Best Socket FCLGA3647 Motherboards (Socket P) For Intel Xeon Platinum 8176 C621

If you are building a home or small office server for running serious workloads on-premises, we recommend a pair of Xeons and Socket FCLGA3647 Motherboards to run them. Also known as Socket P, these motherboards use high-performance interconnects to support Dual-Socket Xeon CPUs and are currently the best alternative to AMD’s EPYC CPUs. To find out more, read along.

Related: Best Socket P+ Ice Lake Motherboards (Ice Lake)

The Purley Platform from Intel has introduced a new socket in the form of LGA 3647. The socket will be supported on the new and future Skylake processors from Intel. Specially designed for use with the server-backed motherboard, it is quite large enough compared to the older LGA 2011-3 socket. Now, which motherboards support the LGA 3647 socket, we will check out the options we may have at our disposal.

The LGA 3647 Socket – An Overview:

Before we explore the motherboard that features the LGA 3647, we will attempt to understand the concept and functionality of the socket.

The socket LGA 3647 does not support latches and thus opts for a different cooling mechanism. The coolers are secured to the top of the socket utilizing screws. These are generally used in passive heatsinks that are cooled by the ambient airflow inside the server rooms.

The standard processors supported by the LGA 3647 include Xeon Phi x200 (“Knights Landing”), Xeon Phi 72×5 (“Knights Mill”), and Skylake-EX and -SP (Xeon “Purley”) microprocessors. A few features that it supports include a 6-channel memory controller, non-volatile 3D XPoint memory DIMMs, Intel UltraPath Interconnect (UPI), as a replacement for QPI and 100G Omni-Path interconnect.

Do note that the LGA 3647 supported motherboards are explicitly designed for the management of servers and workstations. That would indeed make the availability of your options quite limited.

Socket FCLGA3647 Motherboards

Today, we are talking about Intel’s FCLGA 3647 socket. Since most of you might already know that it is a socket specially designed for the Intel Xeon family of processors, these microprocessors are specially optimized for powering stackable server systems. However, to get most of these CPUs, specialized motherboards are used. Today, we are discussing some of the best motherboards offering Intel FCLGA Socket. Currently, the following models are available online on various marketplaces:

• Supermicro MBD X11DPH TO – Check on Amazon
• ASUS WS C621E SAGE – Check on Amazon
• ASRock EPC621D8A – Check on Amazon
• SUPERMICRO X11DPI-N – Check on Amazon
• Gigabyte – Check on Amazon
• SUPERMICRO X11DAI –Check on Amazon

The following are detailed specifications of these motherboards. We hope these detailed specs and technical details are enough for you to understand the major differences between these products and their performance levels. Still, feel free to use the comment box if there is any doubt. So without any more delay, here we begin with the list of best socket FC-lga3647 motherboards:

1. SUPERMICRO MBD-X11DPH-TO:

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The Supermicro X11DPH-T Dual LGA 3647 Sockets Motherboard comes under Dual Intel Xeon Scalable Processor Motherboards. Offering a maximum TDP of 205 Watts, it comes with 16 DDR4 DIMM slots.

The motherboard supports 2TB of 3DS ECC RDIMM or 3DS ECC LRDIMM DDR4 memory across 6-channels. Some of the features that would make it an excellent option would be

• Support for Intel® C624 Chipset.
• It comes with 3x PCI-E 3.0 x16, & 4x PCI-E 3.0 x8 Slots
• The motherboard supports Dual LAN with 10GBase-T with Intel® X557.

This is a C624 Chipset-based dual-socket motherboard suitable for Intel’s Xeon line of processors. It means that, technically, you can use a pair of Xeon Platinum 8176 processors, which provides 28 cores & 56 threads each, with a total of 56 Cores & 112 Threads, and 432GB of system memory.

These setups are ideally suited for enterprise deployments are built for high-performance, low latency workloads. Check out its detailed specs below:

General

Expansion / Connectivity

Networking

Interface Provided

Miscellaneous

Video

Supported RAM

Mainboard Features

Cable Details

Service & Support Details

2. ASUS WS C621E SAGE:

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This motherboard is ideal for multi-GPU workload and supports up to 4 GPUs together. It supports expandable connectivity options, including U.2., M.2, USB 3.1, Type C & A, and supporting Thunderbolt EX3 cards. We highly recommend this for home server setups and are not ideal for Enterprise Environments. ASUS provides its proprietary Control Center management interface for complete, centralized server management, which we found out to be quick and easy to use. There is a ‘Full Nickel‘ square socket P Water-block available. Check out the specs below:

General

Expansion / Connectivity

Networking

Interface Provided

Audio Output

Video

Supported RAM

Mainboard Features

Dimensions & Weight

Software

3. SUPERMICRO X11DPI-N:

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This is also an E-ATX form factor motherboard. Also, some aspects of the layout are different than a standard ATX system, and you might need to make some modifications to complete the assembly. There are plenty of customization options in the BIOS, and we highly recommend updating it to the latest. Also, we recommend using low-profile DDR4 memory since there are space limitations for DIMMs with taller heatsinks.

General

Expansion / Connectivity

Networking

Interface Provided

Miscellaneous

Video

Supported RAM

Mainboard Features

Cable Details

Dimensions & Weight

Service & Support Details

4. ASRock EPC621D8A:

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MB Physical Status

Processor System

System Memory

Expansion Slot

Storage

Ethernet

Management

Graphics

Audio

Rear Panel I/O

 Internal Connector

 System BIOS

 Hardware Monitor

 Support OS

Other

5. GIGABYTE Extended ATX Server Motherboard

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The GIGABYTE Extended ATX Server Motherboard is one of the excellent options for all your needs in workstation motherboard needs you may have. Belonging to Intel Xeon Processor Scalable Family, the motherboard supports Intel Xeon Platinum Processor, Intel Xeon Gold Processor, Intel Xeon Silver Processor, and Intel Xeon Bronze Processor.

Some of the features worth the mention include

• It supports DDR4 memory in 2666 / 2400 / 2133 MHz ranges
• It features the onboard video chipset – Aspeed AST2500
• You have access to 16 nos DIMM slots

Supermicro X11DAI

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It is an excellent workstation motherboard option for almost every one of your needs. It lets you have access to plenty of PCIe slots. This can be an excellent option for graphic cards. The support for Thunderbolt 3.0 port and audio outputs is yet another advantage. It is an exceptional choice for Intel Xeon Scalable processors. The motherboard is a great choice if you are a creative professional, engineer, scientist, or deep learning/ AI researcher.

One of the best options for the workstation motherboards, it can be a great choice with its impressive feature list. The availability of storage expansion options over dedicated PCIe lanes would make it one of the excellent options for your IOPS needs in a workstation system. The dual-processor (Socket) compatibility is yet another option for remote or local desktop systems.

General

Expansion / Connectivity

Networking

Other features

X11SPI-TF XEON by Supermicro MAX-1TB DDR4 ATX

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The new Supermicro new generation X11 UP server boards offer excellent options for most of the expectations. You can get access to a huge degree of experience for most of your expectations for achieving a far better degree of experience with performance, efficiency, security, and scalability.

The motherboard packs in a few of the best options for most of the requirements and offers the features such as 1TB DDR4 2666MHz in 8 DIMM slots per node, 7 PCI-E slots, SAS 3.0/SATA 3.0/NVMe hot-swap HDD/SSD support, 1GbE/10GBase-T/10G SFP+ networking options, SATA Disk-on-Module (DOM), and IPMI 2.0 plus KVM with dedicated LAN.

Some of the features offered by the motherboard would include

ASUS Z11PA-U12 ATX Server Motherboard

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This one is a scalable server motherboard that would provide you access to a great degree of experience and performance. You can get access to one of the excellent options with the 12 DIMM slots.

You will also get excellent modular options for powerful performance and expandability. The ECC memory support can also be one of the best options for most of your buffered memory requirements and expectations. The connectivity offered by the motherboard would be quite impressive. Quick initialization guidance for faster BIOS tracking enhancement should be a great option for each of your expectations.

• Processor / System Bus

1 x Socket P (LGA 3647)
1st and 2nd Gen Xeon® Scalable Processor Family
*Refer to support page for more information
UPI (10.4 GT/s)

• Core Logic

Intel® Lewisburg PCH C621

• Memory

Total Slots: 12 (6-channel per CPU, 12 DIMM per CPU)
Capacity : Maximum up to 384GB RDIMM/Maximum up to 768GB LRDIMM/Maximum up to 1536GB LR-DIMM 3DS
Memory Type :
Single Channel DDR4 2933/2666/2400 LR-DIMM 3DS
Memory Size :
32GB, 16GB, 8GB, 4GB RDIMM
64GB, 32GB LRDIMM
128GB, 64GB LR-DIMM 3DS
* Refer to support page for more information
* Actual memory frequency differs from Intel CPU types and memory modules. Please check Intel’s official site for more detail about the memory types supported by each CPU.

• Expansion Slots

Total Slot: 4
Slot Location 1: PCI-E x8 (Gen3 X4 Link)
Slot Location 2: PCI-E x16 (Gen3 X16 Link)
Slot Location 3: PCI-E x8 (Gen3 X8 Link)
Slot Location 4: PCI-E x16 (Gen3 X16 Link), Auto switch to x8 link if slot 3 is occupied

• Form Factor

ATX (12″x9.6″, 305mm x 244mm)

• ASUS Features

ASUS Fan Speed control technology
ASUS Control Center (ASWM Enterprise 2.0)

• Storage

Storage Controller :
Intel® C621
13 x SATA3 6Gb/s ports (12 by 3 Mini-SAS Connector)
Intel® Rapid Storage Technology Enterprise(RSTe) (For Linux/Windows)
(Support Software RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 )
Intel®VROC (For Linux/Windows)
(Support Software RAID )
Optional kits Controller :
ASUS PIKE II 3008-8i 8-port SAS 12G RAID card(Optional)
ASUS PIKE II 3108-8i 8-port SAS 12G HW RAID card(Optional)
2 * OCulink for U.2

• Networking

2 x Intel® I210AT + 1 x Mgmt LAN

• Graphic

Aspeed AST2500 with 64MB VRAM

• On-Board I/O

1 x TPM header
1 x PSU Power Connector (24-pin ATX power connector + 8-pin ATX 12V power connector)
1 x USB 3.0 pin header, Up to 2 Devices
1 x USB 2.0 pin header, Up to 2 Devices
6 x Fan Header, 4pin (3pin/4pin fan dual support)
1 x Serial Port Header
1 x SMBus
1 x Chassis Intruder
2 x Front LAN LED
1 x M.2 Connector, NGFF Type: 2280/2260/2242
1 x VROC Key Header
1 x Q-Code/Port 80 LED

• Back I/O Ports

2 x USB 3.0 ports
1 x VGA port
2 x RJ-45 GbE LAN ports
1 x RJ-45 Mgmt LAN port

Rear Switch/LED:
1 x Power switch
1 x Message LED
1 x HDD LED
1 x Location LED
1 x BMC LED
1 x P5V LED

• Management Solution

ASMB9-iKVM for KVM-over-Internet
ASUS Control Center Enterprise (Optional)

• Weight

Gift Box (1-in-1)
Net Weight: 0.97 KG
Gross Weight: 1.625 KG

Bulk Pack (10-in-1)
Net Weight: 9.7 KG
Gross Weight: 13.015 KG

• Environment

Operation temperature: 10°C ~ 35°C
Non operation temperature: -40°C ~ 70°C
Non operation humidity: 20% ~ 90% (Non condensing)

• Accessories

I/O Shield
1 x SATA 6Gb/s cable
1 x Supporting DVD
1 x LGA3647 carrier

• Monitoring

CPU Temperature
Fan RPM

The Parting Thoughts

The LGA 3647 sockets have been specially designed and optimized for server and workstation management. There are not many motherboards based on these sockets. In fact, Supermicro has been actively involved in the manufacture of the motherboards with the LGA 3647 socket. The motherboards with LGA 3647 sockets support the latest Intel Xeon scalable performance processors based on the Skylake SP architecture.

We have only covered only a select few of the motherboards in this compilation. The list here is representative in nature, and you should be able to find a few other options from Asus, Supermicro, and ASRock. Have you used any of the motherboards with the LGA 3647 socket for your server and workstation management?

If you have used any of the options among those featured above, share your views and experiences with them. You may also share your knowledge with any other motherboard with the LGA 3647 socket. Your inputs would help our readers and us make the right decision when choosing the best options for our server motherboards.

Conclusion:

For now, these are the only Socket FCLGA 3647 motherboards available and those we thought were worth mentioning in this post. We will keep you updated as new models are available, so make sure you subscribe to this blog for regular tech updates. If there is any query on your mind or anything you want to suggest, feel free to leave your comment below or contact us directly; thank You! See you in the next post.