Intel Core i7 Skull Canyon NUC6i7KYK spec comparison with all current Xeon D-1500 Supermicro SuperServers suited for home labs

Posted by Paul Braren on Aug 8 2016 (updated on Apr 14 2020) in

Pricing info updated on Mar 16 2017, with DDR4 pricing rising >25% in the last few months. Below you'll also find the detailed pricing & specs comparison table, relative sizes, performance testing graphs, and a thorough sound and watt measurement video of each system at idle and under stress.

Below, you'll find that I've pulled technical information from a variety of product pages and spec sheets, then created a nicely detailed table for side-by-side comparisons. This is followed by detailed specifications that highlight each of these systems' speeds, feeds, and capabilities.

Intel-Xeon-D-SuperServer-SYS-E200-8D-and-SYS-E300-8D-and-SYS-5028D-TN4T-and-SYS-5018D-FN4T-with-Intel-NUC6i7KYK.JPG — Left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Supermicro SYS-5028D-TN4T, Intel NUC6i7KYK, Supermicro SYS-E300-8D, SYS-E200-8D, SYS-5018D-FN4T.

Observations

Keep in mind I've had very limited hands-on time with these mostly-loaner systems. The differences are much easier to see once all the the specs and capabilities are seen side-by-side in the table below. These initial impressions may be changed considerably between now and mid-October, when I'll be left with only my one mini tower. I will also be buying a second system, and this head-to-head comparison will help me make an informed choice.

Comparing the NUC6i7KYK and the Xeon D systems seems a little odd since they're very different animals, but I keep getting tweets and comments requesting that I compare the NUC with the tiny new Supermicro entrants in to this micro-server space. This article should help folks compare and contrast, and will be improved in the coming weeks as I get more (temporary) hands-on time with these systems. Notice the grey shading that highlights where the NUC excels.

Core i7 mobile Intel NUC6i7KYK

If it's a multi-purpose tiny Windows 10 workstation device used for occasional light gaming and virtualization, get a NUC NUC6i7KYK! With a huge NUC community following, this latest version finally shows off just how fast two "gum-stick" M.2 NVMe SSDs can be, and will likely give you countless hours of fun coupled with amazing versatility. Features future-proofing USB Type C for Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1, Bluetooth 4.2, and Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580. The ESXi installation process is now well documented, thanks to the likes of none-other than William Lam and so very many enthusiastic helpers.

Xeon D-1500 Supermicro SuperServers

If you're looking for a turn-key powerful and efficient server with up to 128GB of fast DDR4 RAM, where a GPU is often not needed or wanted, then the Xeon D platform is where it's at right now. Great for your VMware, Hyper-V, Linux, or firewall and NAS needs, Supermicro recently pulled out all the stops with two new NUC-like form factors that makes Xeon D more obtainable than ever. You can see for yourself in the base price row below.

The tiniest and mighty new SuperServer is the SYS-E200-8D with 2 1GbE, 2 10GbE, and room for a M.2 and a 2.5" drive! The original SYS-5028D-TN4T Mini Tower is still hands-down the quietest and most versatile in the Xeon D-1500 family, at a price.

CPU Capacity

The sweet spot for price for performance would seem to be the long-sought-after the Xeon D-1567. Don't miss taking and take a close look at the table below "Dollars per CPU Capacity" row, where I take the cost, and divide by the CPU Capacity, as shown by VMware ESXi 6.0U2, seen below.

Intel NUC6i7KYK / Supermicro Xeon D spec comparison table

I've created a table that helps you easily compare the speeds and feeds of the all current Xeon D-1500 Supermicro SuperServer systems that are suited for home use, and the Intel NUC6i7KYK.

I temporarily had a sample of each compact SuperServer Xeon D form-factor to test through mid-October 2016, and was able to validate most of the manufacturers stated specs. I was also able to add specs like dB output and watt burn, both under load and at idle. Watch for changes to the updated on date right below this article's title.

TinkerTry-SuperServer-ComparisonSpreadsheet-Oct-21-2017-0823pm — Last updated Oct 21 2017, including pricing. Previously, 2.1 GHz max of Xeon D-1528 that Supermicro product page lists was confirmed to actually be 2.5 GHz, thanks to Patrick Kennedy, by way of TinkerTry reader Daniel.

Supermicro Xeon Processor D performance

Xeon D Intel ARK comparison 1518/1528/1541/1567

Windows Server 2016 installed on Samsung SM951 M.2 NVMe SSD in each Supermicro SuperServer system at default cooling profile. All CPUs remained at no greater than 71°C. Camtasia 9 was used to render 4K MP4 from an 11 minute 4K 30fps MOV file from iOS 10.1/iPhone 7 Plus Camera app, at default settings. No GPU card was added to the system, with default Microsoft Basic Display Adapter driver. Surprisingly, adding a GPU to later tests didn't affect Camtasia 9 render times. But what this also means is that using an ESXi VM as a remote render farm is very much an option for me. The speeds of moving those large video files from M.2 NVMe (local SuperServer Workstation) to remote M.2 NVMe (2nd Xeon D in cluster) at 10GbE speeds shouldn't bee too shabby either.

4K-video-render-stressing-Xeon-D-cores-by-TinkerTry — For this 4K video render test, shorter times are better.

4K-video-render-complete-system-at-idle — System at idle.

Stress Test Video

Hours before flying to VMworld 2016 US, I recorded this informal testbed video using VMware ESXi 6.0U2 loaded on each system, with a VM running over iSCSI. Each VM was Windows Server 2016, with the maximum number of vCPUs assigned to the VM, depending upon the number of physical CPUs of the system it was running on, times two, since hyperthreading was left on. Each VM then ran Prime 95, so you can hear the fan RPMs increase, see the watt burn rise, and see the noise levels go up, waiting around 5 minutes for things to max out. You'll also see a spectral display of the noise, showing peaks at different Hz, varying greatly among the 5 systems:

Video Index - click to jump to the right spot in the video:

0:00 Intel NUC6i7KYK
2:49 Supermicro SYS-5028D-TN4T
3:57 Supermicro SYS-E200-8D
5:33 Supermicro SYS-E300-8D
6:21 Supermicro SYS-5018D-FN4T

Video

Measuring max watts & noise of Intel NUC6i7KYK /Supermicro SYS-5028D-TN4T/E200-8D/E300-8D/5018D-FN4T

Intel NUC6i7KYK / Supermicro Xeon D relative sizes

TinkerTry-Intel-NUC-and-Supermicro-Xeon-D-specs-compared-2016-08-20 — Images resized to approximate identical scale.

Intel NUC6i7KYK / Supermicro Xeon D detailed specifications

In ascending order of compute power.

Supermicro Mini-1U SuperServer

Supermicro-SuperServer-E300-8D-with-X10SDV-TP8F-rescaled

Xeon D-1518 2.2-2.2GHz, 4 cores/8 threads, 35 watt TDP, $234 CPU SoC on Intel ARK
CSE-E300 chassis, 10"W x 8.9"D x 1.7"H (254mm W x 226mm D x 43mm H)
Flex ATX X10SDV-TP8F motherboard, 9"W x 7.5"D (221mm W x 191mm D)
up to 128GB of 2400 MHz RDIMM memory (4x32GB DDR4)
84 watt FSP power supply, FSP084-DIBAN2 (100-240V in, 12.0v/7.0A out)
6 MB L3 cache
2 10GbE SFP+ ports, 6 1GbE RJ45 LAN ports (see specs, pics shows optional quad PCIe NIC)
1 PCI-E 3.0 x16
0 Mini PCI-E 2.0 x1
1 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (2nd M.2 if using optional $20 adapter in PCIe slot)
0 Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 connection, via 1 type C connector
1 2.5" drive bay for 9.5mm HDD/SSD
0 3.5" drive bays
0 onboard WiFi

Intel Mini PC

Intel-NUC6i7KYK-front-and-back-with-motherboard-pic-from-TinkerTry

Core i7-6770HQ 2.6-3.5GHz, 4 cores/8 threads, $434 CPU on Intel ARK
Intel design chassis, 8.5"W x 4.6"D x 0.9"H (226mm W x 116mm D x 23mm H)
Intel design motherboard
up to 32GB of 2133 MHz memory (2x16GB SODIMM)
120 watt power supply
6 MB L3 SmartCache
1 Intel I219-LM 1GbE RJ45 LAN ports
0 PCI-E 3.0 x16
1 Mini PCI-E 2.0 x1
2 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slots
1 Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 connection, via 1 type C connector
1 USB 3.1 (10Gbps)
0 2.5" drives
0 3.5" drive bays
1 onboard WiFi

Supermicro SuperServer Mini-1U

Supermicro-SuperServer-E200-8D-with-X10SDV-6C-TLN4F-rescaled

Xeon D-1528 1.9-2.2GHz, 6 cores/12 threads, 35 watt TDP, $389 CPU SoC on Intel ARK
CSE-101F chassis, 7.6"W x 5.59"D x 1.7"H (193mm W x 142mm D x 43mm H)
Mini-ITX X10SDV-6C-TLN4F motherboard, 6.7"W x 6.7"D (170mm W x 170mm D)
up to 128GB of 2400 MHz RDIMM memory (4x32GB DDR4)
60 watt Seasonic power supply, SSA-0601HE-12 (100-240V in, 12.0v/5.0A out)
9 MB L3 cache
2 I-350 10GbE and 2 X552 GbE RJ45 LAN ports
1 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (2nd M.2 if using optional $20 adapter in PCIe slot)
0 Mini PCI-E 2.0 x1
1 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot
0 Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 connection, via 1 type C connector
1 2.5" drive bay for 9.5mm HDD/SSD
0 3.5" drive bays
0 onboard WiFi

Supermicro SuperServer 1U Rack Mount

Supermicro-SYS-5018D-FN4T-with-X10SDV-8C-TLN4F-scaled

Xeon D-1541 2.1-2.7GHz, 8 cores/16 threads, 45 watt TDP, $581 CPU SoC on Intel ARK
CSE-505-203B chassis, 17.2"W x 9.8"D x 1.7"H (437mm W x 249mm D x 43mm H)
Mini-ITX X10SDV-8C-TLN4F motherboard, 6.7"W x 6.7"D (170mm W x 170mm D)
up to 128GB of 2400 MHz RDIMM memory (4x32GB DDR4)
12 MB L3 cache
2 I-350 10GbE and 2 X552 GbE RJ45 LAN ports
1 PCI-E 3.0 x16 available
0 Mini PCI-E 2.0 x1 slot
1 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (2nd M.2 if using optional $20 adapter in PCIe slot)
0 Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 connection, via 1 type C connector
200 watt power supply (Bronze)
2 2.5" drive bays for HDD/SSDs with optional adapters
0 onboard WiFi

Supermicro SuperServer Mini Tower

Supermicro-SYS-5028D-TN4T-with-X10SDV-TLN4F-rescaled

Xeon D-1541 2.1-2.7GHz, 8 cores/16 threads, 45 watt TDP, $581 CPU SoC on Intel ARK
CSE-721TQ-250B chassis, 8.3"W x 11"D x 9.5"H (210mm W x 279mm D x 240mm H)
Mini-ITX X10SDV-TLN4F motherboard, 6.7"W x 6.7"D (170mm W x 170mm D)
up to 128GB of 2400 MHz RDIMM memory (4x32GB DDR4)
12 MB L3 cache
2 I-350 10GbE and 2 X552 GbE RJ45 LAN ports
1 PCI-E 3.0 x16 available
0 Mini PCI-E 2.0 x1 slot
1 M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot (2nd M.2 if using optional $20 adapter in PCIe slot)
0 Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 connection, via 1 type C connector
250 watt power supply (Bronze)
2 2.5" drive bays for HDD/SSDs
4 3.5" drive bays that fit 2.5" drives w/ adapter
0 onboard WiFi

Oct 25 2016 Update

For the 2nd node in my home datacenter cluster, I went with the world's first Xeon D-1567. It has worked out wonderfully, and later measurements were incorporated into the tables and graphs and tests above. It has become my daily driver with my personal data that stays at home, while I take the original 8 core with me for various public presentations.