I run a Mac OS VM on ESXI with v2 cpus and it runs great. The key is a compatible video card. I have a quatro K series card that is supported out of the box once passed through to the Mac vm.
1 Like
For macOS Catalina (10.15), your CPU must have AVX (original, not avx2 or other)
Therefore, you can not run Catalina, or later on anything before Sandy Bridge, including the Westmere Xenon 56xx.
However, AFAIK everything else will run it just fine.
JDM, I don’t think you will be able to update to Catalina or later on your old Mac Pro.
Well sure there are limitations with software just like anything else… but as far as applications running, the Mac itself working, it’s great.
FYI I bought that exact board and did not support a V2 cpu until I flashed it to the most recent firmware. Works great with 2x e5-2650 v2.
1 Like
Correction for the chassis section, the “CSE-825TQ” only has 8 hotswap drives.
This link appears to be missing ‘YH90Q’ from the search and instead links to many modules of varying speeds and sizes. Here’s an updated link: m386b4g70bm0-yh90q for sale | eBay
Do you guys see any issues with this build?
I plan on upgrading the ram to 64gb eventually with 4x16.
and i already own 3x4 TB WD reds
I wouldn’t recommend wasting money on Noctua CPU coolers.
1 Like
Hi all,
Updated my server thanks to the guide. I wanted to confirm if M386B4G70DM0-CMA4 → 32gb 1866Mhz Sticks - will work with the X9DRH-7TF, I’ve 2630v2 running on them. I plan to get 4 of these modules.
Thanks!
Hi, is the ultra tower build spec still as the original post? Nothing changed in terms of hardware? I’m based in the UK so might make getting some of the parts a bit trickier but up for the challenge!
GA-7PESH2 are like golddust these days. What’s the current “go to” board?
This is an amazing guide. Thank you all so much!
I’m definitely no expert so this may be a dumb question but why under the Dual CPU recommendations is the E5-2650 the top of the line recommendation when the E5-2667 in Mid Range recommendation has the same # of cores, higher frequency & higher passmark score? It would seem the E5-2667 is the better CPU.
The recommendation is E5-2650 v2, not v1. Different CPU! 
For those that are considering starting with a prebuilt but also want to upgrade the cpu in the future, the HP Z420, Z620 and Z820 models can support v1/v2, but not all machines can support both.
AFAIK, there is a cutoff in 2013 where they enabled v2 CPUs and systems before the cutoff can’t support v2 chips no matter what the bios says. For the Z820, system boards with PN 708464-001 or 618266-002 will not support v2 and boards with PN 708610-001 or 618266-004 will.
Also @JDM_WAAAT, thank you for all the work that you and the others put into this and the other guides. I’m almost completely new to this and they have been my go to references.
https://www.greenpcgamers.com/technology/hp-z820-gaming-computer-and-hardware-upgrade-guide/
Question - I recently inherited a Proliant G8 that I am looking to part out into a new system (more fan control than the HP allows for)…
For CPU I have x2 E5-2670 v2 and for ram i have 3 stick of HMT42GR7MFR4C-PB (Hynix PC3-12800R 1600 MHz 16 GB DIMM DDR3 SDRAM Server Memory for sale online | eBay).
Would these be compatible with the x9drl-if (or any other boards) above?
Do the Supermicro dual CPU boards have support for changing fan speeds in the BIOS?
this is a very good guide. Thanks you all !!!
I am trying to build a server for labs (64GB RAM) and I am thinking of something like:
Processor: XEON E5-2650v2 (x2)
Motherboard: X9DRL-IF
PSU: EVGA 750 G +
Hard Drive: 120 GB SSD
Memory: this is my problem.
I went through the supermicro documentation and couldn’t find the memories listed.
I found the following memory (Hynix HMT42GR7MFR4A-H9), but I think its price is very high
Which memory do you recommend?
Regards.
1 Like