Variety of Site Updates Now Available (including walk-thru video of UEFI BIOS on ASRock Z68 Gen3)

Posted by Paul Braren on Jul 20 2011 (updated on Aug 6 2011) in
  • BIOS-UEFI
  • Motherboard
  • Virtualization

    • Here's some miscellaneous tips for folks that have been to this site before:

    Jul 20 2011: Check out the new Fancybox for Wordpress images, much faster loading than the NextGEN Gallery I moved away from, easier to navigate libraries on iOS devices and PCs.

    Jul 20 2011: In addition to PCI passthru, I've added ESXi 4.1 Update 1 NIC compatibility and LSI 9260-8i BIOS setup information to the matrix, seen here:

    TinkerTry.com/vmdirectpath

    Jul 19 2011: 15 minutes of HD audio+video that shows the ASRock Gen3's UEFI BIOS functionality found at the YouTube Channel here (I have a frame grabber).

    You'll also find video of some CPU temperature test results as well.

    TinkerTry.com/videos

    VCP logo TinkerTry - PCs, EVs, home tech, efficiency and more, including virtualization. My opinions here. IT Professional offering part-time consulting.

    vExpert logo Paul Braren, MCSE in 1998, VCP #2681 in 2005, vExpert 2014 to 2025, Veeam Vanguard Emeritus, 2015 to 2019.

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    Easily update VMware ESXi at TinkerTry.com/easy-update-to-latest-esxi

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    Necessity to sunset SuperServer Bundles

    SuperServers These systems still work great for many even 9+ years later, mine included, even with (unsupported) vSphere 8 and Windows 11 Version 21H2. But unless you added the optional TPM module, it may be the end of the line as far as repurposing them for running the latest Windows 11 Version 24H2 and beyond.

    After 6 successful years testing then shipping well over 1,000 Xeon D Bundles, Wiredzone had to stop SuperServer bundles in mid-2021 due to cost, supply, and logistics challenges. Bare bones system sales continued for years longer.

    What's next in 2025? I don't yet have my answer for my home lab, especially now that VCF certification is required to keep non-production home lab licenses going, even as a vExpert and VMUG Advantage EVALExperience customer.

    As for a SuperServer follow-on, the Xeon D-1700/2700 (Ice Lake D) was a minor refresh for 2023, with Xeon D-1800/2800 (Granite Rapids D) refresh slightly better in 2024, and hopefully Xeon 6 (Granite Rapids-D) much better in 2025 featuring PCIe Gen5, MCRDIMMs, and 100GbE networking, wow! Feb. 27 2025 update update looks promising, but pricey. Infortunately, it's become clear to me that Supermicro is less focuses on the mini-tower form factor these days.

    As for the CPU industry, it's unfortunate that Pat Gelsinger was apparently ousted from Intel's helm in these challenging times, but I'm also grateful to have had the honor of working at VMware when he was the CIO there. I'll leave it at that, given the whole Broadcom thing.