An Unexpected Supply source.

[GWillakers]

So when a new lineup of chips comes out I, like most of you, review them to see which ones might make a nice system.

We all have our preferences with regards to Performance, Thermals, Features and price.

When the new XEON E5 family came out, I immediately knew the one that I wanted. The XEON E5-1620. This is the XEON version of the i7-3820.

My joy turned to frustration, as soon as I spotted that it was only offered in tray (OEM).

Expletive! How was I gonna get my hands on this chip?

I searched Pricegrabber, Amazon and Newegg.
All suppliers listed that the chip was a special order.

When I went to the shopping section in Google, I saw that HP was already shipping systems with this darling of a processor included.

I hate pre-canned systems. You can never do anything in the BIOS.

But I wanted to see the expansion features of the system they were building around the E5-1620

After perusing their site for a couple of minutes, I was interrupted with a chat session opening.

A HP person wanted to know if I needed help in configuring a system.

On a lark I asked if they would sell me just the processor.

I was almost 100% sure the answer was gonna be no, but what the heck it never hurts to ask.

Of course the answer was no.

But then he said something else; "You might want to try the HP Parts store"

Duh! Of course! If HP sells a system they have to have replacement parts!

So I ordered the part, and its on its way!

I spent 500$ on a part normally listed as $300 ***the downside****

But I got what I wanted.

I want to pair this with a Supermicro X9SRA or an ASUS p9X79 WS.
I like the fact that the X9SRA can support up to 256GB of registered Dimms.

However the problem with the Supermicro is that it uses a "Narrow" ILM's to mount a heatsink.
There is the Square version (common) where the Heatsink holes are in a square pattern, and the Narrow ILM (rare) where the heatsink holes are in a narrow rectangle.

This limits one selection of Heatsinks/Cooling blocks for the the X9SRA to about 4 passive heatsinks and 2 active.

Passive is out of the question, and the active ones that I have seen in the past produce an unbearable whine (40+ db).

I ordered the Dynatron R14. When it gets here, I will inspect the noise by attaching the fan to a header on another board.

If its too loud I will have to settle on a board that takes a "Square" ILM,like the ASUS p9X79 WS, otherwise I will go with the X9SRA.

[CrowdAds]

[PeterT]

Interesting GW. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised.

[Sir Skully]

By the by GW congrats on the upcoming XEON E5-1620....

Persistence sometimes pays off, in your case sure nuff...