Supermicro 7048GR-TR (Intel C612) Workstation Tower System Review

Test System Setup

We would like to thank Supermicro, Intel, Crucial, SanDisk, Yokogawa, Thermaltake, SPEC, Passmark, Primate Labs, and AIDA64 for their support in providing parts for our test system.

The platform that the X10DRG-Q motherboard uses is the Wellsburg (Intel C612), and new Haswell-EP processors. The processor we will be using is the Intel Xeon E5-2699 v3, which features 18 cores with hyper-threading used on these tests; this will supply the processing power.

The Wellsburg Platform (Intel C612) will have support provided for four to 18 cores with dual socket capability. TDP ranges from 55W up to 160W for workstations. Memory is now DDR4, and can gave a frequency of up to 2133MHz. The E5-2600 v3 processors use 2x QPI 1.1 channels with up to 9.6 GT/s. These processors support PCIe 3.0 with up to 8 GT/s, and 40 lanes. The chipset will be Wellsburg PCH. This gives support for a huge number of SATA ports at 10. A large number of USB devices can be used with six USB 3.0, and eight USB 2.0 ports. Wellsburg (C612) also supports DMI2 with 4x lanes.

Here we get a look at the task manager for our test system, which shows 36 cores / 72 threads that 2x E5-2699 v3 Xeon processors supply. These two CPUs provide a staggering amount of cores/threads in our test system.

In our tests, we will be using the new Crucial DDR4 memory, which has a speed of 2133 MHz, and a rating of CL15. We have already taken a look at these memory kits, and you can access our review here: Crucial DDR4-2133 DRx4 RDIMM Memory Review - Testing up to 256GB.

Here we can see the timings of the Crucial DDR4 memory that we will be using in our tests. As we fill every slot with memory sticks, the speed will drop to 1833MHz.

Here we see how memory in Slot /DIMMs per channel can effect memory speed.

In the test lab, we found many new systems with multiple video cards and other expansion devices were starting to have larger power supply needs. We have now upgraded our test bed with a new Thermaltake Toughpower 1500W Gold PSU. We have already pushed this PSU to near max loads in the lab, and it has performed flawlessly. Even with max loads under full stress testing, the Toughpower 1500W Gold PSU hardly makes any noise at all, which we really like.

Here we see the Thermaltake Toughpower 1500W Gold PSU with its retail box. Before we installed components into the 7048GR-TR workstation, we prequalified the system on an open-air test bench, and for this, we used the Toughpower 1500W Gold PSU. We actually pulled more wattage than the rated 1,500 watts, but this PSU handled these heavy loads with no issues.

Here are just a few specifications for the Toughpower 1500W Gold PSU. Ok let's get on with testing, and see what kind of performance a system like this has to offer.