Precision 690 XEON 5160 Dual Core "VT Capable" Capabilities

The 5160 processor does not support VT ... http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=27219.  Chances are, you can still run a VM, albeit not with the performance you might have been hoping for.

As for the drive configuration ... I cannot figure out how they come up with 2.5TB as a maximum, but generally as BIOS/FW updates are released, they add support for larger and larger drives, so I don't see a problem with four 1.5TB's, but you will likely need to create multiple arrays/virtual disks because of the size.  Maybe someone here has some additional insight into this model?

Any news about the maximum storage capacity? I am planning to build about the same workstation like AKMUTTLEY and can not find any further information in the internet...

The theoretical limit on MAX storage capacity is ultimately determined by the BIOS on which ever storage controller you are using. The original documentation for the DELL Precision 690 said you could install a total of 5 HD’s for a maximum of 2TB worth of “internal” storage. The DELL Precision 690 comes with an on-board SAS controller which might be capable of managing more than 5 drives but originally the box was not set up to power more drives than that.

There are two things/pieces of hardware which make it possible to go beyond the original specs and exceed the 2 or 2.5TB limit mentioned earlier in this thread.

One of which is a RAID controller. The best deal I found on the market was also a DELL product. The PERC5/i (internal) RAID controller which is a genuine “hardware” RAID solution capable of controlling 8 HD’s and is the most capable for the money that you can find. And it’s made by LSI which is one of if not the largest maker of RAID controllers out there.

Be sure you don’t fail to identify the differences between hardware and software RAID if you are considering buying something other than one of the PERC RAID cards. Marketing makes it difficult to tell sometimes.

The second thing you will need if you get a RAID card capable of supporting 8 HD’s is enough power leads to connect all 8 of your drives. The DELL Precision 690 only has 4 power connectors for SATA drives built-in so that will have to be remedied.

I was able to locate MOLEX 4-pin to DUAL SATA 15-pin power adapter/splitters on Amazon for just over a dollar per unit. Two of them will power 4 HD’s. Luckily I have a MOLEX power lead currently powering my optical drive that has two more connectors on it waiting for those little splitters to show up in the mail.

I currently have almost 4.5TB installed and will proceed to install a further 8TB once I receive my power adapter/splitters in the mail.

That total is made up of two 64GB SSD’s which are logically combined into a 128GB RAID-0 array (striped) to help increase the IOPS a little bit. On this logical drive sits my VMware ESXi 4.1 Hypervisor as a platform for my VMs of Server and Desktop OS’s. My first VM installed is the Nexentastor Community edition storage manger which uses the ZFS file system to bring a mind boggling array of management features to the table. And the community edition which is free of charge will manage up to 18TB of actual data, not just storage capacity.

The other storage on my machine currently consists of Two 2TB drives logically combined and striped like the SSD’s with RAID-0 which I will reconfigure and join together with my other four 2TB drives for a total of 12TB combined storage and implement RAID-5 to offer parity to my data. Had I chosen to buy 3TB drives it would make a whopping 18TB (the limit for the free Nexentastor Community edition) but I didn’t want to spend the money right then.

Anyway, in answer to the question, what is the MAX storage capability of the DELL Precision 690 I would have to say I don’t know? Sorry! You’ll just have to find out for yourself. Whatever it is though, I am sure that it is more than 2TB.

Happy building!