gen CPU Ready, SLI & CrossFire Ready-Newegg.com

EVGA 850 BQ 110-BQ-0850-V1 80+ BRONZE 850W Semi Modular Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply-Newegg.com

Thanks for the tips on the cheap rams, I thought I got a good deal on ebay for $13/8gb. this is even better. Too bad I didn't know about this earlier. already bought 15 sticks for other pc. could've save $30... maybe I should see if I can return them? but after shipping and possible restock fee might only save $20..
 
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This seems to be a real good bargains : Intel S2600CP2J Motherboard w/Dual E5-2670 SR0H8 & 128GB RAM Natex.us . It got 2 cpus and 128gb included. that's excellent! heat sinks will run me another $50. with a case for $80. that would be $620. This seems to be cheaper than any of the dell T7600 or hp z820. I also don't like the fact that that those oem use proprietary connectors and psu on their system.

As a warning this is a server motherboard, and even though I haven't tried it myself, reports from people on various forums suggest that it is lacking when used in a workstation capacity. If you're looking to build a system for computations or rendering, it'll work fine but I wouldn't use it for gaming or even work. Also if you're looking to do virtualization you'll want to get the version with later stepping (for $10 more). The first version is missing Intel's VT-d.

Intel S2600CP2J: Dual E5-2670 - 128Gb. Kit - Server Motherboards - Natex.us

There's plenty of good PSUs out there that have the dual 8pins, and if you'd like to save some money it's very easy to make or find an adapter for very cheap. If you're going to be running your system full bore 24/7 and have to pay for power, it might be worth considering an 80 plus gold or platinum.
 
As a warning this is a server motherboard, and even though I haven't tried it myself, reports from people on various forums suggest that it is lacking when used in a workstation capacity. If you're looking to build a system for computations or rendering, it'll work fine but I wouldn't use it for gaming or even work. Also if you're looking to do virtualization you'll want to get the version with later stepping (for $10 more). The first version is missing Intel's VT-d.

Intel S2600CP2J: Dual E5-2670 - 128Gb. Kit - Server Motherboards - Natex.us

There's plenty of good PSUs out there that have the dual 8pins, and if you'd like to save some money it's very easy to make or find an adapter for very cheap. If you're going to be running your system full bore 24/7 and have to pay for power, it might be worth considering an 80 plus gold or platinum.

Thanks! for almost $750 total, with everything except video card, it's pretty good deal for the amount of power and rams.

Now as far as cpu, the spec on intel www says this is good for e5-2670v2 so I guess if I want to later I can upgrade to the 10 core e5-2670v2 cpu later? They are like around $190 each on ebay. still a little pricey

Also looks like this intel board is the version that only have 6 SATA ports. Not to worry as I have a 16 port SAS adaptec card.

Just realize now that none of the boards have built in sound :).. obviously who needs sound from a server? lol guess will have to buy a cheap usb sound card?

What else is there thats lacking in WS capacity?
 
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So aside from the fact that none of these board has built in sound and maybe less usb connectors anyone else can say anything why these server board are lacking in workstation capacity?
 
The thing is your reason for building this would be totally different than mine...Mine would be prioritized for a gaming workstation! I dont know if all of them can overclock either...ASUS and some others typically can. (intel i doubt it) You building strictly as a server have somewhat different needs. (than myself)
 
The thing is your reason for building this would be totally different than mine...Mine would be prioritized for a gaming workstation! I dont know if all of them can overclock either...ASUS and some others typically can. (intel i doubt it) You building strictly as a server have somewhat different needs. (than myself)


I know only the top of the line expensive xeon are unlocked multiplier. not really that interested in overclocking by that much. I have an i7-2600k system which still runs most games pretty good with a gtx1070. For anything that is multicore optimized it doesn't look like there's any cheaper alternative right now than dual e5-2670, unless someone else can suggest anything else? I also like how cheap the rams is for these, granted they are only slower ddr3 ecc...
 
Thing is with server PSUs, you have to check the pin-out on the 20-24 pin power socket connector.
They may or may not be pinned like a standard desktop PSU
The plugs look the same and will pug in even though they are a different pin config.

One thing I learned by buying a used enterprise grade laptop off lease. Make sure you can get the drivers you may need.
I picked up a nice clean Samsung laptop that had Linux installed but had the windows7 key to use for a clean install.
What a PITA getting drivers. Samsungs website was no help at all.
So can you get drivers for the branded server you may want to buy if you need them.
 
As a warning this is a server motherboard, and even though I haven't tried it myself, reports from people on various forums suggest that it is lacking when used in a workstation capacity. If you're looking to build a system for computations or rendering, it'll work fine but I wouldn't use it for gaming or even work. Also if you're looking to do virtualization you'll want to get the version with later stepping (for $10 more). The first version is missing Intel's VT-d.

Intel S2600CP2J: Dual E5-2670 - 128Gb. Kit - Server Motherboards - Natex.us

There's plenty of good PSUs out there that have the dual 8pins, and if you'd like to save some money it's very easy to make or find an adapter for very cheap. If you're going to be running your system full bore 24/7 and have to pay for power, it might be worth considering an 80 plus gold or platinum.

Seems like it says v1 so does this mean this board is limited to e5-2670 v1 cpu only?

I kind of leaning toward the Lenovo because I like the fact that it seems to use a standard size psu.... the spec on Lenovo www mention e5-2670 v2
Thing is with server PSUs, you have to check the pin-out on the 20-24 pin power socket connector.
They may or may not be pinned like a standard desktop PSU
The plugs look the same and will pug in even though they are a different pin config.

One thing I learned by buying a used enterprise grade laptop off lease. Make sure you can get the drivers you may need.
I picked up a nice clean Samsung laptop that had Linux installed but had the windows7 key to use for a clean install.
What a PITA getting drivers. Samsungs website was no help at all.
So can you get drivers for the branded server you may want to buy if you need them.


Yeah I am hoping someone with a D30 can tell me if this psu is standard size connector layout. It just seems so cheap for a gold plus 1120 W.

I actually also like the dell t7600 MB which has also a generous amount of pcie. A little turn off by the proprietary psu even though it's also pretty cheap right now...

But the cheapest way I guess might just be going with the intel board. But then I would also miss out on a lot of workstation friendly features.
 
Depends on the board. Ivy bridge-EP was supposed to be a drop in replacement for SB-EP, but not all boards support it. All it takes is some googling to figure out. I would strongly recommend against getting any ivy bridge-EP ES processors off of eBay. Those have many more compatibility issues, especially with dual socket boards and branded servers/workstations. QS might work a lot better.

I have a d30 and the psu has 2 8-pin and 24 pin connector. Saw only one PCI-E connector but didn't really bother to look more carefully since I wasn't interested in running any gpus that needed additional power.

See for yourself.
Lenovo 54Y8903 ThinkStation D30 1120W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply DPS-1120AB-A
 
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Depends on the board. Ivy bridge-EP was supposed to be a drop in replacement for SB-EP, but not all boards support it. All it takes is some googling to figure out. I would strongly recommend against getting any ivy bridge-EP ES processors off of eBay. Those have many more compatibility issues, especially with dual socket boards and branded servers/workstations. QS might work a lot better.

I have a d30 and the psu has 2 8-pin and 24 pin connector. Saw only one PCI-E connector but didn't really bother to look more carefully since I wasn't interested in running any gpus that needed additional power.

See for yourself.
Lenovo 54Y8903 ThinkStation D30 1120W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply DPS-1120AB-A


I thought I see two pcie black power connectors in that pic.

does the d30 support e5-2670 v2 or just v1?
 
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My new 2011 build is getting along nicely. Removed the 2nd Cpu just to test run it as a single core system for a lil. Even if it has only 1 cpu, both 8 pin CPU power connectors has to be plugged in.
 
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in y cruncher one e5-2670 cpu is twice as fast calculating pi to 5 billion digit as one i7-2600k :). this thing def faster than x5650 system. So many options in the bios compared to OEM bios ;)
 
Is your picture sideways posted? Or is the tower oriented that way? Are you still waiting on parts?
 
top pic is sideway I guess. All major parts are in but I am still waiting for accessory parts. Waiting on a 5 port usb3.0 pcie card and a sound card. as well as a Lenovo d30 psu.

I did put it together with the evga psu last nite and ran single cpu since my other cooler is being used in the hp z800. waiting for a genuine z800 cooler to come in so I can swap back the cpu cooler. or maybe I will just decide to remove that cooler from the z800 and have that out of commission til the z800 cooler gets here.

I want to swap in the Lenovo psu since that's gold plus rated as well as being 1100 watts compared to evga only 850 watts. but it will be a while since also have to wait for the 8 pin cpu cable extension since the one on the Lenovo are too short.

with both cpu in place, I expect the y cruncher time to calculate pi to 5 billion digit to be 1/4 what it took my single i7-2600k. probably will be around 15-20 min with 2x e5-2670?
 
Can the Supermicro X9DR3-LN4F+ fit in a Phanteks Enthoo Pro case?

it's slightly bigger in top to bottom dimension with same front to back dimension. If the increase size is at the top then physically yes i think. Problem is the mounting screw holes. You could theoretically turn your mounting pegs upside down even if there's no mounting holes at the top row so that it would only need to function to support the MB as a stand off from the case surface without the secure function and have the middle rows of pegs and the bottom rows of pegs do most of the securing functions. But you might have to try to find the lightest possible cpu coolers.
 
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