Hi guys,
I’m building a much robust NAS for home and I need an advice. I’ve bought an used x11sca-f that looks just like new. I have done a mistake and thought that my old i7 6700k could be used on this motherboard but it’s a 6th gen CPU so … .yeah. I can power on the system but it fail to pass SB initailization with error 19 B3. Maybe it’s the CPU.
What could I buy to manage this mobo? I see that I can use almost any 8/9th gen intel CPU and some Xeon cpus. In this momen I have 4x8GB RAM non-ECC but if I pair them with a CPU that support ECC I can upgrade in future.
I don’t need any fancy super performant CPU, I need something capable to be used as a NAS nothing more, no transcoding or VM. MAYBE 2-3 docker just to manage things but always light work.
Prices in EU are crazy, Core i5-8500T is at 200€ (~80€ used), Core i5-9500T at 320€ (~100) new. Xeon Xeon E-2278G EL used for 240€, Xeon E3-1240L v5 is like 130€, Xeon E-2274G ~240€, etc
Do I need more than a 8500T for a simple NAS with Unraid? I couldn’t find a xeon on 80€ on the market in line with the 8500T performance. The docker will have Krusader, Portainer BackupServer and nothing more I think.
You should not need more than the i5-8500T for what you are describing. One thing to note since you brought it up the Intel i5 series CPUs do not support ECC. If ECC support it important to you I would check out an 8th / 9th Gen i3 (8100, 8300, 9100, 9300) The i3s should also have plenty of performance for your use case and they do support ECC.
Xeon is probably overkill for the use case you described. Just a heads up the E3-1240L V(5/6) will not work on that motherboard. You would need a Coffee Lake Xeon (E-2100 / E-2200 series)
Thank you for the replay. Another question, am I ok with those old ram module Kingstone HyperX DDR4-2800 CL14 288-Pin DIMM (HX428C14SB2K4/32)? I have 4 x 8Gb kit. They are DIMM and 2800 is one of the two profile. From the manufactor site I can see that the second XMP profile runs at 2666mhz
That ram should work no problem I have never had an issue running RAM at less than its advertised speed. Its even more promising that it actually has an XMP profile for 2666mhz as that means it will even have factory optimized timings for that speed. I’m not sure if the X11SCA-F actually uses XMP or not, but even if it doesn’t the fact that there is an XMP profile for 2666mhz suggests that there will also be a JDEC setting for the same.
Ian thank you for your input. That was indeed the route I was going down & I was successful in using FreeDOS & the supermicro BIOS readme to update the BIOS. One thing I did run into is that the board is only loading DIMMB slots. DIMMB2 first, DIMMB1 second both using 32GB of RAM. This is very much not what the manual says to do. If I load a 16GB ram stick from the compatibility list into DIMMA or any other stick into DIMMA while skipping DIMMB1 I get mrcFAIL… All three sticks load if placed in DIMMB2 individually. Idk I may have a bent CPU pin interfering w the ram slots but given that I can load 64GB of RAM using DIMMB slots I think I’m happy to let troubleshooting further go. I wanted to document this though because from what I could tell this supermicro board was essntially factory-sealed when I got it & someone else may run into the same issue.
So after three days my NAS is online and working. It’s extreamly load because fans are running 100% all the time, and the problem is something is wrong with my x11sca-f.
I can’t enable IPMI and thus I can’t control fans, neither wich fancontrol or any other module that I’d tried. Maybe it’s because my motherboard is not updated, the BIOS is on version 1.0c and can be a little old if the supermicro server provide the 2.4 version of the BIOS. May I need to update the BIOS and the BMC.
I had updated manu bioses but never for a server motherboard, from the istruction seems ok, nothing too complicated. But, can I update from 1.0c to 2.4 or do I need to pass between some specific verison? Because I hadn’t found any advice on this
Update from BIOS 1.0 to 2.4 without issues, but IPMI not available. I have tried to set a static IP, to leave DHCP, nothing. Every time the status is “not working”. I’ve tested on LAN1, LAN2 and LAN1 + LAN2 at the same time. Tried to set the same IP, different IP, nothing
I’m trying to update the BMC firmware because maybe is the cause on my IPMI issues. But I can’t find a way to do it. I have downloaded SUM for windows but i can’t connect to the server. I’m sure about the IP, is working with Unraid homepage so. I have tried with built-in local shell on the NAS it self via reboot. Nothing, is not workin
Following up on this a year later, I ended up replacing my dual-LGA2011 with LGA1700:
i5-13500 ($170 used)
Asus Prime 790-P D4 ($105 used)
64 GB DDR4-3600 ($115 new)
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 ($35 new)
Adaptec ASR-8885 ($60 used)
That solved my PCIe lane issue, roughly doubled single-thread performance, gained an iGPU for QSV, and reduced idle power by >100w. I gave up ECC and IPMI, unfortunately.
I’m also using this M.2 to PCIe x4 adapter and took the brackets off my PCIe SSDs to fit right in the adapter slot. My mobo is horizontal, so the weight is towards the slot instead of cantilevered. I imagine that adapter would work with most (non-GPU) PCIe cards.
I know LGA1700 a bit out of scope for NK6, but it’s a practical upgrade path for those needing more PCIe lanes. I did find lots of used LGA1700 boards in the $100-$120 range, and the i3-12100 is getting pretty cheap, so maybe that has broader appeal for a NK/QSV build.
Does anyone have installation issue with the mobo and cpu cooler?
I bought the X11SCA-F mobo (LGA 1151) from Ebay and the Thermalright Assassin X120 CPU cooler (support LGA 115X/1200/1700). Seems the backplate of the CPU cooler wouldn’t fit through back of the mobo for me to mount the heatsink.
Hi y’all, i just stumbled upon this forum and got very interested in building my first NAS. I really need some advice which part /s im missing/needed for the build? thanks in advance!
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) PC4-28800 (DDR4-3600)
51.31
Case
Cooler Master N400
89.99
PSU
EVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE
48.77
Case Fans
ARCTIC P12 PWM PST (5 Pack)
34.99
CPU Cooler
Thermalright Assassin X120
18.29
TOTAL w/o storage
383.35
Just want to do a sanity check on this parts list before I pull the trigger. It closely matches the recommended build, so I anticipate all is ok.
I plan to start with an M2 cache drive and drive for docker apps to run off of (will I need two separate drives for this?). And to start with a parity and a couple of storage HDDs (thinking 16tb drives from serverpartdeals to start). Planning on sticking with SATA drives so I should be able to support up to 6 without the need for additional cables/cards. PSU is new with 6 SATA cables included. If the shorter SATA cables are too short, that will be a a down the road problem, as I plan on starting with 2 or 3 total HDDs.
CPU/RAM/Motherboard all used from Ebay from reputable sellers. I know I won’t need the 3600 ram, but it was barley a price jump from the 3200 prices I was seeing.
Oh - use case is going to be NAS with a typical list of apps in docker containers (sonarr, radarr, jellyfish, HA, usenet/torrent, etc). Unraid. Starting with 16gb drives becuase I think I will regret anything less as parity drive. I figured I could always add 12tb drives in future if money is an issue, but I also think that 16tb is going to be better value per tb going forward. Transcoding will not be a current issue as most streaming will be to Shield Pros, but it is potentially on the future roadmap if I share access to family/friends outside the household.