Hello,
for my new desktop machine which shall run Linux I want to have an iGPU as well as the option to use ZFS. Therefore, I tend to use an Intel Core CPU on a motherboard with W680 chipset.
After some investigation, there are two motherboards available which look interesting to me. The first board is the Supermicro X13SAE(-F) which is available as IPMI and non-IPMI version, the second board is the Asus WS W680-ACE which is also available in an IPMI and non-IPMI version.
So far I recognized some pros and cons of both boards.
Supermicro X13SAE(-F):
- Pros:
- Supermicro stuff is optimized for stability (good hardware, less tuning/overclocking options)
- Provides a real IPMI.
- Developed for the use in companies.
- Using real screws to mount M.2 modules.
- Cons:
- As Supermicro is more conservative on behalf of stable products, the performance might be a bit worse compared to Asus which try to get the last out of the chips.
- The heatsinks on the board look like toys.
Asus WS W680-ACE (IPMI):
- Pros
- The voltage regulators on the Asus board have much more massive heat sinks which give some kind of better fealing about the longevity of the product.
- The board is optimized to get the last piece of clock frequency out of the chips. This means that Asus had to use high-quality components to reach this goal. So if someone is not overclocking the system, the hardware might have higher reserves than the Supermicro board.
- Cons:
- Asus is using a solution called “Q-Latch” as replacement of the M.2 screws to fastened the modules. The plastic things don’t look like they survive 5 years and more in the field. Also on the internet there are discussions from users hating the Q-Latch.
- Asus usually targets home users in contrast to Supermicro.
- The IPMI solution is a bit crappy.
Has anyone here experience with these motherboards?
Does anyone know how both products perform under Linux (Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Manjaro), because neither on the Supermicro website nor on the Asus website I found driver downloads for Linux for these boards?
What about power saving features, does someone know if the overall power consumption of the Supermicro system is comparable to the Asus system? I have seen stuff like “ASPM” in the Supermicro motherboard manual, but will the system be as low in the power consumption as the Asus system or is it more unusual for “real” workstations to have all these power saving mechanisms?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Thomas