Here is the follow-up to our initial review of the Asus Z9PE-D16 motherboard!
Tag: socket 2011
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Asus Z9PE-D16 review: Part One
Up for review today we have one of Asus’ dual-socket-2011 server motherboards – the Z9PE-D16. Hit the break to find out what it’s all about and why you might care about it even if you don’t need to run two CPUs…
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Noctua NM-I2011 mounting kits
One of the better tower coolers which fits inside a 4U server chassis is the Noctua NH-U12P SE2, but by default they only ship with Socket 775/1155/1156/1366 and AM2/2+/3 mounting gear – leaving anyone who wants to use the baby Noctua cooler with their Socket 2011-based server out in the cold. Fortunately, Noctua have a Socket 2011 mounting kit available as an extra: the NM-I2011.
If you can provide Noctua with a receipt of the cooler purchase (and please note that this applies to a number of Noctua coolers, not just the 92mm variants) and a S2011 CPU or motherboard receipt they will ship one to you for free. Most of our customers report that they receive them within 2 weeks of submitting the request; for those who can’t wait we stock the mounting kits for $5. Inside you get everything you need except thermal paste:
The instructions are easy to follow and the kit completely replaces any existing mounting hardware attached to the cooler, providing a very firm and secure mount.
Kudos to Noctua for providing these for free for those who aren’t in a hurry – their customer service is excellent and their products come highly recommended from the team at Switched On Tech Design. You can find more info on their coolers at:
and the NM-I2011 Mounting Kit Order Form at:
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=nm_i2011_upgrade_order&setlng=en
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Can you mix processor models in Intel’s Socket 2011 dual-CPU motherboards?
Intel recommend using two identical CPUs in their socket-2011 dual-socket motherboards; it is theoretically possible to use non-identical CPUs, though, and Intel’s rules for that are that they must be:
- Of the same processor family
- Have the same number of cores
- Have the same cache size at each level of cache
- Able to find a common QPI link frequency
Given the above, Intel states that you can mix CPUs with different core frequencies – the faster CPU will clock down to match the slower one, however. The same applies to the QPI links.
We haven’t yet had the opportunity to test differing CPUs in other brands’ dual-socket motherboards yet – we will update if or when we do. This isn’t something which we would usually recommend without finding someone who has successfully tested your intended combination just in case, but it is handy to know that it is theoretically supported.