New Dual Xeon 5520 build and the snags I saw along the way

**Serra** · 05-22-2009, 06:05 PM

I recently completed a new build, but since I was not able to find all the information I was looking for as easily as I would like I thought I would post some tidbits on it here for those who come after me. Specifically, I had some compatibility questions that no information was available for... so hopefully others can avoid slogging through HCLs and posting on vendor forums like I did.

My goal with this platform is to be a VMWare host, specifically using ESXi (a free download!). The cool things about ESXi is that it doesn't require a host OS - it IS it's own host. So no worrying about underlying stability or wasted CPU cycles. On the otherside, there are a few compatibility "issues". With my particular build I found I hit a few roadbumps, so I thought I would share to help alleviate some headaches.

So the new specs are:
- CPU: 2x Intel Xeon E5520 (2.27GHz quad core + HT)
- Mobo: Supermicro X8DTi
- RAM: 2x 3-stick packs of Crucial DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) ECC Unbuffered memory (Model CT3KIT25672BA1339)
- HDD: Currently a single WD 640 GB WD640AAKS. Will eventually migrate to a PERC6/i + 5 WD640AALS's.
- Optical: Some LG DVD writer
- Cooling: 1x Intel BXSTS100C Passive/active combination heat sink with removable fan + 1x Xigmatek Dark Knight (I wasn't sure if the tower HS would clear the RAM so I just got a cheap LGA 1366 compatible one + 2x Intels... turns out the clearance works just fine and no special screws etc are required.) (Will order another Xigmatek shortly).

What I want to share:

Physical / Component side:
- Do not forget that the Nehalem-based Xeons do NOT come with heatsinks
- Intel-branded active heatsinks make more noise than a ******* Vantec Tornado. I am not a fan of this solution at all.
- You probably shouldn't run an E5520 with an Intel heatsink passively... the HS gets rather hot. I know the doc says you need to have forced airflow through it (they're referring to case fans and such), and they're right.
- Third-party tower heatsinks (in my case, a Xigmatek Dark Knight S1283V) will fit next to RAM on these boards without problems, though I wouldn't necessary go for any memory that uses large heatsinks (not that that should be a problem to avoid).
- With a third party tower-style heatsinks, the heatsink stays pretty cool to the touch with even mild airflow (keep in mind, mine is an 80w processor... other Xeons take it up a notch)
- The chipset heatsinks, left without direct air, does get very hot to the touch. I expect I will be looking at a third-party copper solution at some point, and likely pointing a fan at it.

Logical side:
- When you start up this board, expect to wait 2-4 minutes before you see a POST message to the screen. I don't know why it takes so long, but if you watch you do see it slowly checking parts (ie. you see the mouse tracking LED flash, keyboard blips, HDD ticks for a second). I thought it wasn't starting up a few times at first and kept checking my RAM for defective sticks, but I was just being impatient.
- VMWare ESXi 3.5 Update 4 does not seem to be compatible with this setup. I'm not exactly sure why.
- VMWare ESXi 4 (just released) is compatible, HOWEVER there are some major caveats:
1. You MUST enable AHCI mode on your SATA ports
2. For some idiot reason, some ridiculous reason, the installation WILL repeatedly stall for ~90 minutes. Just expect it. After it finishes, the boot will also stall for ~90 minutes while loading an IPMI driver.
3. Once you have logged in to the vSphere console, you can disable the IPMI driver. For the love of all that is good, do so.

Other thoughts:
- Seeing 16 cores in a performance console is awesome
- I love that VMWare ESXi is free, but FFS I hate the DIY requirement with all but select hardware (and consider that I work for someone who is a VMWare Enterprise Partner, and I *still* had to figure it all out for myself because no-one has good answers to any installation questions).

**Movieman** · 05-22-2009, 06:46 PM

and you mean you didn't call me on this?

boot time should be app 90 seconds when all configured correctly.
That is normal. SM sets a bios to check so many more parameters than on a gaming board.
Heatsinks: TRUE's with the included 53cfm fans will run quiet and cool a gainestown at 3000mhz to under 50C at load.
Is this for you or for a customer?

**Serra** · 05-22-2009, 06:58 PM

Originally Posted by Movieman

and you mean you didn't call me on this?

boot time should be app 90 seconds when all configured correctly.
That is normal. SM sets a bios to check so many more parameters than on a gaming board.
Heatsinks: TRUE's with the included 53cfm fans will run quiet and cool a gainestown at 3000mhz to under 50C at load.
Is this for you or for a customer?

Heh, sorry about not calling you first Dave - the core components were all forced on me by requirements so I didn't have much room to tool around with, though I'll admit I really could have used your help on the HS issue. But unfortunately time was a strict requirement on this project, so I said screw the money and overpurchased on it (which was okay in this instance - I kind of wanted two intel HS's anyway as I'm currently deciding on a case and don't know if I'm going to end up with something with enough room for towers or not). Speaking of though, you and me need to have a little chat about a case for this guy - he's just sitting on the Supermicro box in a corner of my house right now.

As far as the HS goes, I'm pretty sure that the TRUE is better than this thing I have on there now, but I'm going to give him a week or so and see how it goes. I bought the Dark Knight because I didn't know if it would fit or not, so I cheaped out... but now that it does fit, I'm thinking that if it keeps the temperatures at an acceptable level I might just buy a second because, well, why not have a matching set?

Oh... and if you find something that you think might really work from an OC perspective, let me know. I'm willing to sacrifice a processor for the effort because I think the loss might actually work out OK with my wife - not that I'll tell her WHY it died (if it dies, I'll be entirely within my right to just hold off on re-buying it and wait for the 32nm shrink and buying 2 new CPUs).

And nope, not for a customer - all for me. VM's for a security-focused network lab.