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Need help building up a Lab workstation

idata
Employee
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Hello everyone,

I am planning to build up a workstation for a lab setup at my home as my previous intel board DG33FB got screwed up and I am planning to invest in a workstation class motherboard and a Xeon processor.

I will be running a lot of virtual machines in my lab.

Wanted the help of you guys:

I am planning to by the S5520SC motherboard and a Xeon processor.

I have yet not shortlisted any processor and am planning for something under 2.5Ghz.

I wanted to know whether S5520SC is a suitable board for running virtualiation, which processor should go with and wanted to know which power supply and chassis should i use for this kind of setup.

Waiting for your reply and guidance.

Also can anyone on this forum point me to a reliable Intel Dealer here in Mumbai,India that can help me build my machine.

Thanks,

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9 Replies
Edward_Z_Intel
Employee
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Check the http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-030213.htm Tested processor list. All processors in the list supports VT. I'd suggest you go for a Xeon 5600 series processor. As for chassis, check http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/s5520sc/sb/CS-030490.htm Tested chassis list.

You can find Platium Partners on http://premierlocator.intel.com/ http://premierlocator.intel.com/.

idata
Employee
295 Views

HI Edward,

Thanks for the assistance on this issue.

I got in touch with one of intel's partners and he is helping me build the system.

I have two doubts/question, would be great if you could answer them.

1. I am only planning for 1 processor at this time, so can i use all the slots in Channel A fo the RAM ie; 4GBx6.

a) Is this a supported/Validated configuration ?

b) Will the BIOS/Operating system recognize the entire 24GB of RAM ?

2. Can i use NON ECC RAM in the board S5520SC, as this machine will only be used for lab purporse in my home.

Awaiting your guidance on this.

Thanks,

Juned

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Edward_Z_Intel
Employee
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1. Yes you can populate all 6 slots with CPU1. 64-bit OS will see the entire 24GB memory.

2. No, non-ECC memory is not supported. Make sure you use memory from the http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/s5520sc/sb/CS-030229.htm Tested memory list.

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idata
Employee
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Hi Edward,

I had one more doubt..

Can i go with Unbuffered RAM (UDIMM) ?

Is UDIMM same as Non-ECC RAM ?

I see a cost difference betweeen Registered DIMM (RDIMM) and Unbuffered (UDIMM) and I see UDIMM supported on this board.

Thank you for your guidance in advance.

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Edward_Z_Intel
Employee
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Yes you can use UDIMM. UDIMM can be either ECC or non-ECC, but again non-ECC is not supported on S5520SC board. Normally RDIMM can support larger capacity. Again it's strongly recommended to choose memory from the Tested Memory List.

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idata
Employee
295 Views

Hi Edward,

Got your Point, just found out that there are very few vendors providing UDIMM's for 4GB and no vendors provide the 8GB one that is listed under the tested memory List. Thanks for the clarification.

One more point, the reseller told me and I also found this out in the service/Configuration Guide for the S5520SC board that, I will need an additional video cable accessory to cable out the on board video to the external VGA connector or I will have to go for an Graphic card to connect to the external VGA connector.

Just wanted to confirm whetehr this is true and I may not be able to connect the monitor cable directly to the port on the motherboard as i used to do in my earlier boards.

Thanks.

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Edward_Z_Intel
Employee
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Yes it is true. Since S5520SC is a workstation board, it's supposed to have a add-in PCI-e video card. So although the it has an onboard video controller, the there is no VGA port populated on the board. If you don't need high-end video, you may choose a S5520HC board instead. However if you really want to use the onboard video on S5520SC, yes you can purchase the VGA cable, product code FXXSCVDCBL.

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idata
Employee
295 Views

Thanks Edward..

Do we have link/URL/Documnet stating the differences between the various boards in the S5520 series ie; S5520SC,S5520SCR,S5520HC etc...

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Edward_Z_Intel
Employee
295 Views

See http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-032233.htm Server board SKUs comparison.

As for the last letter "R", it means programmed in the factory with BIOS to support Xeon 5600 series processor. See http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/sb/CS-031481.htm Intel® Xeon® Processors 5600 Series and Intel® Server Board compatibility for more details.

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