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April 27
- Supermicro AS-2115HV-TNRT Review 4x GPU AMD Threadripper Pro Overclocked 2U Workstation
➀ The Supermicro AS-2115HV-TNRT is a 2U rackmount workstation combining an AMD Threadripper Pro CPU, support for up to four dual-slot GPUs, and high-speed 100GbE networking;
➁ It features eight front-mounted U.2 NVMe drive bays, out-of-band management, and optimized airflow for GPU-intensive workloads;
➂ The system supports CPU and memory overclocking while maintaining server-grade reliability, making it ideal for AI, graphics rendering, and high-performance computing applications.
April 25
- The New IBM z17 Telum II Processor Module Cut Open Down to Silicon
➀ IBM has unveiled the new z17 Telum II processor module;
➁ The processor module is cut open for materials analysis;
➂ IBM's Fishkill facility provided a unique opportunity to see the hardware down to the silicon atom level.
April 24
- DeskPi RackMate T0 4U 10in Rack Mini Review
➀ The DeskPi RackMate T0 is a 4U 10-inch rack that is compact and costs around $99;
➁ It uses screws instead of cage nuts to secure equipment and includes a blank panel and a 1U shelf;
➂ The rack is designed for small desktop systems like the Mac Mini, Raspberry Pi 5, and small desktop switches, offering portability and ease of use.
April 23
- The Network Switch That is Still Going After A Decade
➀ The author Patrick Kennedy shares his experience with HP V1910-24G network switches that have been operational for over a decade.
➁ The switches have been through various iterations and locations, yet they continue to function.
➂ Despite the availability of newer switches, the HP V1910-24G models remain a testament to their durability and reliability.
April 22
- Samsung T7 Shield 2TB USB Type-C SSD Quick Look
➀ Samsung T7 Shield 2TB USB Type-C SSD is reviewed;
➁ The SSD is used for field work and backup;
➂ It offers IP65 water and dust resistance and includes USB Type-A to Type-C and Type-C to Type-C cables.
April 21
- Quick Guide to Show CXL Memory in a System
➀ This article provides a quick guide on how to display CXL memory in a system;
➁ It explains the process of identifying CXL memory devices using various commands like lscpu, lspci, and numactl;
➂ The guide also covers how to view the CXL memory topology and latencies using lstopo and ndctl.
April 20
- Generic 48GB DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM Quick Look
➀ This article provides a quick look at a generic 48GB DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM kit from Mem-Store on eBay. The kit was purchased for its affordability and was tested in 96GB and 192GB configurations.
➁ The modules were found to work well in various server and workstation configurations, despite the generic nature of the components.
➂ The author discusses the pros and cons of using such affordable memory modules, highlighting the potential for cost savings but also the risk of reliability issues.
April 19
- Synology Lost the Plot with Hard Drive Locking Move
➀ Synology is criticized for locking its NAS units to its own branded hard drives in the new 2025 Plus models, which is seen as a move to gain extra margin dollars.
➁ This decision is considered detrimental to customers, as it limits the use of third-party drives and could lead to data security concerns.
➂ The author expresses concern about the long-term availability of drives and the potential impact on Synology's customers if the company changes direction or goes out of business.
April 18
- Crucial X10 Pro 4TB USB Type-C SSD Review
➀ The Crucial X10 Pro 4TB USB Type-C SSD is a compact and powerful drive designed for various devices including notebooks, desktops, iPads, iPhones, and Android devices.
➁ The drive offers impressive performance with a USB 3 Type-C 2×2 port, reaching up to 20Gbps speeds.
➂ Despite its small size, the SSD is drop-proof up to 2m and IP55 water and dust resistant, making it a versatile storage solution.
April 17
- Gigabyte GIGAPOD and GB300 NVL72 Compute Blades at NVIDIA GTC 2025
At NVIDIA GTC 2025, Gigabyte showcased its GIGAPOD and GB300 NVL72 compute blades. The GIGAPOD integrates NVIDIA HGX platforms with liquid cooling for dense racks. The GB300 NVL72 represents the next generation of high-end racks.
The GIGAPOD is available in both liquid-cooled and air-cooled versions, offering power savings and density advantages. It supports various HGX platforms, including HGX H200, B200, and B300, and features liquid cooling blocks for NVLink switches.
The liquid-cooled model uses CoolIT coldplates for efficient cooling. The design allows for a compact 4U chassis, optimizing space in dense environments.
April 16
- The NIVIDA HGX B300 NVL16 is Massively Different
➀ NVIDIA has made a significant change to its HGX B300 platform, renaming it to HGX B300 NVL16 to reflect the number of compute dies connected via NVLink.
➁ The platform now includes up to 2.3TB of HBM3e memory and features sixteen dual Blackwell GPU package modules.
➂ The new design integrates the NVIDIA ConnectX-8 NICs, which use the built-in PCIe switch to provide previously required functionality, potentially impacting networking choices for users of the HGX B300 and GB200/GB300 platforms.
April 14
- V-Color 96GB DDR5-5600 48GB x2 ECC UDIMM Kit Quick Look
➀ This article provides a quick look at the V-Color 96GB DDR5-5600 ECC UDIMM kit, which includes two 48GB modules for a total of 96GB. The kit is priced at $399 and offers a good balance of capacity and cost compared to other options.
➁ The review highlights the advantages of using this kit in lower-cost servers and workstations that support ECC UDIMMs but not ECC RDIMMs.
➂ The author mentions that while the kit is not cheap, it is a better option compared to the more expensive 32GB Micron DIMMs with less capacity.
April 13
- VMware ESXi 8.0U3e Now Has a Free Version How to Get It
VMware has reintroduced a free version of ESXi 8.0U3e, allowing users to download and install it for evaluation purposes. This is not the full version, but it is available for download. The process to obtain the free version involves navigating through the Broadcom support portal and accepting terms and conditions.
For those seeking a simple virtualization host based on VMware ESXi, this free version offers a straightforward solution, although it lacks advanced features. This reintroduction of a free option in the VMware ecosystem comes after around 14 months without such an option, and some users may have already switched to alternative ecosystems.
April 12
- MikroTik RDS2216-02XG-4S+4XS-2XQ Review A Better SwitchNASServer with a Catch
➀ The MikroTik RDS2216-02XG-4S+4XS-2XQ is a 1U system that combines a network switch, routing functions, NAS, and server functions into a single box.
➁ It features a Marvell switch with 10GbE, 100GbE, and 25GbE capabilities, along with an Annapurna Labs Arm CPU for server and NAS operations.
➂ The system includes space for 22 SSDs, with 20x front-accessible NVMe SSDs and 2x internal SATA M.2 SSDs, but has limitations in drive bay size and PCIe connectivity.
April 11
- Pegatron NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 and More at NVIDIA GTC 2025
At NVIDIA GTC 2025, we got to tour Pegatron's booth, where we saw the Pegatron NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 rack and other GPU systems. The GB300 NVL72 racks are liquid cooled with a busbar for power in the rear. The sleds have four Blackwell modules along with two NVIDIA Grace CPUs and are liquid cooled.
The article also mentions that Pegatron is integrating Delta power supply shelves into their racks and that the NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 is neat, with several other GPU systems on display.
April 10
- Kioxia AIO Core and Kyocera Develop PCIe Gen5 Over Optics SSD
➀ Kioxia, AIO Core, and Kyocera have developed a PCIe Gen5 over optical SSD;
➁ The new technology doubles the speed of the previous PCIe Gen4 version;
➂ The technology is designed for future data centers and allows for longer PCIe distances.
April 9
- The IBM z17 Mainframe Brings AI with Telum II and Spyre
➀ IBM unveiled its new z17 mainframe, powered by the Telum II processor, which integrates advanced AI capabilities with built-in accelerators and PCIe-based Spyre cards.
➁ The Telum II processor features larger caches and a new on-die AI accelerator, while the Spyre cards offer high-performance AI acceleration.
➂ The system is designed for high-reliability transaction processing, with liquid cooling and DPU technology to enhance performance and efficiency.
April 8
- ASUS AI Pod NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 at NVIDIA GTC 2025
➀ At NVIDIA GTC 2025, ASUS showcased the AI Pod for the NVIDIA GB300 generation, featuring PCIe GPU systems and new HGX B200 and B300 systems.
➁ The rack contains 18 NVIDIA GB300 compute blades, each with four B300 modules and two Grace CPUs.
➂ The system also includes NVIDIA ConnectX-8 NIC, BlueField-3 DPU, and liquid-cooled SSD array, with NVLink Switch sleds and complex cable cartridges.
- Can You Run the 94GB NVIDIA H100 NVL PCIe as a Single GPU
➀ The article discusses the possibility of running the 94GB NVIDIA H100 NVL PCIe card as a single GPU without the NVLink bridge;
➁ The test was conducted and the card was found to work as expected;
➂ The implications for the H100 NVL in the secondary market and its potential use in servers are discussed.
April 7
- QNAP QNA-T310G1S Thunderbolt 3 to 10G Adapter Quick Look
➀ The QNAP QNA-T310G1S Thunderbolt 3 to 10G adapter is reviewed;
➁ It is used for quick connections to SFP+ fiber networks;
➂ The adapter is compatible with Macbook Pros and does not require a SFP+ cage.
April 6
- NVIDIA GB300 NVLink Switch Tray at NVIDIA GTC 2025
At NVIDIA GTC 2025, the NVIDIA GB300 NVLink Switch tray was showcased. This liquid-cooled switch tray is designed to fit in the NVL72 racks, with features like liquid-cooling nozzles, busbar power, and connectors for NVLink cable cartridges. The design includes liquid-cooled NVLink switch chips and metal tubes for liquid cooling, differentiating it from typical liquid-cooled servers.
April 5
- Why One DIMM Per Channel or 1DPC Can Be Great for AMD EPYC 4004
➀ The article discusses the performance impact of using 1DPC configuration on AMD EPYC 4004 processors.
➁ It highlights that the memory speed decreases when both channels are populated.
➂ The author suggests that 1DPC can offer better performance in certain scenarios.
April 4
- Running the Deepseek-R1 671B Model at FP16 Fidelity Alongside Virtualized Workloads
➀ The Deepseek-R1 671B model has captured industry attention for its advanced reasoning capabilities;
➁ The challenge of running this model is its high memory requirements, which can be addressed through quantization;
➂ This article discusses a solution to run the model on an AMD Volcano platform with virtualized workloads, showcasing the use of Docker and Open WebUI for deployment.
April 3
- MLPerf Inference v5.0 Results Released
➀ The MLPerf Inference v5.0 results have been released, showing that NVIDIA Hopper systems dominate the rankings;
➁ Intel and AMD also have their own submissions, focusing on different market segments;
➂ The article discusses the performance of various systems and the focus on Deepseek-R1 671B inference performance.
April 2
- Dell Precision 3280 Compact Review A Neat Compact Workstation
➀ The Dell Precision 3280 Compact Workstation is reviewed, highlighting its impressive specifications and compact size;
➁ The system features a 24-core CPU, ECC memory, 8 display outputs, RAID 0/1 SSDs, and a 20GB NVIDIA GPU;
➂ The review notes the system's ease of access for upgrades and its versatility in connecting multiple displays.
April 1
- Supermicro SYS-112C-TN Review 1P Intel Xeon 6 1U Server
➀ The Supermicro SYS-112C-TN is a 1U single-socket server designed for high I/O connectivity and performance.
➁ The server features an Intel Xeon 6700P performance core series CPU and offers eight 2.5" U.2 NVMe drive bays.
➂ The review highlights the server's design, hardware specifications, and performance capabilities.
March 30
- STH Q1 2025 Letter from the Editor Re-calibration and Expansion
➀ This letter discusses the changes in the server industry, particularly the rise of AI servers and Intel's pullback;
➁ The challenges faced in reviewing high-end systems, including customs delays and logistical issues;
➂ The team expansion at STH, including new hires and the transition of roles;
➃ The growth of the STH YouTube channel and plans for a one million subscriber audience;
➄ The launch of the Axautik Group and its focus on financial community content;
➅ The updates on the STH Labs shorts channel and the importance of newsletter and YouTube subscriptions.
March 29
- The Crucial 128GB DDR5-5600 SODIMM Kit We Are Using in Mini PCs
➀ The Crucial 128GB DDR5-5600 SODIMM kit includes two 64GB SODIMMs, enabling 128GB of memory in mini PCs with dual SODIMM slots;
➁ The kit has been tested in systems like the Lenovo ThinkCentre M75q Tiny Gen5 and Acemagic F3A with AMD Ryzen AI 370 HX, as well as an upcoming Intel platform;
➂ The kit is expected to be featured in several systems over the next few months.
- The Key Feature for Server CPUs is Still Two Threads Per Core
➀ This article discusses the continued prevalence of two threads per core in server CPUs;
➁ It highlights the performance benefits of simultaneous multi-threading (SMT);
➂ The author uses AMD EPYC 9005 platforms to demonstrate the concept.
March 28
- The NVIDIA Rubin NVL576 Kyber Midplane is Huge
➀ NVIDIA has a new midplane design for the Rubin NVL576 generation;
➁ The design allows for higher compute density and removes the cable cartridge;
➂ The midplane is large and optimized for liquid cooling, enabling higher density without airflow considerations.