Xeon E5 in a micro ATX form factor

[f22luke]

I'm working on compiling a list of builds that would be direct alternatives (edit: hardware equivalent or better) to the new Mac Pro trashcan computers and ran into a problem.  There are no micro ATX motherboards that support the new Xeon E5 processors.  This is important because I'm trying to fit all the builds into the Silverstone FT03S.  

 

The only board that I'm the least bit interested in is the ASUS Rampage IV Gene.  Do you guys think that the Xeon E5 family would work in this board?

[DarrenP]

Nope. http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/list.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=1&m=Rampage%20IV%20Extreme&hashedid=r7FZemJak3vMbWHg

[f22luke]

Nope. http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/list.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=1&m=Rampage%20IV%20Extreme&hashedid=r7FZemJak3vMbWHg

I saw that but didn't know if that had not been updated yet for the new CPUs.

 

My instincts tell me that they won't work until we see a new BIOS update come out (if ever). 

 

It looks like I'll have to put off this project for a while then.

[JohnnyGrey]

Nope. http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/list.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=1&m=Rampage%20IV%20Extreme&hashedid=r7FZemJak3vMbWHg

You linked the wrong motherboard, but still the same list

[TheSLSAMG]

direct alternatives to the new Mac Pro trashcan computers

 

You lost all of the respect I could have possibly had for you with this.

 

Anyways, a machine you or me may build will not be as reliable as a Mac Pro. I like PCs more than Macs, but it's the truth. A Mac Pro will run Mac OS X flawlessly by the way, while a Hackintoshed PC will run into issues every now and then, which is damn near unacceptable for a person who will use a Mac Pro to it's full potential. Another thing is how we can't get our PCs down to that form factor, and how the GPUs aren't directly available to the consumer. I would however love to see the lists you are currently coming up with. Sadly, there are no Micro ATX motherboards that will support Xeon E5 Processors and Mac OS X.

 

Fun fact: The Mac Pro is very well priced. Compared to other enterprise quality machines (which a PC built by us will never be), it is around $800-$1000 cheaper.

[DarrenP]

You took the words from my mouth. 

[f22luke]

You lost all of the respect I could have possibly had for you with this.

 

Anyways, a machine you or me may build will not be as reliable as a Mac Pro. I like PCs more than Macs, but it's the truth. A Mac Pro will run Mac OS X flawlessly by the way, while a Hackintoshed PC will run into issues every now and then, which is damn near unacceptable for a person who will use a Mac Pro to it's full potential. Another thing is how we can't get our PCs down to that form factor, and how the GPUs aren't directly available to the consumer. I would however love to see the lists you are currently coming up with. Sadly, there are no Micro ATX motherboards that will support Xeon E5 Processors and Mac OS X.

 

Fun fact: The Mac Pro is very well priced. Compared to other enterprise quality machines (which a PC built by us will never be), it is around $800-$1000 cheaper.

I was not thinking of Hackintosh for that very reason these would be Windows/Linux alternatives.  I have used OSX in a VM and on an I Mac but have yet to try a hackintosh.  

 

As to the form factor of the new ones I don't like it for several reasons.  The main reason being that it just doesn't allow for enough storage without having to use expensive thunderbolt external hard drives.  Until the new 3TB SSDs hit the market I see this as the biggest drawback to going with such a small size.

 

So far I have been able to fit 2 3tb WD red drives along with 2 256gb SSDs and match the price of a comparable Mac Pro with only 512gb worth of storage.

[TheSLSAMG]

I was not thinking of Hackintosh for that very reason these would be Windows/Linux alternatives.  I have used OSX in a VM and on an I Mac but have yet to try a hackintosh.  

 

As to the form factor of the new ones I don't like it for several reasons.  The main reason being that it just doesn't allow for enough storage without having to use expensive thunderbolt external hard drives.  Until the new 3TB SSDs hit the market I see this as the biggest drawback to going with such a small size.

 

So far I have been able to fit 2 3tb WD red drives along with 2 256gb SSDs and match the price of a comparable Mac Pro with only 512gb worth of storage.

True, but one of the main reasons to buy a Mac Pro is for Mac OS X.

[f22luke]

Here is one of the builds I was working on.  It is similarly priced to the Mac Pro w/ a 3.0 Ghz 8 core, 32Gb of memory, 512Gb of storage, and Dual FirePro D500s for $6,199.00
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
 
CPU Cooler:  Silverstone TD03 92.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard:  Asus Rampage IV Gene Micro ATX LGA2011 Motherboard  ($264.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage:  Plextor M5P Xtreme Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($189.99 @ Adorama) 
Storage:  Plextor M5P Xtreme Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($189.99 @ Adorama) 
Storage:  Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($131.99 @ NCIX US) 
Storage:  Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($131.99 @ NCIX US) 
Case:  Silverstone FT03S MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply:  Silverstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($94.98 @ Newegg) 
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit)  ($99.98 @ OutletPC) 
Other: Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X540-T1 ($333.99)
Other: Silverstone PP05-E Short Cable kit ($24.99)
Other: Intel 7260HMWDTX1 Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 ($49.99)
Other: Samsung 8GB PC3-14900 DDR3-1866MHz ECC Registered CL13 M393B1K70DH0-CMA ($169.67)
Other: Samsung 8GB PC3-14900 DDR3-1866MHz ECC Registered CL13 M393B1K70DH0-CMA ($169.67)
Other: Samsung 8GB PC3-14900 DDR3-1866MHz ECC Registered CL13 M393B1K70DH0-CMA ($169.67)
Other: Samsung 8GB PC3-14900 DDR3-1866MHz ECC Registered CL13 M393B1K70DH0-CMA ($169.67)
Other: AMD FirePro W7000 ($761.27)
Other: AMD FirePro W7000 ($761.27)
Other: Intel Xeon E5-2687W ($2199.99)
Total: $6172.06
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-15 19:46 EST-0500)

 

To sum it all up, the PC build has a faster CPU, more storage, the W7000 cards each have 1GB more GDDR5 ram than the D500, and for a second NIC it has an Intel 10 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe card.

[f22luke]

True, but one of the main reasons to buy a Mac Pro is for Mac OS X.

The only reason why OS X would be better is if you are using the software that comes with it.  For people working with Adobe products Windows works just as well.

[martinrox1568]

You lost all of the respect I could have possibly had for you with this.

 

Anyways, a machine you or me may build will not be as reliable as a Mac Pro. I like PCs more than Macs, but it's the truth. A Mac Pro will run Mac OS X flawlessly by the way, while a Hackintoshed PC will run into issues every now and then, which is damn near unacceptable for a person who will use a Mac Pro to it's full potential. Another thing is how we can't get our PCs down to that form factor, and how the GPUs aren't directly available to the consumer. I would however love to see the lists you are currently coming up with. Sadly, there are no Micro ATX motherboards that will support Xeon E5 Processors and Mac OS X.

 

Fun fact: The Mac Pro is very well priced. Compared to other enterprise quality machines (which a PC built by us will never be), it is around $800-$1000 cheaper.

I used to run a hackintosh for a daily driver with an old core 2 duo. That computer died on me, and I haven't been able to get my new pc to fully support OSX. However, if you spend your time, ( as in 20 hours minimum) and research, a hackintosh can be just as reliable as a Mac.

[f22luke]

I just saw the new Rosewill Legacy MX2-S case and will probably go with it.

[Howies]

Asrock extreme-4m supports E5 Xeon's and is mATX

 

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X79%20Extreme4-M/?cat=CPU