SuperMicro Server seems slow after a full overhaul

[FatRakoon]

I have recently upped from dual CPU Opteron to Quad. ( Still wondering why but hey ho )

The Quad setup is running absolutely fine. I have no issues with that.

The Dual however I am.

I am building it back up, into a useable workstation rather than a server, but I just dont seem to be getting into a useable speed for a desktop PC.

Dotn get me wrong, in terms of CPU power, its all there, it is in fact a monsterously powerful machine, but the Disk access is poor, the responce times from click to actually seeing any effect the clicks do, such as bring ing up a window of any description, seems to be like as if Im waking it up and its sleeping bag is made of syrup.

The system is currently :-

SuperMicro H8DG6 / 2xOpteron 6380 CPUs / 64GB RAM
C: = Corsair 120GB SSD

I normally also have these : Asus Xonar DGX / ATI 7770 Stubby / USB 3 card

But right now, Its using the OnBoard Matrox VGA and no extras just while I try sorting it.
I have also disconnected all other HDs.

The ONLY thing I am thinking that I have yet to try, is that I have bought Windows 10/64 for it.
I didnt think until about 2 minutes ago, that it might even be that, so Im going to have a peek right now, and I will put Windows 7 on, but I dont have a spare Server Licence for it as thats gone to the Quad, but just in case... Deos anyone have any thoughts on why its so slow?

I have NOT tried Linux on it. Not for any reason.

 

[BongoHunter]

I would try a windows server Eval copy of 2008r2 or 2012 if changing OS (fine for desktop use with tweaks)

Sounds like disk access to me - what settings / mode you using in BIOS for Sata etx

 

[FatRakoon]

Yes, I have tried servers with tweaks, for desktop use, and for most things, its perfectly fine, however, there are a fair number of apps that simply dont like the fact that I try installing them on a Server OS... Most of these are system tools and utilities like AntiVirus, defragger and so on, but they are still a PITA.
That said, its a Mobo designed to be a server and as such will run best with a server OS most probably, so perhaps its the obvious choice.
But the Previous OS I had in this was 8.1 Pro and that seemed to run just fine.

Disk access.
Yes, this does seem to be all it is. The Mobo is in AHCI mode and the drivers are indeed the correct AMD ones.
Its just abysmal speeds.

 

[BongoHunter]

Do you have an addon card you could use to provide a more modern SATA port? 2 port SATA 3 cards can be had very cheaply if you can't get the AMD Sata ports to perform, might be an option

That motherboard probably supports SAS drives on a separate RAID controller, might be worth a try with that if you have any disks - just to confirm if it is indeed the AMD sata controller causing issues...

 

[FatRakoon]

Yeah, I got 2 cards that work in this Machine and I have used them in the past when I had a dump load of drives in it.

One boots, the other does not. The booting one is a nice ASUS SATA+USB3 Card but I have not actually tried it at the moment... Im working on the Server to Workstation stuff and Im not really getting anywhere with that as such, however its booting up at a fairly nippy rate... Only shame is that the Mobo itself takes almost a month to get itself even to POST and then it gos through half a billion device checks and then it boots up... Typically its just about a minute from reset or power on to desktop. Its a killer when your main Desktops take just a few seconds LOL

 

[FatRakoon]

Well, I threw Win 7 onto it and it run just sweet as a nut.

I put the rest of the hardware all on, including the drives etc, and it was rocketting along just fine.

I then upgraded to Win 10 and it slowed down horrendously.

I then did a full fresh install of Windows 10 and it made no difference, it was horrible, and so I went back to Win7 and the speed is back up again.

Stuff it... Windows 7 it is.

 

[matthab]

Checked what drivers you are using? Could be windows using the defaults or an older buggy version.

 

[FatRakoon]

I have tried the defaults. With Win10, the only obvious difference that installing AMDs drivers over the Microsoft deaults, is that it changes the name of the ATA controler from Standard to AMD. Dont seem to see any other benefit.

There is not that namy options I have for what drivers to use either? - The website has 2 options for drivers, and that is to download an ISO of the DVD, or to download the drivers individually. Sure, there are 2 different ones, but thats it. I have searched for others and I have found drivers on various places, but they are the very same drivers as are on the site, so there is at most 3 options. 1. Default 2.On the ISO and 3. Individual.

Im still on Windows 7/64 and it has now ( I think ) fully updated itself with all the lastest Windows 7 nonsense, and its running sweet as honey.

I have got 2 Drives in there for C: and I am doing this purely so I can keep this Windows 7 setup to the side, while I keep on fiddling with Windows 10 on it.
I also have a spare Windows 8.0 and an 8.1 licence and I will also have a play on that cos it did have 8.0 on it and it ran a treat with that too, and so at least it will bring it up a little with Windows 8.

But for now, Im not doing too much with it as its currently doing a full backup of all the family's PCs but when its finished, I iwll have a play.

 

[On Holiday]

Honestly, this is probably not relevant at all, but I've just gone through the process of installing Windows 7 then Windows 10 on an old Acer machine with an AMD Athlon CPU.

Windows 7 is completely fine.
Windows 10 is mega slow and even crashes frequently. It only started crashing after Windows managed to detect hardware and install drivers (i.e. it was fine before I connected the network cable!)

 

[neil_g]

Older chipset and storage controller drivers may not be available for windows 10.

For example i had a Dell 2nd gen Intel laptop and SSD, ran fine in w7 but awful in 10. Turns out intel dropped support for the storage controller in 10 and it was running the ms default storage.