Design Decisions:
Why Intel
i5-9400 is chosen?
While
buying the above-mentioned parts from IT store near to me, I had to be very
specific about the components that I was looking for. In general, the
system with i5/i7 processor, 32 GB or more RAM configurations are used by "Gamers"
and not an average desktop user. They were trying to sell the i5-9400F along with separate Graphic
card. Though the i5-9400F costs cheaper than 9400, the overall cost will be
higher after adding the price of dedicated graphics card (+ Tax). Also make
sure you are not buying one of those 9x00K series which will not benefit the
virtualization. The “K” will help you to overclock while building “Gaming”machines and not Whiteboxes. With my previous Whitebox build experiences, Intel
i5 should be more than sufficient for running a decent home lab. If you have enough budget, go for i7 Processor without the K.
Why
B365M-D3H Motherboard is chosen?
Since we have locked down to the processor, now we have to look for a compatible motherboard that can support. While selecting Motherboards
with Intel 9th Generation chipsets, below given points will give us some idea about the specification and cost.
|
Brand
|
Chipset
|
Purpose
|
Cost
|
|
Intel
|
B310
|
Entry level desktop purpose with limited hardware
features
|
Low
|
|
Intel
|
B360/B365
|
Mid Level desktop purpose with
moderate hardware features
|
High
|
|
Intel
|
H370
|
High end desktop purpose with good hardware features
|
Higher
|
|
Intel
|
Z370
|
Higher end desktop purpose. Supports over-clocking. Used for graphical editing, gaming, etc. Not much benefit in homelab.
|
Highest
|
Though
the B360/365 chipset is mid-level and the price is higher than B310 chipsets, the D3H version
of motherboard from Gigabyte is one of the killer combinations for running ESXi
in homelab environments within budget. I am highlighting some of the useful
specification of this motherboard which will benefit the home lab.
- Supports 8th and 9th Generation Intel Core processors
- Supports 4 x 16 GB of Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4 Memory up to 2666 MHz
- Ultra-Fast M.2 which can be used for local M.2 NVMe disks
- Intel GBE LAN Supported by VMware ESXi bundled drivers (No need for any .VIBs)
- Supports Intel Optane Memory
- Supports all type of Graphics output – 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI (1.4), 1 x DVI, 1 x Display port
- 1 x PCI slot (Addional Intel Pro/M1000 NIC can be installed)
- 1 x PCI Exp x 1 slot . This can support TP-Link TG3468 or Intel CT Desktop NICs
- 1 x PCI Exp x 16 slot (runs as x4). This can support TP-Link TG3468 or Intel CT Desktop NICs
- 1 x PCI Exp x 16 slot (runs as x16). This can support TP-Link TG3468 or Intel CT Desktop NICs
- 6 x SATA 6Gb/s – These ports can be used for local storage using SSDs/HDDs
- 1 x CPU and 3 x System FAN headers to keep the box cool enough
- Micro ATX Form factor. Can fit in decent sized system cabinets/case.
Other Hardware
Components:
There are other hardware components required like Memory,
SSDs, NVMe, NICs, Desktop Case/Cabinet, etc., to make the build complete.
We have lot of options in the market based on
brand/cost/color/specification/configuration which are personal preferences. I will not
discuss about them and will leave them to individuals. Before purchasing, make sure about the
compatibility of the motherboard, VMware hypervisor you are going to use.
I will be discussing about the ESXi installation and VM builds in future blogs. Stay tuned...
