Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N Review

The Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N offers a dense dual-proc blade option that can bring tremendous compute power to the SuperBlade chassis.

Following our comprehensive review of the Supermicro X13 SuperBlade chassis, we now focus on a server option when populating the chassis, the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N. This blade is built around the MBD-B13DET motherboard and is engineered for enterprise data centers, cloud computing, and high-performance computing. When populated alongside other blades inside the X13 chassis, it offers excellent density and efficiency and can house up to 50 servers per 42U rack.

Supermicro blade servers, like the SBI-421E-5T3N, offer a high-density computing solution that enhances server performance while reducing the data center footprint by consolidating multiple server blades into a single chassis. This design shares common resources like power supplies, cooling fans, and networking switches, promoting scalability and flexibility by allowing individual blades to be updated or replaced independently.

The blades can utilize centralized storage and manage networking directly through the chassis, streamlining data access and connectivity within the system. Blades offer a more compact, energy-efficient solution than traditional rack servers, focusing on performance and reliability.

Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N Components and Build

Physically, the blade measures 3.5″ in height, 6.5″ in width, and 23.5″ in depth, weighing 11.5 lbs. The front panel has a power On/Off button, power LED, UID, Network Activity LED, Fault LED, and an SUV (Serial/USB/Video) Connector for ease of use and monitoring.

It is designed with two hot-swap U.2 NVMe/SATA3 drive bays and an additional hot-swap SATA3 drive bay, along with support for one on board M.2 2280 and an optional expansion for four M.2 NVMe via a mezzanine card, catering to a mix of high-speed storage requirements and traditional storage needs.

Moreover, the PCIe Gen5 x16 AIOM (OCP3.0) slot (located at the top slot) in a blade server like the SBI-421E-5T3N SuperBlade is essential for integrating high-speed networking cards and advanced storage solutions, supporting up to 400G network speeds and enabling scalable, efficient data management. This enhances the server’s connectivity and storage capabilities, making it ideal for high-performance computing and data-intensive applications. Along the bottom is the latch lever, which secures the blade in the enclosure with the inconspicuous control panel with status LEDs (Power, UID, Network Activity, Fault) on the right.

Removing the blade cover involved unscrewing the screw on the side and lifting off the cover. This unveiled a design that is both compact and efficient. The SuperBlade is powered by the MBD-B13DET motherboard, which supports dual Socket E (LGA-4677) configurations. This allows for the integration of either 5th Gen Intel Xeon or 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, including the Intel Xeon CPU Max Series with High Bandwidth Memory. As such, it caters to some pretty demanding processing needs. If you need a more GPU-heavy blade configuration, Supermicro has you covered with other models in the 4XXE Superblade line.

This also accommodates CPUs with up to 350W TDP, relying on air cooling for thermal management. This versatility help can help businesses leverage performance for complex computations and data-intensive applications.

The SuperBlade has 16 DDR5 DIMM slots (four on each side of the dual CPU slots), supporting up to 512GB of 5600MHz ECC RDIMM memory in a 1DPC configuration. Our test SuperBlade is equipped with two CPUs providing support for up to 1TB of memory. This substantial memory capacity and speed are crucial for quickly handling large datasets and running memory-intensive applications.

Powered by the Intel C741 chipset, the SuperBlade’s onboard features provide essential I/O capabilities, including dual 25G Ethernet for fast networking. Moreover, security and management are streamlined through IPMI 2.0 with KVM over IP, Redfish API, TPM 2.0, signed firmware, and hardware root of trust, ensuring secure and efficient remote server management. The Aspeed AST2600 graphics controller facilitates video output for management and operational tasks.

Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N Specifications

Supermicro SuperBlade SBI-421E-5T3N Performance

To provide a comprehensive performance analysis, our benchmarks encompass a variety of intensive tests, each targeting different aspects of CPU performance. We use Blender OptiX for rendering performance, Blackmagic to assess video processing capabilities, and Geekbench for overall system performance evaluation. Cinebench will give us insights into graphics and rendering efficiency, y-cruncher for mathematical computations, and 7-Zip compression tests to gauge data processing and compression speeds.

This review focuses on the compute side of things rather than storage performance.

Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N main components:

• 2x Intel Xeon 8562Y+
• 256GB DDR5 RAM
• RETEST 1TB DDR5 RAM

We will also be comparing it to the same set of Xeon CPUs inside the 24-bay Supermicro SYS-221H-TN24R:

• 2 x Intel Xeon 8562Y+
• 1TB of DDR5 RAM

Update:

For transparency and clarity of the reporting we secured some additional DRAM and retested the blade system. We will leave in the 256GB configuration in the tables below, but also show the 1TB DRAM numbers for an 8 Channel DRAM scenario. Tests were conducted with automatic fan control settings on the chassis.

Blender OptiX

Blender is an open-source 3D modeling application. This benchmark was run using the Blender Benchmark utility. The score is samples per minute, with higher being better.

The Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N (equipped with dual Intel Xeon 8562Y+ CPUs) performs strongly in 3D modeling tasks. Scoring 703.9 samples per minute in the “Monster” scenario, 458 samples in “Junkshop,” and 357 in “Classroom,” the blade demonstrated robust capability across diverse and demanding 3D rendering environments.

This test has a slight Memory Channel Impact

Blackmagic RAW Speed Test

We have also started running Blackmagic’s video playback speed test. This is more of a hybrid test that includes CPU and GPU performance for real-world RAW decoding.

Here, the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N showed exceptional performance in video playback speed, achieving 143 fps in the 8K CPU benchmark. This indicates the server’s high capability in real-world RAW decoding tasks, essential for media production workflows involving high-resolution video content.

This test has a significant Memory Channel Impact

y-cruncher

y-cruncher is a multi-threaded and scalable program that can compute Pi and other mathematical constants to trillions of digits. Since its launch in 2009, it has become a popular benchmarking and stress-testing application for overclockers and hardware enthusiasts.

In the y-cruncher benchmark, the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N showcased some pretty good computational ability by efficiently handling large-scale number crunching. Completing calculations for 1 billion digits in just 8.760 seconds and scaling up to 320.095 seconds for 25 billion digits, the system proves its capability in executing highly demanding mathematical operations. This performance indicates the server’s robustness for research, scientific computations, and tasks requiring intensive numerical processing.

This test has an extreme Memory Channel Impact

Geekbench 6

Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures overall system performance. You can find comparisons to any system you want in the Geekbench Browser.

Geekbench 6 results highlight the balanced performance of the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N, with a single-core score of 1,836 and a multi-core tally of 12,358. These figures reflect the system’s strong capability in single-threaded and multi-threaded applications, making it versatile for various computing tasks from web serving to complex data analysis.

This test has a limited Memory Channel Impact.

Cinebench R23

This benchmark uses all CPU cores and threads to generate an overall score.

Here, the Supermicro Blade has a solid multi-core performance at 88,362 points, paired with a single-core performance of 1,523 points. The MP Ratio of 58.01x showcases the efficient scalability of its dual Intel Xeon CPUs when handling parallel tasks, making it an ideal platform for rendering, simulation, and any high-load computational functions that benefit from high core counts.

This test has a limited Memory Channel Impact.

Cinebench 2024

Cinebench 2024, which incorporates Redshift renderer testing, presents a more focused insight into the rendering capabilities of the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N. It demonstrated its proficiency in rendering performance with a multi-core score of 4,184 and a single-core score of 81 (as well as an MP Ratio of 51.61x). This suggests the blade is well-equipped for visual effects and animation tasks, where rendering efficiency is crucial.

This test has a limited Memory Channel Impact

7-Zip Compression

The built-in memory benchmark in the popular 7-Zip utility demonstrates the CPU performances of each machine. We run this test at a 128MB dictionary size when possible.

Here, the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N demonstrated its excellent data compression and decompression capability, with total ratings of 230.328 GIPS. These results indicate suitability for applications in data backup, archiving, and server workloads where compression efficiency can significantly impact performance and storage requirements.

This test has a limited Memory Channel Impact

The blade platform performed on par with the limited memory that we had available for the system, and considerations for workload should be made to maximize memory channels when designing your system. These performance numbers demonstrate the significance of memory channel bandwidth on platform performance, rather than the blade chassis, and should be utilized when determining the most performant layout.

Conclusion

The SBI-421E-5T3N server is an excellent solution for enterprises seeking robust blade server capabilities. It has an exceptional blend of compactness, efficiency, and raw computational power. It is engineered to meet the demanding needs of enterprise data centers, cloud computing environments, and high-performance computing applications.

As for how it fared in our extensive benchmarking, the Supermicro SBI-421E-5T3N showcased impressive overall performance, proving that it can easily handle demanding computing environments. For example, in Blender OptiX tests, it excelled in 3D rendering tasks, indicating its suitability for graphics-intensive applications while demonstrating exceptional throughput in the 7-Zip compression benchmarks, highlighting its efficiency in data processing and compression tasks. Moreover, its outstanding results in Geekbench 6, with high scores in single-core and multi-core tests, certainly showcase its robust processing power for various workloads, from simple tasks to complex data analyses.

As we mentioned in our previous review (which highlighted the compelling GPU blade models), the Supermicro X13 SuperBlade Chassis exemplifies unparalleled flexibility in an 8U space, catering to a range of workload needs. We’ve been testing five of these single-height, double-width blades, with great success. Notably this chassis can support ten of these thicker blades or up to 20 of the smaller ones.

For its part, the Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N provided excellent performance in an extremely compact design. Supermicro is a clear leader when it comes to blades, we continue to be impressed with the flexibility their 8U chassis and blade options offer.

Supermicro Blade SBI-421E-5T3N Product Page

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