If you need a low cost Xeon E3 pedestal
server in a hurry, Supermicro’s RTG system could save the day
Price: $1,164
The new Ready To Go (RTG) servers from
Supermicro are designed for businesses that want a server quickly. As long as
you place an order by 3pm, you should have one the next business day.
The RTG family comprises three rack and two
pedestal models with a choice of Xeon processors, memory and storage. To ensure
they can be shifted quickly, however, they’re available only in fixed
configurations.
The servers come with a silver warranty as
standard, which provides three-year, on-site NBD cover during the hours of
9-5pm on weekdays. Supermicro UK handles all service requests and you can
increase your cover with Gold or Platinum Health Pack upgrades.
In this exclusive review, we look at the
RX-M140i pedestal server, which offers a good hardware package for the price,
along with room to expand. It claims to be whisper-quiet, with small offices
firmly on its hit list.
The
RX-M140i has a spacious interior
Horsepower is supplied by a 3.3GHz
quad-core Xeon E3-1230V2 processor, which speed-wise sits in the middle of a
family of 11 models. It supports Hyper-Threading and has a low TDP of 69W. Also
included is 8GB of 1,600MHz un-buffered DDR3 memory, which can be expanded to a
maximum of 32GB. This comes in the form of two 4GB DIMMs, so you can go up to
24GB without replacing them. This leads to minimal power usage, with our meter
recording a draw of only 34W in idle. Running SiSoft Sandra to stress the CPU
saw this peak at only 80W.
The midi-tower chassis is well built and
capable of handling the rigours of a small office. Physical security extends to
padlocking the side panel or using the chassis’ Kensington lock, but the power
button and pair of USB ports at the front can’t be protected. The front panel
can’t be easily removed, but you can get at the pair of 5.25in device bays at the
top by removing a couple of pop-out panels. The side panel is secured with
screws, but everything else uses tool free clips and levers.
A spacious interior awaits, with plenty of
room to get at the important bits. The compact ATX Supermicro X9SCA motherboard
doesn’t take up much space, and has the processor mounted centrally with an
active heatsink on top.
A 120mm fan sits at the rear of the
chassis, and there’s one more in the fixed 500W power supply above. They don’t
make much noise, though: we had to turn everything else off in the lab before
we could hear any hint of a whirr from the RTG’s compact chassis.
Meanwhile, a cage behind the front panel
supports up to four hard disks and the price includes a single 1TB WD
Enterprise SATA II hard disk. The cage can be released and swung out for easy
access and the remaining bays have quick mount drive sleds, plus interface and
power cables.
The C204 chipset, meanwhile, has four SATA
II and two SATA III ports on the motherboard, with support for RAID5 on the SATA
II ports, and mirrors or stripes on the SATA III ports. There isn’t any remote
server management hardware Supermicro’s embedded RMM is only available on the
X9SCA-F motherboard variant but you can use Supermicro’s freely available
SuperO Doctor III tool, which provides remote web browser access for
monitoring. It’s looking dated now, though.
Supermicro
RTG RX-M140i (inside)
Considering the server is available for
next-day delivery, the price is good. You can pick up an HP ProLiant ML110 G7 but
with an older 3.3GHz E3-1240 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard disk for around
$1,222.5. Next-day delivery adds $30 and you get only a one-year on-site NBD
warranty. A PowerEdge T110 II with the same specification and three-year warranty
as the RTG is cheaper, at around $915. However, there’s a $45 delivery charge
and Dell won’t give you an estimated delivery date until you’ve paid.
There are times when you need a server in a
hurry. A failed critical system, a sudden high-priority IT project, or a need
for an extra test bed means there’s no time to lose, and the RTG RX-M140i is a
good way of solving that at a reasonable price.
Rating
·
Overall: 10/10
·
Performance: 10/10
·
Features & Design: 8/10
·
Value for money: 10/10
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