New Dual Xeon Build

[hueLholter]

Hi! I'm new here, but I've been watching Linus on youtube for some time (thankz dawg!) and I came here for some advice.

I had seen the dual xeon videos, and had read a few articles and had decided that whenever I recieved my IRS refund, I wanted to build a Dual Xeon (E5-2680 in my case) PC

inside a MACPRO/G5 case ( the case I currently have is a First gen MACPRO, I also have a beat to hell G5 case) and I have ( at least I think ) 90% of the parts purchased and

either on the way, or already here. My plan is to use this as a general purpose computer, some mild video editing / 3d modeling with Blender and perhaps gaming.

I understand it's not going to break spacetime or gain sentience, but I wanted to see how bad ass a system I could build for my lil' money,

nd plus I've heard that it may continue to be relevant, with VULKAN and Dx12 having additional support for multicores.

I p lan to use this system in conjunction with a 55 inch Vizio 4k TV as a monitor ($TAX REFUND$)

My problem is, that after buying all these parts, last week my gainful employment came to an end and now I would like some guidance as how to get this thing going

and get the most out of it performance and otherwise, as cheaply as possible. I plan to use Windows, whichever version is best!

My part list on PcPartPicker

 

2x  Intel Xeon E5-2680 2.7GHz 8-Core Processor ( I bought these as a pair )

2x  Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ( bought separately on eBay not sure how to mount? )

1x  ASRock EP2C602-4L/D16 SSI EEB Dual-CPU LGA2011 Motherboard

4x  Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

1x  Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

1x  MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card

1x  EVGA SuperNOVA G2 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

I'm considering -

1x  Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card

1x  TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter

1x  TP-Link TG-3468 PCI-Express x1 10/100/1000 Mbps Network Adapter

2x  Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan

 

I'd like to hear any advice you guys might have - I mean if there is any way I can make this thing WORK for me, that'd be great. Thanks!

 

 

 

[hueLholter]

I've already got the case ready for the installation, but thanks for looking.

[Windows7ge]

I have doubts that a motherboard with the SSI EEB form factor will fit the screw holes in a MAC computer case. To fit it you might end up drilling holes in the back plane and fitting your own standoff screws to it. I'm using the exact same server motherboard but I paired it with Intel E5-2670's. I'd recommend using ECC memory. The CPU's support it and it's handy to have depending on what you do with the system. I know the board and CPU's will work with Kingston memory such as the KVR16E11K4/32 kits. Buy two of them. 4 for each CPU.'

 

So long as the cooler supports socket LGA2011 the coolers will mount fine. Just follow the included instructions.

 

You'll need a sound card. This server board doesn't have audio.

 

You DON'T need a 10/100/1000 NIC. The board has 4 of them on the back. Though Wi-Fi could be nice if you need this in a location where you can't run an ethernet cable to. Including a dedicated IPMI port which will be really nice to have. Trust me.

[hueLholter]

7 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

I have doubts that a motherboard with the SSI EEB form factor will fit the screw holes in a MAC computer case. To fit it you might end up drilling holes in the back plane and fitting your own standoff screws to it.

 

2

That's what I did

7 minutes ago, Windows7ge said:

I'd recommend using ECC memory. The CPU's support it and it's handy to have depending on what you do with the system. I know the board and CPU's will work with Kingston memory such as the KVR16E11K4/32 kits. Buy two of them. 4 for each CPU.'

 

 

 

 

I bought 4 sticks of  Kingston 4GB(1x4GB) KVR16E11S8/4 DDR3-1600 240Pin ECC Server , I just realized I should have bought more ;(

**I just counted, I bought enough!!!**
 

Quote

So long as the cooler supports socket LGA2011 the coolers will mount fine. Just follow the included instructions.

 

You'll need a sound card. This server board doesn't have audio.

 

 

Thank you! I will have that bought in the next 10 minutes!

Quote

Though Wi-Fi could be nice if you need this in a location where you can't run an ethernet cable to. Including a dedicated IPMI port which will be really nice to have. Trust me.

 

 

I'll get the wifi card, then, What is IPMI?

Edited March 13, 2017 by hueLholter
can't count!

[Windows7ge]

7 minutes ago, hueLholter said:

Thank you! I will have that bought in the next 10 minutes!

Just make sure the coolers have the clearance so they don't interfere with the RAM or VRM heatsinks on the sides of the socket.

[NoxiousOdor]

It makes me happy to see other people trying server gear. As long as you are willing to put the work in it can be a good way to get neat computer for not a lot of money. It is a little strange to put it in an Mac but if you got it to work then hey why not. It is funny that you will be running windows out of a mac case.

[Windows7ge]

18 minutes ago, hueLholter said:

What is IPMI?

IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) is an interface used to manage the hardware of the system from a prompt or WebUI (Web User Interface). It'll monitor all of the PSU voltages  CPU and motherboard temperatures and other equipment active on the system. It also will allow you to remote desktop the system. Power on/off/restart normal/immediate it basically allows you to completely manage the system at a level higher than the OS. If anything goes wrong you can use the IPMI to recover the system without being in front of it. Very useful tool in server applications. Fun to play with when just a home user. My server is in a closet in my basement. It has no keyboard, mouse, or monitor. I just navigate to 192.168.0.254 on my home network and I've given a login web page. I login and i start a jviewer session and I have complete desktop control of the server from my bedroom. Just like TeamViewer except the IPMI uses dedicated hardware built into the system.

[hueLholter]

1 minute ago, Windows7ge said:

IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) is an interface used to manage the hardware of the system from a prompt or WebUI (Web User Interface). It'll monitor all of the PSU voltages  CPU and motherboard temperatures and other equipment active on the system. It also will allow you to remote desktop the system. Power on/off/restart normal/immediate it basically allows you to completely manage the system at a level higher than the OS. If anything goes wrong you can use the IPMI to recover the system without being in front of it. Very useful tool in server applications.

 

Very interesting, I ( due to job situation ) hadn't planned on messing around with server stuff as of yet, I just want to get it running, and hell I hope it benches okay! Later on when everything is worked out, I had wanted to either use this or build another one to use as a mail server, rather than using someone else's service.

8 minutes ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

It makes me happy to see other people trying server gear. As long as you are willing to put the work in it can be a good way to get neat computer for not a lot of money. It is a little strange to put it in an Mac but if you got it to work then hey why not. It is funny that you will be running windows out of a mac case.

 

I actually had been really fascinated by the Xeon builds I'd been seeing, and then with the Dx12 and Vulkan news - I was hooked! 

The more of us there are, the more support we'll get, and with AMD building RyZen - lots of good things ahead!

 A friend of mine had gave me a Dual G5, and I used it as a youtube / movie / you name it, (until he took it back!) 

and I got lots of compliments from people who saw it next to TV in the living room, I just have no desire to use OSX at this junction,(though I might build another D/Xeon MacPro Killer when I get back to work ) 

I just like the way the G5/MacPro case looks!

 

[Windows7ge]

9 minutes ago, hueLholter said:

I hope it benches okay!

Using Cinebench R15 I got a score of around 1,950. using the E5-2670's so with the slight clock bump of the 2680's you should get a score a little over 2000. Just a single benchmark example.

[NoxiousOdor]

16 minutes ago, hueLholter said:

I actually had been really fascinated by the Xeon builds I'd been seeing, and then with the Dx12 and Vulkan news - I was hooked! 

The more of us there are, the more support we'll get, and with AMD building RyZen - lots of good things ahead!

 A friend of mine had gave me a Dual G5, and I used it as a youtube / movie / you name it, (until he took it back!) 

and I got lots of compliments from people who saw it next to TV in the living room, I just have no desire to use OSX at this junction,(though I might build another D/Xeon MacPro Killer when I get back to work ) 

I just like the way the G5/MacPro case looks!

Yeah it is kinda fun anyway to have weird computer parts. If dx12 works how it says it should, it will help validate us who have lots of cores. I agree that is a cool looking case but it is a tad too much chrome. Right now I am using the Dell Poweredge t410 case which is just plain black but I might paint it eventually

[hueLholter]

4 minutes ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

 If dx12 works how it says it should, it will help validate us who have lots of cores.

 

 

I sure hope so, I posted a few other places before I started buying parts and I kept seeing "Get i7" "e5-26whatever are shit get i5", when gaming isn't my first concern, It kills me to ask for help and then receive 1000 "Get Gud" messages.

4 minutes ago, WhisperingKnickers said:

I agree that is a cool looking case but it is a tad too much chrome. Right now I am using the Dell Poweredge t410 case which is just plain black but I might paint it eventually

 

I like it, and I've wanted to build a G5/MacPro Cased system since I had the G5, mainly for MOARPOWA and ya know, compatibility with modern software

 

[NoxiousOdor]

12 minutes ago, hueLholter said:

I sure hope so, I posted a few other places before I started buying parts and I kept seeing "Get i7" "e5-26whatever are shit get i5", when gaming isn't my first concern, It kills me to ask for help and then receive 1000 "Get Gud" messages.

I like it, and I've wanted to build a G5/MacPro Cased system since I had the G5, mainly for MOARPOWA and ya know, compatibility with modern software

 

The processors really aren't the best but if you aren't super concerned with that then it really doesn't matter, I got a little bit of hate when I chose my x5690's but even if they aren't the best it is still better than what I've been using so in any case it is an improvement and I got a somewhat unique computer out of it, when I go to a lan party I am sure to be the only one who has a 70lb computer lol. But yeah do what you want with it some people will hate it because it isn't as good as other things but that is what I like about LTT is most people will still help you if you ask something.

[brob]

If the 212 Evo have been previously used you will need a small tube of thermal compound. You may also want a small amount of rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and some cotton swabs to clean off the cooler block surface and, if necessary the cpu top.

 

Download Hyper 212 Evo mounting instructions at http://www.coolermaster.com/xresserver01-DLFILE-P1302180416de94-F13082600809a6e.html. See the bottom left corner of the 1st page.

[hueLholter]

29 minutes ago, brob said:

If the 212 Evo have been previously used you will need a small tube of thermal compound. You may also want a small amount of rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) and some cotton swabs to clean off the cooler block surface and, if necessary the cpu top.

 

Download Hyper 212 Evo mounting instructions at http://www.coolermaster.com/xresserver01-DLFILE-P1302180416de94-F13082600809a6e.html. See the bottom left corner of the 1st page.

 

Awesome! I have a few tubes of ArticSilver 5 on order, so that should be in order!

 

[raphidy]

I have a similar setup but with cheap e5 2670s for rendering/plex server/folding. Problem encountered is windows 10. I had weird NMI crashes. Booting with windows 7 nows, no problem since July. I think the motherboard is incompatible with windows 10.

[hueLholter]

1 minute ago, raphidy said:

I have a similar setup but with cheap e5 2670s for rendering/plex server/folding. Problem encountered is windows 10. I had weird NMI crashes. Booting with windows 7 nows, no problem since July. I think the motherboard is incompatible with windows 10.

 

Really now? I saw a few comments on Newegg similar to what you are talking about and they ( ASROCK ) have a beta driver for 10 if you contact them that is supposed to sort 90% of the issues out.  ( ASRock Rack Support Email: http://event.asrock.com/tsd.asp?ln=en ) Check out the reviews and they mention it there.

Whichever route I go, I really hope we can see the Dx12 and Vulkan support, I really want this to work out, after spending this money and being in the position I am now..

[raphidy]

37 minutes ago, hueLholter said:

snip

That's great. I'll check this out. Another possibility would be installing windows server 2016 and have DX12 also.

[hueLholter]

8 minutes ago, raphidy said:

That's great. I'll check this out. Another possibility would be installing windows server 2016 and have DX12 also.

I thought Server 2016 and 10 were based on the same kernel? 

[srmarkovic]

I finished similar build but with two e5-2670 and Asus 1060 6GB GPU. If you want to have full memory bandwidth you have to put 8 sticks of ECC. I put a few pics during building but I have to put pics of finished build "Dual Xeons wort or not". I finished my build in August and I use it but for everyday tasks I prefer my n56jr i7 laptop or my 6 years old I7-2600k build. Xeons are good for 3ds max and stuff like this but not for light tasks like browsing. I tried Battlefield 1 on 1080p and all high and I have only about 200 fps with Xeons. I found 55" 4K tv so I will buyit and try BF on 4K soon.  

 

I have Windows 10 and Windows 2016 without any problem, but I installed Intel drivers for IDE/ATA ATAPI Controlers. Microsoft drivers doesn't work fine with W10 and this server arhitecture. Vulcan and DX12 work like a charm. I tried Doom with bout but I haven't' seen any difference. All games work but for example I had to assign only 6 cores to GTA 5 to make it work.