Supermicro SYS-8025C-3RB Server Teardown

Main Features / Overview

The SuperMicro SYS-8025C-3RB is a mid-to-high end 2U Rackmount server under the SuperServer 8025 series. Per Supermicro, "The SuperServer 8025 series boast the highest performance per watt in the industry with support for up to 192GB of fully buffered DDR2 667 memory in 24 DIMM slots. These quad-processor servers are designed for enterprise computing applications such as virtualization, high performance computing cluster (HPCC) and explicitly parallel instruction computing (EPIC).

The unit analyzed supports Quad Intel® 64-bit Xeon® multi processors, 6 x 3.5' Hot-swap SAS Drive Trays with SES2 and features ATI ES1000 32MB PCI graphics controller and Intel® 7300 (Clarksboro) chipset. In terms of power, it comes with 2 Hot-Swap high efficiency 1200W power supply w/ power factor correction.

Supermicro SYS-8025C-3RB Server Main Image

Enterprises needing servers for high-performance compute capabilities, or web-serving.

Released

N/A

Pricing and Availability

Available as of time of writing for ~$2300 USD (Barebone, not including CPUs) on some e-tailers online

Volume Estimations

Based on the specialized nature of the product as well as specific guidance we have been given for this device, we are assuming manufacturing volumes, for the purposes of this analysis, at approximately 100,000 units over the course of an unmodified two-year manufacturing lifetime.

As a reminder, volume production assumptions are meant primarily to be used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially), and not necessarily as a market accurate estimate for a specific model. Our estimations are based on iSuppli market research and we derive rational estimates based on overall market shares of the manufacturer in question, as well as the number of products in a given portfolio and the relative popularity of certain lines of products.

Supermicro SYS-8025C-3RB Server - Motherboard Top

Market Sector / Performance

iSuppli expects strong unit shipment growth overall in the server area for the foreseeable future, with combined worldwide sales approaching 8.6 million units in 2007, growing 7% to ~9.1 million in 2008, or a CAGR of ~7.4% from 2006 to 2011 for the whole server market. However, we expect the 'blade' format to increase in popularity during the 2007 - 2011 timeframe, taking over a larger and larger portion of the market.

Supermicro SYS-8025C-3RB Server Cost Analysis

Please note that major motherboard cost drivers (such as NBs, SBs and GPU etc) were cost modeled and while in most PC applications we assumed relatively tight margins - in the case of this server, we have assumed generous margins in our modeling due to its lower volume and relatively non-commoditized ICs.

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Supermicro SYS-8025C-3RB Server - Motherboard Bottom

Function / Performance

No performance testing was performed on the SuperMicro SYS-8025C-3RB.

Country of Origin / Manufacturing Notes

The product is marked ""Assembled in the USA" and thus we believe SuperMicro integrates the final server in the US from various system-level components: motherboard, power supply, hard drives, etc. In addition, we have assumed that custom mechanicals, such as plastics and metals, are sourced in China due to the lower labor costs.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies (such as chargers), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

Design Notes

Motherboard

The SuperMicro SYS-8025C-3RB is the first 2U factor server we analyze and it features a great deal of potential processing power (Quad Xeon processor slots, 24 DDR DIMM socket etc.), and despite the densely populated motherboard, the design still is based on conventional server architecture comprising of NBs, SBs, GPUs, etc.

Clock

Clock Generator - IDT - ICS9FG1201CGLF - 400MHz Differential CPU Clock

Clock Generator - IDT - IDTCV152PVG - Programmable, for Pentium IV Processor

GFX

GPU - ATI - ES1000 - 2D, 200MHz Core, 32-Bit 33/66MHz PCI 2.2, Dual CRT Support

Glue Logic

CPLD - Xilinx - XC9572XL-10TQ100C - 72 macrocells, 72 User I/O, 3.3V, 0.35micron CMOS

I/O & interface

SAS Controller - LSI Logic - LSISAS1068E - 8-Port SAS/SATA, 8-Lane PCI Express Interface, Integrated RAID Technology

Ethernet Controller - Intel - JL82575EB - Dual Port, 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T

Super I/O Controller - Winbond - W83627HG-AW - LPC Interface, Support DPM (Device Power Management) & ACPI

Northbridge

Northbridge - Intel 7300 Chipset Memory Controller Hub

Power Supply

(6x) PWM controller - Intersil - ISL6327CRZ - 6-Phase, Synchronous-Rectified Buck Channels, 8-Bit VID Code

Southbridge

Southbridge - Intel 6321ESB I/O Controller Hub

Other Major Assemblies

Hard Drives

Seagate
ST3250820NS

• 3.5'
• 250GB 7200 rpm SATA

Seagate

ST336754SS

• 3.5"
• 36GB 15000rpm SAS

Optical Drive

Panasonic

SR-8178-C

• 8x DVD, 24x CD, DVD-ROM Drive
• Slim Internal Type
• EIDE

Power Supply

Coldwatt

CWA2-1200-10

• 1200W Internal, Hot-Swap, High Efficiency
• Input: 100-240VAC, 15.0A-6.0A, 50/60Hz
• Output: 12V, 100AChina

Supermicro SYS-8025C-3RB Server - Top View w/ Top Cover Removed