SuperMicro H8QM3-2 Server Motherboard Teardown

Main Features / Overview

The SuperMicro SYS is a SWTX format server motherboard under the Opteron 8000 Series "A+ Motherboards Series. Per SuperMicro: ""Supermicro motherboards based on nVidia's MCP55 Pro chipset support quad AMD Opteron™ 8000 series processor configurations. This platform is built on a consistent architecture delivering continued performance-per-watt leadership and improved business capabilities by enhancing efficient dual-core capabilities, low-power/high-bandwidth DDR2, AMD Virtualization support."

The unit analyzed supports Four Quad-Core / Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ 8000 Series processors, nVidia MCP55 Pro / IO 55 and NEC uPD720400 Chipsets, and to 128GB 32 DIMMS DDR2 667/533/400 SDRAM. The H8QM3-2 also features an Intel 82546GB Dual-port Gigabit LAN/Ethernet Controller, 8-port LSI 1068E SAS Controller, 8-port LSI 1068E SAS Controller 2 (x16) PCI-e slots, 1 (x8), 1(x4)(Using x8 Slot) PCI-e, and 1 64-bit 133 MHz PCI-X.

SuperMicro H8QM3-2 Server Motherboard Main Image

Enterprise rebuilding, or companies building their own severs, server manufacturers, etc. in need of servers for high-performance compute capabilities, or web-serving. SuperMicro also integrates this motherboard into several of their own server series.

Released

Unknown - however user's manual was published Nov, 2007.

Pricing and Availability

Available as of time of writing for as low as ~$840 USD on some e-tailers online (6/23/08).

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 H8QM3-2 Server Motherboard - 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.

Cost Notes

Major Cost Drivers (Representing 84% of total materials costs)

HannStar - 12-Layer - FR4

nVIDIA - NFP-3050-A3 - Chipset - nForce Professional 3050 I/O Companion Chip

nVIDIA - NFP-3600-A3 - Chipset - nForce Professional 3600

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

NEC - μPD720400CFF-RN1 - PCI Express to PCI/PCI-X Bridge - 8 Lane, Two 64bits PCI/PCI-X Bus Interface

AMD - ES1000 - GPU - 2D, 200MHz Core, 32-Bit 33/66MHz PCI 2.2, 16-Bit 256MB DDR-II SDRAM Support, Dual CRT Support

Intel - FW82546GB - Ethernet Controller - Dual Port, Gigabit, PCI/PCI-X Support, MAC Support, Integrated PHY

Foxconn - PE120703-xxxx-xxx - CPU Socket - AMD Socket F, LGA1207, w/ Shepherd Hook Lever (Qty:4)

Infineon - BSC020N03LS G - MOSFET - N-Channel, OptiMOS, 30V, 100A (Qty:40)

Sanyo - SEPC Series - Electrolytic Conductive Polymer - 2.5V, 820uF, Low ESR (Qty:51)

Infineon - BSC050N03LS G - MOSFET - N-Channel, OptiMOS, 30V, 80A (Qty:20)

SNK-P0023P - CPU Heatsink Mounting Plate - Stamped Aluminum, w/ 2 Threaded Standoffs and Dual Side Adhesive Pad (Qty:4)

Foxconn - AT240xx-xxx-xx - Memory Socket - DIMM DDR-II, 1.8V (Qty:32)

Vitec Electronics - 59PR9874N - Inductor - Wound Ferrite Core, Shielded (Qty:20)

Materials and Manufacturing $304.74

SuperMicro H8QM3-2 Server Motherboard Cost Analysis

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.

Function / Performance

No performance testing was performed on the SuperMicro H8QM3-2.

Country of Origin / Manufacturing Notes

The product has no country of origin labeling other than ""Designed in the USA". We believe SuperMicro has these motherboards manufactured off-shore, and most likely in Taiwan or China at an EMS provider or ODM location. 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

We do not have enough servers to draw a lot of conclusions about the H8QM302's design effectiveness and level of integration vis--vis other server designs. However, severs are always complex (the motherboards specifically) with an elevated component count, and in this case, one can multiply out the component counts based on the 4 CPU socket support (8 DIMM sockets per CPU socket for example), so there is a lot of repeated symetrical circuitry in support of each CPU, and a great deal of board real estate dedicated to the CPUs and DIMM socket slots.

The total component count of the H8QM3-2 is 3666, which is about 12% fewer components than seen on the motherboard for the quad-socket SuperMicro SYS-8025C-3RB.

Design Notes

Motherboard

The SuperMicro H8QM3-2 supports Four Quad-Core / Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ 8000 Series processors, nVidia MCP55 Pro / IO 55 and NEC uPD720400 Chipsets, and to 128GB 32 DIMMS DDR2 667/533/400 SDRAM. The H8QM3-2 also features an Intel 82546GB Dual-port Gigabit LAN/Ethernet Controller, 8-port LSI 1068E SAS Controller, 8-port LSI 1068E SAS Controller 2 (x16) PCI-e slots, 1 (x8), 1(x4)(Using x8 Slot) PCI-e, and 1 64-bit 133 MHz PCI-X.

Chipset

Microprocessor - nVIDIA - NFP-3600-A3 - Support for PCI Express, Gigabit Ethernet, SATA 3Gb/sec., and legacy I/O

Microprocessor - nVIDIA - NFP-3050-A3 - Companion Chip to 3600, w/ 28 PCI Express Lanes

Controller - NEC - μPD720400CFF-RN1- PCI Express to PCI/PCI-X Bridge, 8 Lane, Two 64bits PCI/PCI-X Bus Interface

Clock

Clock Multiplier - IDT - ICS8731CY-01 - Zero Delay Buffer, low voltage, low skew, 1-to-11 Differential-to-3.3V LVPECL

I/O & Interface

GPU - AMD - ES1000 - 2D, 200MHz Core, 32-Bit 33/66MHz PCI 2.2, 16-Bit 256MB DDR-II SDRAM Support, Dual CRT Support

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

Ethernet Controller - Intel - FW82546GB - Dual Port, Gigabit, PCI/PCI-X Support, MAC Support, Integrated PHY

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

Memory

SDRAM - Hynix Semiconductor - HY5DU281622FTP-J - DDR, 128Mb, 133MHz@CL2, 166MHz @CL2.5 & @CL3

Glue Logic

Multiplexer - NXP - PCA9544APW - I2C, 4-Channel, w/ Interrupt Logic

Power Supply

I/O Controller - Winbond - W83793G - Hardware Monitoring, w/ 10-Bit ADC, I2C Serial Bus Interface, 5V, 25mA

SuperMicro H8QM3-2 Server Motherboard - Motherboard Bottom