Ryzen server build advice - Remote console?

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On an impulse buy, I got two 2950Xs and an Asrock X399 Tachi and 64GB ECC to build my next media server out of. It’s been sitting in a box collecting dust for two years (yeah, still brand new).

Now it’s time to build; however, I’m noticing the lack of KVM-style of remote management. Like, a serial console for starters - it’s not in the BIOS at all. Previously, I’ve used Raspberry Pis to connect via Serial Console to motherboards. The RPi also allows me to power cycle the device via the GPIO and a few relays. Pretty nifty and inexpensive KVM.

With the Zen3 5000 series just announced, it’s making me re-think the motherboard and overall build.

What inexpensive motherboard do you recommend that:

  • Supports Linux (newer kernels are fine, running Arch the host)
  • Supports some type of remote management, serial console, or really any way outside of a full KVM solution
  • ECC DDR4 Ram, since I have this stack of Unbuffered ECC just sitting here that i paid way too much for.

It can be Zen 2 or Zen 3. Hell, it can be Threadripper Gen 2 for the existing 2950X I have. I just can’t seem to find a decent board when looking around.

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I ended up building a modified version of this: https://pikvm.org

Very impressed with its functionality.

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AsRock Rack X470D4U

There’s an X570 version as well though it carries a bit of a price premium. I’m using an X470 with a Ryzen 9 3900X plus ECC RAM in my storage server and it works well.

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Yeah, I found the Asrock Rack X399D8A-2T, which seems to be the ONLY Threadripper 2 server-based board out there, complete with IPMI.

https://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=X399D8A-2T

However, it’s at such a premium that it’s out of price range.

Yep, that newer mobo would work as well for if I was to sell everything off. Thank you!

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