Holy Grail: Dual V1 Xeon Mobo £69.99

[chriscambridge]

So I have come across a pretty unbelievable deal from a UK seller.

What amounts to a dual Xeon V1 (LGA 2011) motherboard for £69-£84 including free p&p (courier).

The price difference is because there are 2 different ones available; a Quanta and a FoxConn.

The only thing is these are Amazon AWS drops and therefore its not as simple as a boxed motherboard, both in terms of setup (like the Natex Intel mobos), but also how they come.

Basically both come a full server rack! However on the plus side you not only get the mobo but also:

* 1U server rack chassis!
* 2x 1U passive CPU coolers!
* a 500w plus (gold) PSU for free!

So in order to get the mobo its just a case of removing the motherboard; I just spoke to someone on Reddit who has done this and he mounted it into a desktop case.

Now in terms of form factor. It is my understanding (after many many hours of researching) that one is CEB (FoxConn), and after speaking to the guy on Reddit, the other is SSB (Quanta). In my opinion they pretty much look to be very similar sized to the Intel mobo from Natex, which if I remember rightly was CEB or E-ATX.

Like the Natex deals, these are also running out. Natex also had both these racks/mobos around a year ago, so much of the online discussion is about the Natex deals on these servers.

The seller (BargainHardware) has drivers for Windows 10/VMWare for the FoxConn, and Windows 7/8 for the Quanta; but I have read reports of the Quanta also running fine on Windows 10.

BH also have a 3rd rack, the Chenbros, however they don't run Windows so I didnt bother to research about these.

Also something to be aware of is if you are going to actually use the server racks is the FoxConn don't have a lid (sever rack chassis top) by design. See BH website for more info.

And lastly, there are some reports of issues/slight issues, being server motherboards, such as having to start the server twice to get it to start, but I also did read about reasons and resolutions, and none of the problems made the servers/mobos unusable (for normal stuff). At the end of the day, Natex sold these so personally I have every confidence in them.

However definitely fully read through all these threads, plus Google more to fully inform yourself about these mobos. Like I say, these aren't boxed products and therefore like the Intel boards you can expect to have to slightly play about with them to get them to fully work how you want them too. Often it will depend on how the previous owner had it setup.

In one of the threads below, STH I think, there is a representative from BargainHardware who has been answering questions and offering advice about these server racks (and mobo). He also mentioned that if you write in the comments when you buy, then they are happy to update the BIOS for you so it can handle V2 Xeons as well as V1. Not sure if this is possible for both the server racks in question though.

He also mentions why they don't sell the mobos by themselves!

Just lastly, the BIOS is the same (if I am very much not mistaken) as the Intel mobos, so any any previous learnings should be helpful.

https://forums.servethehome.com/index.p ... 250.11592/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/89 ... rver-deal/

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/show ... rus-server

--

FoxConn: £84.99 free p&p
http://www.bargainhardware.co.uk/cheap- ... -to-order/

Quanta £69.99 free p&p
http://www.bargainhardware.co.uk/quanta ... -to-order/

--

Now some pix so we can see what I am talking about

Quanta:











FoxConn:

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi Chris

Great find !!

One thing I spotted is that Foxconn version doesn't have a PCIe slot...so, if anyone has a nice GPU, then it can't be used on this board.

The Quanta board does have a PCIe slot, so even though on the ordering screen, it talks about a Riser; declining this doesn't mean you won't have the PCIe capability, although the option on the config page of their shopping cart implies there is "No PCIe x16 slots". (I had to call them to confirm this and there is a usable PCIe slot - though getting a riser would be advantageous as otherwise, the GPU would sit proud of the original chassis - for me, I'll be transplanting the Quanta board into my EEB case, so it's not a problem for me).

The other point, which was pleasing to hear, is that the Quanta board accepts DDR3L - Low Voltage RAM - which benefits me, as I have 64Gb of DDR3L RAM from my faulty Intel server board, which would be wasted if I couldn't use it...or I'd have to sell it off and buy standard DDR3 RAM, at higher cost.

So, I've ordered a bare-bones, Quanta board for 69.99 inc VAT and FREE shipping.

Edit: One option would have been to ship my faulty Intel board back to Natex for testing/repair but that would (overall) probably cost me more than buying the Quanta board - and I also get a spare PSU plus a 1U chassis !!)

Once I receive it, power it up, and configure it I'll let everyone know how it goes, though it'll be too late for this weekends FB Sprint

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

Yeah thats correct Tim, all of this is discussed in the threads I posted, and or online. Some of it got a bit confusing as to which system they were talking about so I thought I would just post the links and let people take a read.

Definitely read through the threads as there were a few workarounds, such as the PCIE riser, The SATA SAS Ports, and something todo with the network card.

I think the onboard "network port" isnt a network card and hence you need to add one; I would use a £5-£10 USB wifi dongle for now if you are using the PCIE slot for a GPU.

If this is on a Quanta QSSC-2ML and you are using the built-in NIC, then that is because that NIC is dedicated to IPMI for SOL and remote power on / off

Someone posted this SFP and said it works, but I am not sure what it is or how it works! Clearly you plug it into an empty slot on the back of the chassis rack so it can provide an ethernet port. But I am not clear on what it connects to on the actual mobo.





https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AW5EHKG/ ... ervecom-20

Also I have asked the guy on Reddit a few more questions so hopefully he will be able to answer on sizes of the Quanta mobo and server rack.

Also something to be aware if you are not used to server racks, anything below a 3U/2U normally use passive (no fan) CPU coolers (due to the lack of height) and therefore the way they do this is via small but highly powerful (and hence noisy) fans. Many people call them "screamers".

One method to reduce noise is to swap them for Active 1U coolers such as the Dynatron R16. However I guessed most people will be removing the mobo and hence could just fit EVO212s or whatever.



Another thing don't use the blue SATA ports as they are SAS and I don't believe they work [in Windows?], you have to use the normal SATA ports.

Hopefully Mark will get one of these, if only for the cost and technical challenge, and then perhaps we can put out a step to step guide for other UBT members. I am going to get one, although I may just keep it as a rack server.

[chriscambridge]

Just got a reply from the guy on Reddit who bought one of the Quantas and fitted it into a CEB case.

I asked him:

How has your mobo been? Any problems? I have heard good and bad reports..

Is it running Windows 10?

How easy was it to remove the mobo from the server rack?

Do you still have the server rack it came in? If so could you measure the width and length?

He replied:

The board is 12"x13" approx.

I drilled 2 extra holes for standoffs.

I have had no major problems, it boots kind of slow, i can't get the blue sas ports to work with my HDD's and the sfp+ port with the adapter BH recommends didn't want to work with my switch.

I have tried ESXi, a couple of Linux distros but settled with Win10 because thats what i was most comfortable with.

Very easy. Undo some screws and cables and it comes right out.

Yes i do. It is 17" wide and 33" deep approx.

So that makes sense as:

This guy fitted it into a CEB case which 12"x10.5" hence there would have been some holes missing hence the drilling.
I think I read it had been fitted within a EEB case which is: 12"x13" (so my 4U racks chassis specification says) which is the same size as the mobo.

If you are going to fit these (default chassis) into a server rack cabinet then be aware that the depth is over 800mm. (33 inches = 838.2mm); Also if I remember rightly you have to buy the rails separately from HB.

[chriscambridge]

All in all, its pretty unbelievable that you can get a EEB Dual Xeon V1 Motherboard, with a 1U 500w PSU, for just £69.99 inclusive of p&P

Something that just occurred to me about the PSU, it may have none or limited 6+2 GPU power connectors, being a server PSU.

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi Chris

Thanks for the extra info.

I was wondering about the network ports, as the Quanta server description mentioned that the onboard network port was for "monitoring purposes"...but looking at the actual pictures of the board, it showed an RJ45 socket near to the USB and VGA ports, and there seemed to be another port (the SFP one?) further along the mobo towards the other end.

And this correlates to the Intel S2600CP board, which has standard RJ45s at one end and an optional (and proprietary) Remote Monitoring socket on the motherboard itself - but if that optional module is installed then it seems to be in the same approximate place on the Quanta mobo.

If, however, the standard port is only for IPMI, then i might be stuck as my office uses a wired network connection to the local router...I do have some USB wifi sticks but I don''t have a wifi router to connect to anymore. So, I might have to think about how I can get data in and out of this board esp if I want to use a GPU in the single PCIe slot - at least the Intel board had multiple PCIe slots !!

Edit: If the furthest right port is actually SFP, then the SFP to RJ45 adaptor is what is required to convert the port to "copper" such that a standard RJ45 will fit the 2nd socket (ie the one at the furthest end of the board, away from the USB sockets).

regards
Tim

[UBT - Timbo]

All in all, its pretty unbelievable that you can get a EEB Dual Xeon V1 Motherboard, with a 1U 500w PSU, for just £69.99 inclusive of p&P

Something that just occurred to me about the PSU, it may have none or limited 6+2 GPU power connectors, being a server PSU.

Hi Chris

I had thought of that and TBH, I'll use a higher quality PSU for the Quanta board and then keep the Quanta PSU as a spare for use with another PC - at least the Quanta PSU would have 2x EPS cables, as well as the standard 20+4 Molex connector.

Edit: There also appear to be some extra PSU connectors that end in a large Molex style connector, near to the chassis fans so it's possible that the GPU 6+2 cables could be "driven" by some of those voltages...I'll need to check the PSU when it arrives and see what's what - but even if there are no GPU-specific cables, (on the Quanta PSU) that's not an issue as I'll be swapping the PSU over for the one in my EEB case.

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

Yeah that could be an issue, although you could probably get a cheap used 2/4 port switch with wifi (plug n play router) from Ebay. I bought one years ago and they were pretty cheap new.

What I will do is ask my Reddit friend about the network ports.

how many network ports/NIC does this mobo have? I thought I saw two.

I read that:

The Quanta QSSC-2ML built-in NIC is dedicated to IPMI for SOL and remote power on/off

So did any of the NIC(s) work with a normal router to provide internet? I noted that you said you could not get it to connect via a switch.

I had intended to use the PCIE slot to run a graphics card (GPU) so was there a NIC onboard that could be used to get internet, leaving the PCIE for the GPU?

From what I read however I thought there was just one, and that attached to the PCIE slot (perhaps with the SPF hardware thing). Perhaps the 2nd NIC is not actually connected internally to anything.

From the pix it's difficult to see what is actually there; I see one definite NIC but not sure about a 2nd one.

[chriscambridge]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... fi&_sop=15

There are quite a few very cheap Belkin (etc) routers with wifi on EBay for £5 give or take.

[UBT - Timbo]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from ... fi&_sop=15

There are quite a few very cheap Belkin (etc) routers with wifi on EBay for £5 give or take.

Hi Chris

At my office we have a fairly decent non-wifi router already, so, I can't replace that, but I can fit an access point, and then I can use a USB wifi adaptor to connect the Quanta mobo to the access point, which is hard wired direct to the router.

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

Sounds like a fix then to the lack of PCIE slots.. (I actually meant a access point, eg whatever was required to add wifi to an existing BB router).

When you get the system can you let me know if the onboard VGA will run at 1080x definition? My i7-4790s/Gaming 5 mobo can, so hopefully these can too. (That will allow me to use the PCIE for a NIC rather than a GPU).

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi both

DRAT !!

Just had an email from BH that says:

I am contacting you today regarding your order.
It has currently been held due to the following item being out of stock:
ITM0001967 Quanta|QSSC-2ML|1U|4 x LFF-NHS|SATA|NHSP|A
We don't have a current Eta for the Quanta
Is there an alternate model you would consider or would you like us to refund the order

The Foxconn option isn't available on their website anymore, (even though the Quanta is still listed - but is now sold out) so the only other option is the Chenbro 13704:

http://www.bargainhardware.co.uk/chenbr ... -to-order/

This uses a totally different mobo layout but should still fit my EEB case.

It's more expensive at 109.99 inc VAT, so I've asked BH to suspend my order and I'll have a think over the weekend about whether to go ahead or get a refund.

EDit: Just seen this:

VM-Ware Works. Windows installs give an ACPI error; works with text install on Oracle VM Server and XEN Hypervisor

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

I very nearly bought 2x E5-2690 last night

Have you tried phoning them as the site is still allowing me to add x19 of both servers to the cart (with 2x £12 Xeons in each)?

Perhaps there is no stock of servers without CPUS?

I have just asked them on chat:

Hi Guys, I just wanted to check that all stock levels on the website are correct so I can do an order online? Thanks

Hi there can you confirm what you are looking at and we can check for you, we are working on a new site so the current site may not be as accurate as we would like but we are available on chat or through email to verify anything you are interested in

Yes I require: "cheap Quanta 1U"

I can confirm these are sold out and the site needs updating as I had another customer wanted one

[chriscambridge]

The only other cheap-ish dual LGA2011 mobo is this Tyan one currently priced at £130 + £30 p&p from China.

I guess you could throw a cheeky offer at them as they accept offers..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TYAN-S7067-D ... x#shpCntId

At least their is plenty of information about this mobo:

https://www.tyan.com/Motherboards_S7067 ... NR-1T(BTO)

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi Chris

I did speak to the guys at BH on the phone and it was they that suggested the Chenbro.

The one thing I don't know yet, is whether the Chenbro supports the DDR3L RAM that I had in the Intel mobo. And getting an equivalent 64 Gb of standard DDR3 might be expensive.

If the Chenbro doesn't DDR3L then I think I might just sell off the CPUs, heatsinks and RAM and Mark has said he'll take a look at the mobo (which may or may not be salvageable).

And I'm a bit averse to spending even more money on older tech, if it isn't going to last for a while !! (Hence my reticence at paying 200 quid for another Intel S2600CP !!)

Edit: Another option is to get a couple of single CPU 2011 mobos, but I'd still have the issue of having to buy new RAM for them - there are some single socketed "no name" 2011 boards on sale from China/HK for around 60-80 each on fleabay at present.

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

The US mobo suggestion I made previously, which you may or may not have seen I have removed as it did not work with Windows, and it had zero documentation.

In the end I just bought a pair of Xeon E5-2690V1s for £75 each from Ebay, and a ASRock EP2C602-4L/D16 motherboard from Amazon via Purse.io with Bitcoin.

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi all,

I decided to cancel the order for the mobo, as BH didn't have any and couldn't say if they would get any more.

I didn't think the Chenbro would be suitable so I might go the other route and look into single CPU mobos instead - at the very least it might mean I can bring a second GPU into the mix as the Quanta board only had a single PCIe slot.

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

Not sure what you are going to pay for a single socket 2011, but there are some Intel S2600CP motherboards on Ebay for around £200.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Motherboards ... kw=s2600cp

I decided against the Asrock in the end as it was too expensive, this is the route I am going to take; better the devil you know.

I also had 2 nice little presents arrive today.. The mighty E5-2690V1 Xeons! Base freq: 2.9 GHz, All cores 3.2GHz.

[chriscambridge]

[Woodles]

Very colourful Chris

[chriscambridge]

Hyper 103; These are pretty much the standard CPU cooler I use on everything now, as they are low cost, effective at cooling, fit Intel core and xeon LGA2011/LGA2011-3, and most importantly fit within a 4U rack chassis.

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi Chris

Which mobo is this?

It looks a lot like the Intel S2600CP mobo, but it has a lot more SATA sockets on the front right (as in photo) compared to mine (which has the spaces for the sockets, but none fitted. )

Also, you've got the CPU fans facing sideways (towards the 24-pin molex power connector), whereas on the Arctic fans I have, they can only be mounted to face towards the rear of the board.

Not sure what you are going to pay for a single socket 2011, but there are some Intel S2600CP motherboards on Ebay for around £200.

I've seen some Asus boards on ebay - the last one went for 134.00 and others have been in that same region of price.

But as mentioned previously, I'm less keen on paying top whack and getting another S2600CP board, just because of the recent issue in terms of reliability !!

regards
Tim

[Woodles]

Hi Chris

Which mobo is this?

It looks a lot like the Intel S2600CP mobo, but it has a lot more SATA sockets on the front right (as in photo) compared to mine (which has the spaces for the sockets, but none fitted. )

Also, you've got the CPU fans facing sideways (towards the 24-pin molex power connector), whereas on the Arctic fans I have, they can only be mounted to face towards the rear of the board.

Not sure what you are going to pay for a single socket 2011, but there are some Intel S2600CP motherboards on Ebay for around £200.

I've seen some Asus boards on ebay - the last one went for 134.00 and others have been in that same region of price.

But as mentioned previously, I'm less keen on paying top whack and getting another S2600CP board, just because of the recent issue in terms of reliability !!

regards
Tim

Hi Tim,

The board is an S2600CP4 model. Identical to the S2600CP boards but with two extra NICs and with eight extra SATA 3GB ports for a RAID configuration. One of mine is the same, the others just the basic ones.

My fans face the same way as Chris's but I use the EVO 212 which can have the fan mounted on either side (or two fans) It fits in any of the four orientations.

Mark

[chriscambridge]

I was wondering if someone was going to spot the CPU coolers direction.. These are Hyper 103s so like the EVO 212s you can point them in any direction. At the moment I am out of U space in the server rack so am going to build this into a Enthoo pro case (which has top fans) hence why they are facing upwards. Once I am ready to mount it into a server rack then I will have to point them the 'normal way' backwards.

I hear what you are saying about your mobo busting, but to be honest i think all old mobos will have a chance of components failing; from what I have read about these mobos online, unreliability does not seem to be an issue; I think maybe you just had a run of bad luck. I know I never had any issues (except having the do the FRSDR BIOS update on the first one) on any of my 3/4 mobos.

If you compare 2x single socket setups, to 1x dual socket, the dual option is going to work out much cheaper as you won't need 2 of so many things (PSU, mobo, case). That is the way I would look at it, as well as needing less space.

-

Its interesting that you guys spotted the extra SATA ports and NICs as I complete missed it, and perhaps it explains something which came with my Intel mobo but which the seller did not know what it was (just that it was connected when he took the servers apart).



As you can see (perhaps) it looks to have a NIC connector on the card, and a SATA connector on the rippon, and some kind of other yellow connector.

After doing a bit of research I think its a network based, add-in BMC with IPMI; basically a networked KVM. Although I am not really sure 100% as its abit unclear how, or what, would plug into that yellow connector.

[UBT - Timbo]

Its interesting that you guys spotted the extra SATA ports and NICs as I complete missed it, and perhaps it explains something which came with my Intel mobo but which the seller did not know what it was (just that it was connected when he took the servers apart).



As you can see (perhaps) it looks to have a NIC connector on the card, and a SATA connector on the rippon, and some kind of other yellow connector.

After doing a bit of research I think its a network based, add-in BMC with IPMI; basically a networked KVM. Although I am not really sure 100% as its abit unclear how, or what, would plug into that yellow connector.

Hi Chris

Actually THAT part could be quite a useful tool to borrow by either Mark or I as we both now have dead S2600CP mobo's - Mark now seems to have experienced exactly the same issue as me on one of his mobo's !!

(You can find it by googling "Intel AXXRMM4" - https://www.encore-pc.co.uk/intel-axxrm ... -accessory

It plugs into the mobo between the 2 PCI slots furthest from the CPU's - you might see on your mobo, that there is also a small "chip module" plugged in, nearest the square chipset near the edge of the board...that is shown on the link above. )

And I'm thinking that maybe this RMM board *COULD* help solve the issue of non-booting boards IF it outputs any signals from the BMC.

So, keep it on hand if you can. I'm actually coming to Cambridge this Thursday evening, so maybe I could pick it up from you and see if it would help solve the problem. (It might not of course, but it's worth a try - I've seen these boards on fleabay for about £30 or so, but if you are not using it... ?).

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

Yeah I see them both:



I would have no problem lending you it (as long as you replaced it if it came back faulty); however personally I don't think it will work as I actually setup and entered the BMC on my first board (if you remember) and to do that I had to setup the local network connection settings (in the BIOS beforehand), as explained and shown here:

https://kb.stonegroup.co.uk/index.php?V ... ntryID=260



Also if components are faulty on the board, I am not sure how getting into the BMC will fix this. If I remember rightly to reset the BIOS there is a jumper switch on the board.

It will be interesting to see what Mark thinks about using this to resolve the issue.

I won't be around late in the Week but I have motion activated CCTV outside my apartment, and my doorway is in a stairwell, so I could work out somewhere safe I could leave it for you to pick up; that is, as long as you agree to replace it if your board fries it.

[UBT - Timbo]

HI Chris

Understood on all points

I was rather hoping that this device might enable access to the mobo, to see the POST errors...but if the BIOS must be adjusted to "enable" the RMM, then this isn't going to help.

I'll wait and see if Mark can check this out too...and it's even possible that Mark might feel that he is better able to use this device rather than me...!

Plus he is nearer to you, so he can collect it better than I - so let's see if he thinks it could help?

(As you might guess, I'm rather "grabbing at straws" to think of ways to get to the bottom of this mobo problem...and in my case, I can't even get to the BIOS, so if that is necessary to even make the RMM board work, then it won't help ).

regards
Tim

[Woodles]

Hi Both,

If you can't get into the BIOS then the CPU isn't running.

If the CPU isn't running then there's no diagnostics from either a serial port or a network one.

Sadly, the RMM wouldn't do anything in this situation.

The first step is to get the BIOS going.

From a (very) quick look at my failed board, it looks like a failed/damaged hardware component stopping the PSU from working correctly.

Mark

[chriscambridge]

Just out of interest, are the 2 boards that have now failed S2600CP4 or S2600CP versions? Could be useful to know if its the earlier version failing, especially if anyone is going to buy anymore of these boards in the future.

[UBT - Timbo]

Just out of interest, are the 2 boards that have now failed S2600CP4 or S2600CP versions? Could be useful to know if its the earlier version failing, especially if anyone is going to buy anymore of these boards in the future.

Hi Chris

Mine''s a S2600CP - the board without the extra SATA sockets next to the 24 pin MOLEX power connector.

regards
Tim

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi Both,

If you can't get into the BIOS then the CPU isn't running.

If the CPU isn't running then there's no diagnostics from either a serial port or a network one.

Sadly, the RMM wouldn't do anything in this situation.

The first step is to get the BIOS going.

Mark

Hi Mark

Understood...though I had thought that maybe the initial boot up procedure with this industrial grade of server board, would allow access to part of the server, even if the CPU wasn't working...like a pre-boot mini-server function, that happened prior to this circuit then saying "ok everything is fine, now load the OS and boot up" or "there's a problem such as..." - and then someone who was using the Remote Monitoring feature, could actually identify the issue that was causing the server to not boot/work as expected.

From a (very) quick look at my failed board, it looks like a failed/damaged hardware component stopping the PSU from working correctly.

That was my guess too, BUT I couldn't see any "suspects" such as bulging (or exploded) caps, a nice hole in the middle of a IC, or the odd burnt out resistor or fusible link

I have tried a number of different PSUs and when power is applied, the CPUs fans do spin up and the large heatsinked chip near to the 24 pin MOLEX does get warm...so, something is going on...PLUS the CPU's in a different mobo work correctly.

regards
Tim

[Woodles]

Hi Tim,

The ONLY intelligence on the board is the CPU(s). One will run the BIOS microcode to check the board out, display any errors (visibly or via the RMM) and display the BIOS screen to allow changes to be made. Then it will invoke the BIOS bootloader code which will examine the hard disc and load an OS if present.

This is why you sometimes need BIOS updates if the board was designed for an older CPU, it doesn't have the correct microcode to use the newer CPU capabilities. Also why you'd need a BIOS update for new HDD modes.

Until the BIOS can run, the only diagnostics are hardware ones (LEDs, buzzers etc)

I haven't had a detailed look yet (a little busy at the moment) I was only going by the slight clicking noise that the original PSU made when trying to start the board once it had failed.

It does sound like the boards are almost working (and they were previously before power off) so I wouldn't expect a catastrophic failure, it may be something as minor as the power on reset to the CPUs isn't working and they never start running.

Mark

[Woodles]

Just out of interest, are the 2 boards that have now failed S2600CP4 or S2600CP versions? Could be useful to know if its the earlier version failing, especially if anyone is going to buy anymore of these boards in the future.

Hi Chris,

Mine is also one of the S2600CP variants.

I suspect the only real differences between the two types though is that the connectors were fitted onto the pre-drilled places and maybe a flag set to say they're present. Maybe a microcode change as well.

There isn't an 'earlier' version as such, both variations were available at the same time, one's just a more capable version.

Mark

[chriscambridge]

Yeah you're probably right, although it is interesting that it is both these variants that have failed.

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi all

Anyone still interested in the Intel S2600CP Dual Xeon server mobo's?

This ebay seller has listed them for 74.99 each + free UK postage.

Or buy 2 for 71.24 ea or 3 for 67.49 ea....or 4 for 63.74 ea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273686871588

They also seem to include 1x heatskink plus the I/O shield. But no CPU or RAM.

I'm tempted...as I still have the CPUs/heatsinks/RAM/case from the one that failed...

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

That is very low cost, and the seller offers 30 day free returns.

Obviously doing a 3/4 way buy would be even cheaper.

If Mark is up for buying in, then I guess I can come onboard (even though I not even sure if I am going to run these anymore).

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi Chris

They have now sold 17 in the last 24 hours....and now 9 left.

There is a small saving to be had for multiple items...but the saving isn't much compared to the extra cost of receiving one delivery (of a number of mobos)and then re-sending them to anyone else who was interested.

(ie 74.99 vs 63.74 for 4+ - saving 11.25, but then extra postage will reduce this).

Obviously, if you and Mark want to club together then that makes sense as you live/work close to each other.

regards
Tim

[chriscambridge]

Oh okay, I thought you were asking if we wanted to all buy in together.

Personally I will wait until I hear what Mark thinks about rebuying as I can take it or leave it really.

[chriscambridge]

Only 8 left now.. they do seem to be selling very fast. Previously these were selling for £180 so I am not surprised people are buying them up quite quickly.

[Woodles]

While these are good systems, I think I'm going to be looking at newer setups for my next builds so I'll be giving these a miss.

(Four left now)

Mark

[chriscambridge]

Yeah I am kind of thinking the same thing really. I will also leave buying anymore of these mobos then.

Hey Mark, what VNC are you using? Was it TightVNC? or was that someone else.

I am having issues with TeamViewer so want to switch to something better that someone has used (with many hosts) for a long period.

[Woodles]

Hi Chris,

Yes, I'm using TightVNC. It's working fine on my Windows machines, it's supposed to work on Linux but I haven't got around to trying it yet.

Mark

[chriscambridge]

Okay thanks; have you used it for long? And I guess you have never had any 'commercial use suspected' notifications (if its a personal use version)?

RealVNC (Cambridge) and TeamViewer are great software apps, but they really need to improve their 'commercial usage algorithms'!

[UBT - Timbo]

Hi both

On the mobo front - I was going to "sleep on it" and leave it until tomorrow to decide whether to buy, but with now 4 left, I've pulled the trigger on one piece... !!

It might be older tech, but I've got a box of bits that are just lying around and I'd like to put it back into action.

I was looking out for X79 series chipset mobo's (that support the Xeon CPUs) but none were available at reasonable pricing and they didn't support the DDR3L RAM I have.

At least once this other S2600CP mobo gets going, I can maybe fault-find what happened to the first one.

BUT I do have a clue...as one of the Xeon CPUs was swapped into a spare X79 board I already had and it crashed a couple of times.

When I checked the BIOS, 2 of the cores (#7 and #8) were registering the wrong core temperatures...namely, 1174470664 degrees and 2 degrees and running at the wrong speeds 2600 instead of 3000 and 4200 instead of 2600 compared to the other cores - see attachment !!

.

xeon-e5-2670.jpg

.

So, I'm guessing that the Xeon CPU fault might be the reason the Intel board wouldn't boot...but it is a long shot !!


re: TightVNC
I was using TeamViewer until I was judged to be using it "commercially"

I'm now using AnyDesk, which works pretty well. Is TightVNC any betterer ??

regards
Tim

[Woodles]

Hi Chris,

I downloaded the installer in November 2016 and I don't normally download things to leave them sitting around so I imagine I've used it for a little over two years.

Never had any problems with it but then again I've not tried to do anything particularly demanding with it.

Connects, displays and controls other hosts both on the same wired network, via the router and via WIFI.

It can be configured to be accessed remotely but I haven't had any need for that.

Never had any nag screens or pop ups and I've got it running on eleven hosts. It's free and I don't think there's a commercial variant so that may be why.

Mark

[Woodles]

Hi TIm,

Good luck with your 'new' PC

They are great boards when they're working, 32 cores at 3GHz and running quite happily with a 550W PSU (I think I measured power draw as ~200W but I can't find the data now)

I still haven't managed to find the time to fault find my board yet, hopefully I should have some spare time in a couple of weeks. I'll make sure to check whether the CPU is running at a billion degrees!

Mark

[chriscambridge]

That is very strange about the Xeon, I thought CPUs were pretty much blackboxs, and if none of the chip stuff (capacitors, etc) were damaged then it would work as normal. But as its showing faults across 2 mobos then obviously not.

I still have these 2x E5-2690V1's so at some point I will have to work out what to do with them (along with the 32GB RAM).

I would definitely be interested in what you both find re the Xeon and the Intel board(s).

I took a look at TightVNC and I think it could be somewhat of a nightmare to setup on Linux as its my understanding you have to setup a VNC server, but then also use software rendering via Linux Mint Cinnamon or whatever desktop you are using.

So far all the VNC type apps that I have seen (except TeamViewer, RealVNC, AnyDesk) won't work under Linux.

Also RealVNC, TeamViewer, and AnyDesk all seem to want over £300 per year to remote to upto 10 computers which is crazy.

If and when TeamViewer cuts me off I will try and get TightVNC working on Linux and Windows.

[Woodles]

The VNCserver is just the application really, you can configure it with view/access passwords but don't need to.

I think the main problem with remote access to Linux systems is that the remote connection is set up as it's own instance on the host so it's difficult to control other users instances.

I've had a quick Google and there seems to be loads of installation and setup guides for the process.

Once I've ran enough Gerasim then I'll be swapping over to Wanless on Linux so I'll give it a try then. It's going to be a couple of weeks at least though.

Mark

[chriscambridge]

Okay that sounds like a plan then.. Thanks much appreciated.

Like I mentioned most CPU projects that I have run on Linux vs Windows has shown good improvements, including some GPU projects too.

I still have TeamViewer running, plus I have a 8 port USB/HDMI KVM which I could use instead of any VNC, so timing isn't critical or anything.