- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
- Messages
- 3
Hello, I am planning to build a ESXi Whitebox that can run two virtualised computers (from a selection of options which includes macOS machines) at the same time, along with shared storage through a Linux service of some sort. I suspect it is possible, but that it is also going to be very challenging to ensure I have the right assortment of compatible parts.
Currently, the parts list comes to a whopping $10k AUD for the build. I don't have this sort of money in the bank, so I plan to buy parts over time – start with the basic for a functioning system and build up. But I need to know what the future build will look like so I can work towards that. Also, the price includes a pair of Ultrawide monitors. Remove them from the total price, and it starts to look similar to a mid level Mac Pro build, so the value seems pretty good. Basically, I'd be getting a pair of gaming PC's for my girlfriend and I to play on (maybe even with VR support), a pair of Windows workstations (for a few Windows only apps, though this could possibly be virtualised from within macOS), a small NAS, and a pair of Mac Pro-like Virutal machines for the price of one Mac Pro.
Could any members of the forum please have a look over my parts list and look for any compatibility problems I may have missed? Keep in mind a few thoughts I am contemplating throughout this planning stage:
NZXT Manta Case + mATX mobo + many PCIe cards & drives:
Yeh, the Manta case is an mITX case. But it is a very large mITX case and I've seen a couple of builds now that have successfully modded it to accept an mATX board and 2 graphics cards. This has given me the confidence to attempt the build with two GPU cards. I am also hoping some further creative modding will allow me to fit in more hard drives (seems to be plenty of space near the PSU for HDD's) and networking/USB or TB adapters^. Obviously, I'll take this step by step as it comes though.
I know I could easily save myself some trouble and look for an ATX case and mobo with more PCI slots. But hey, this will be an awesome challenge. I have a plan for how I want to mod this particular case as well, and want to use the fantastic automotive inspired curves of the case to add a Transformers Bumblebee theme to the build. Short version: I'm pretty sold on using this case, but would love any and all input on options of how to creatively bend it to my will, as it will definitely be a challenge.
^This plan for more PCIe cards assumes the possibility that water cooling and physical modding of the GPU (remove the DVI port typically on top) would expose the other two PCIe slots, and that I could use some (very) creative routing of the additional PCI cards using flex adapters or similar as well to keep them out the way of the PSU. Not entirely sure what combination of cards I would end up using (there's only the remote possibility of two more cards on top of the two GPU cards). I am looking at the compatible Bluetooth adapter, Thunderbolt/USB 3.1 cards and 4x 10/100/1000 NIC cards (though maybe I could use a thunderbolt device instead...).
Intel 6700K/Gigabyte Gaming 5 mobo:
I am expecting that I will need more than 8 virtual cores to make this build really see its full potential. The plan is to eventually upgrade to perhaps a Skylake-X processor on an LGA 2066 socket in the future, once they become available at a decent price, and if they are compatible with macOS/ESXi. For now though, I need a mobo + CPU that supports virtualisation and that will run "well enough". As far as I am aware, this combination can (I know the CPU supports VT-d and VT-X, and the mobo supports VT-d at minimum). Please let me know if it doesn't!
Why Nvidia GTX 980 Ti GPU cards:
Similar to upgrading the CPU when new architecture is available, I want to use Nvidia cards and that has two problems currently. First, pascal drivers aren't available for macOS (though hopefully the release of Sierra today will change that ASAP). Secondly, consumer GPU cards can't be passed through to virtual machines running on ESXi. To mitigate this, I am hoping that I can softmod a pair of GTX 980 Ti cards to appear as Quadro M5000 (I think it's this model anyway) cards. This should bypass both problems for now, and if any consumer cards are available in the future with drivers and support for ESXi PCIe passthrough, then I will upgrade then. In the short term though, the softmod may end up providing a small performance boost for some rendering software I plan to use, and I don't mind if there is a hit to gaming performance when running Windows machines.
Currently, the parts list comes to a whopping $10k AUD for the build. I don't have this sort of money in the bank, so I plan to buy parts over time – start with the basic for a functioning system and build up. But I need to know what the future build will look like so I can work towards that. Also, the price includes a pair of Ultrawide monitors. Remove them from the total price, and it starts to look similar to a mid level Mac Pro build, so the value seems pretty good. Basically, I'd be getting a pair of gaming PC's for my girlfriend and I to play on (maybe even with VR support), a pair of Windows workstations (for a few Windows only apps, though this could possibly be virtualised from within macOS), a small NAS, and a pair of Mac Pro-like Virutal machines for the price of one Mac Pro.
Could any members of the forum please have a look over my parts list and look for any compatibility problems I may have missed? Keep in mind a few thoughts I am contemplating throughout this planning stage:
NZXT Manta Case + mATX mobo + many PCIe cards & drives:
Yeh, the Manta case is an mITX case. But it is a very large mITX case and I've seen a couple of builds now that have successfully modded it to accept an mATX board and 2 graphics cards. This has given me the confidence to attempt the build with two GPU cards. I am also hoping some further creative modding will allow me to fit in more hard drives (seems to be plenty of space near the PSU for HDD's) and networking/USB or TB adapters^. Obviously, I'll take this step by step as it comes though.
I know I could easily save myself some trouble and look for an ATX case and mobo with more PCI slots. But hey, this will be an awesome challenge. I have a plan for how I want to mod this particular case as well, and want to use the fantastic automotive inspired curves of the case to add a Transformers Bumblebee theme to the build. Short version: I'm pretty sold on using this case, but would love any and all input on options of how to creatively bend it to my will, as it will definitely be a challenge.
^This plan for more PCIe cards assumes the possibility that water cooling and physical modding of the GPU (remove the DVI port typically on top) would expose the other two PCIe slots, and that I could use some (very) creative routing of the additional PCI cards using flex adapters or similar as well to keep them out the way of the PSU. Not entirely sure what combination of cards I would end up using (there's only the remote possibility of two more cards on top of the two GPU cards). I am looking at the compatible Bluetooth adapter, Thunderbolt/USB 3.1 cards and 4x 10/100/1000 NIC cards (though maybe I could use a thunderbolt device instead...).
Intel 6700K/Gigabyte Gaming 5 mobo:
I am expecting that I will need more than 8 virtual cores to make this build really see its full potential. The plan is to eventually upgrade to perhaps a Skylake-X processor on an LGA 2066 socket in the future, once they become available at a decent price, and if they are compatible with macOS/ESXi. For now though, I need a mobo + CPU that supports virtualisation and that will run "well enough". As far as I am aware, this combination can (I know the CPU supports VT-d and VT-X, and the mobo supports VT-d at minimum). Please let me know if it doesn't!
Why Nvidia GTX 980 Ti GPU cards:
Similar to upgrading the CPU when new architecture is available, I want to use Nvidia cards and that has two problems currently. First, pascal drivers aren't available for macOS (though hopefully the release of Sierra today will change that ASAP). Secondly, consumer GPU cards can't be passed through to virtual machines running on ESXi. To mitigate this, I am hoping that I can softmod a pair of GTX 980 Ti cards to appear as Quadro M5000 (I think it's this model anyway) cards. This should bypass both problems for now, and if any consumer cards are available in the future with drivers and support for ESXi PCIe passthrough, then I will upgrade then. In the short term though, the softmod may end up providing a small performance boost for some rendering software I plan to use, and I don't mind if there is a hit to gaming performance when running Windows machines.