Supermicro Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 Support and Lineup

Supermicro has released their information on their Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 lineup and support for existing motherboards. The Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 lineup is based on the Ivy Bridge CPU and is built on Intel’s 22mm process. We have already looked at the Intel Xeon E3-1200 lineup and the Ivy Bridge Xeon benchmarks will be up on this site in the coming days. I do think this is a relatively minor performance upgrade, but the newest generation parts to provide some cool new features. I discussed this a bit in the Intel Core i7-3770K review. We have already looked at the launch Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 series CPUs so it is exciting to see the marketing campaign get into full swing.

Supermicro X9SCx Motherboards with Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 Series CPUs

First, for those with existing Bromolow based C20x boards, Supermicro is enabling the ability to support Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 chips on existing motherboards. If you have an X9SCx motherboard, such as the Supermicro X9SCM-F, and you are running BIOS version 2.0 or higher, your board will support the new Ivy Bridge based Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 series CPUs. If your board has V1.xx BIOS you will need to upgrade to BIOS version V2.0 or higher. Supermicro has a PDF with the upgrade instructions. Here is an excerpt:

PLEASE READ — X9SCx INTEL XEON E3-1200 V2 BIOS UPGRADE INSTRUCTIONS
This document contains instructions on how to field upgrade the Supermicro X9SCx motherboard BIOS firmware (below version 2.0) to support the Intel® Xeon® E3-1200 V2 processor family.

1. First, boot the motherboard with an E3-1200 series (not E3-1200 V2) processor to verify if your BIOS version is 2.00 or above. During boot-up, press <del> when you see the prompt below the Supermicro logo to enter the BIOS setup mode.
2. On the Main screen of the BIOS setup, check that the BIOS version is 2.0 or above. If so, your motherboard already supports the Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 processor. However, if the BIOS version is 1.xx, please continue on to steps 3-5, below.
3. You will need to upgrade your BIOS. Using a separate system with an internet connection, please download the BIOS firmware from the
   Supermicro website at: http://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/.
4. Upgrading your BIOS. Unzip the downloaded file into a DOS-bootable USB memory stick. Instructions on how to make a DOS-bootable USB stick are widely available on the internet. We cannot provide this to you, since some of the files needed are part of your O/S installation files, and protected by copyright.
   Insert the bootable USB memory stick that contains the upgrade files into an open USB port. Power on the motherboard and allow it to boot to the DOS prompt. At the DOS prompt, run the batch file named “ami.bat” with the BIOS upgrade file using the following command line:
   C:\> ami.bat<space>filename.xxx <ENTER>
   Note: “filename.xxx” will bear the motherboard name and BIOS build date. For example “X9SCA2.508” is for an X9SCA series motherboard with BIOS build date code of 508.
   WARNING: Do NOT interrupt the upgrading process after you press enter. Doing so will corrupt the firmware.
   After you see a message that the system has completed the upgrade, unplug the AC cord, clear the CMOS and plug in the AC cord back. Power on the system. Go to the BIOS setup screen and press F9 to load the default and press F10 to save and exit.
5. Upgrade complete. Your motherboard is ready for both the Xeon E3-1200 and the Xeon E3-1200 V2 processor.

This is a very simple process and is similar to what we saw when upgrading Z68, P67, H67 and etc. boards to the Ivy Bridge Core i7 generation.

The Supermicro Launch Lineup for the Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 Series

For those that were wondering, Supermicro has a press release out on their Intel Xeon E3-1200 V2 series motherboards and platforms. Here is the lineup:

Looks like we are going to have a fun couple of days as we see Intel bring Ivy Bridge and its low power 22nm process to the server market!