Supermicro SYS-E100-12T-H Review: Fanless Tiger Lake for Embedded Applications
by Ganesh T S on June 8, 2022 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Fanless
- Embedded
- Supermicro
- Passive Cooling
- Tiger Lake
Setup Notes and Platform Analysis
Our review sample of the Supermicro SM-E100-12T-H came with all necessary components pre-installed - we only had to load up the OS to start our evaluation process. Prior to that, we took some time to look into the BIOS interface. It must be noted that the processor used in the system is vPro-enabled, and the Intel Management Engine BIOS Extensions can be used to set up AMT for remote management. As is typical for systems targeting the embedded market, the main BIOS interface is a vanilla one. It does provide plenty of configuration options. The video below presents the entire gamut of available options.
The block diagram below presents the overall high-speed I/O distribution.
The key takeaway from the block diagram is the extensive support for embedded applications, while also sporting an aggressive outlook in terms of bandwidth allocation. Two separate x1 lanes are allocated to each Intel I225-IT controller for the dual 2.5 GbE LAN ports. There are plenty of serial and digital I/O ports connected to the SMBUS and eSPI pins o the SoC. Hardware TPM is available on board, and a SIM slot is also integrated - particularly useful for cases where the system gets deployed with 4G / 5G connectivity. The USB ports in the front panel are all Gen 2 (10Gbps), and there are plenty of USB 2.0 ports for hooking up legacy equipment.
In today's review, we compare the Supermicro SYS-E100-12T-H and a host of other systems based on processors with TDPs ranging from 15W to 35W. The systems do not target the same market segments, but a few key aspects lie in common, making the comparisons relevant.
| Comparative PC Configurations | ||
| Aspect | Supermicro SM-E100-12T-H | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-1185GRE Tiger Lake 4C/8T, 1.8 - 4.4 GHz Intel 10nm SuperFin, 12MB L2, 15W |
Intel Core i7-1185GRE Tiger Lake 4C/8T, 1.8 - 4.4 GHz Intel 10nm SuperFin, 12MB L2, 15W |
| GPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU @ 1.35 GHz) |
Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU @ 1.35 GHz) |
| RAM | Innodisk M4SE-BGS2OC0M-A DDR4-3200 SODIMM 22-22-22-52 @ 3200 MHz 2x32 GB |
Innodisk M4SE-BGS2OC0M-A DDR4-3200 SODIMM 22-22-22-52 @ 3200 MHz 2x32 GB |
| Storage | Innodisk M.2 (S80) 3TE7 DEM28-B56DK1EW1QF (256 GB; M.2 2280 SATA III;) (64L 3D TLC; InnoDisk ID301 Controller) |
Innodisk M.2 (S80) 3TE7 DEM28-B56DK1EW1QF (256 GB; M.2 2280 SATA III;) (64L 3D TLC; InnoDisk ID301 Controller) |
| Wi-Fi | 2x 2.5 GbE RJ-45 (Intel I225-IT) | 2x 2.5 GbE RJ-45 (Intel I225-IT) |
| Price (in USD, when built) | (Street Pricing on June 6th, 2022) US $1216 (Barebones) US $1866 (as configured, no OS) |
(Street Pricing on June 6th, 2022) US $1216 (Barebones) US $1866 (as configured, no OS) |
The NUC11 Elk Bay / Fort Beach combination and the ASRock Industrial NUC BOX-1165G7 are included because they utilize Tiger Lake Core i7 processors operating with the same number of cores and cache size, albeit at a higher TDP. The Tiger Canyon NUC11TNKi5 is included as a Tiger Lake representative with the same number of cores, albeit with lesser amount of cache and a higher TDP. The ASUS PN50 is a representation of AMD's offering in this domain, though not targeting the same niche. The OnLogic HX500 and the Intel NUC8i5BEB (Akasa Turing) are included for their fanless nature. Both systems are passively cooled, but have a larger physical footprint to accommodate the higher TDP of the processors used in them. The next few sections will deal with comparative benchmarks for the above systems.
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kgardas - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
Great little box. Your article although short is very valuable due to your choice of filming going thorough setup. This is a *BIG* thing here. Indeed, due to GRE SoC used I've been very carefully looking into "In-Band ECC" option in the setup. Not seen it anywhere. Perhaps most close but very confusing is "Enable RH Prevention" -- with help text "Actively prevent Row Hammer" -- if this is "In-Band ECC" or not is beyond my imagination -- asking SMicro for clarification would be great here.kgardas - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
Also important question is: country of origin. China or by any chance something more democratic and trustful?nandnandnand - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
Trust No OneSSNSeawolf - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
Supermicro is an American company.kgardas - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
Sure, but a lot of their products are made in P.R.C. Hence caution is reasonable IMHO.andychow - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
Which product isn't made in China? The iPhone is made in China, and so is pretty much every cellphone.Supermicro moved their production from China to Taiwan a couple of years back. There was a rumor that the Chinese government had added a secret chip. Of course, no such chip was ever found on any board, even after Supermicro audited the production and actively investigated. But rumors online stay alive, so they moved to Taiwan.
kgardas - Thursday, June 9, 2022 - link
Majority of Kontron and all Kontron previous Fujitsu boards are made in EU/Germany. Some of Asus/Gigabyte boards are made in Taiwan. Supermicro ordered plans were divided 2/3 in P.R.C 1/3 in Taiwan few years back. Hence the question of coutry of origin.Yes, agree, mobile phone industry is doomed with nearly all P.R.C. production this is why such device can't be tolerated in security sensitive environment.
ricebunny - Thursday, June 9, 2022 - link
If data privacy is your concern than avoiding Made in China products will not help you. Our own government has no shortage of means or moral restraint for that matter to spy on us.Threska - Thursday, June 9, 2022 - link
Why spy on us, when everyone's leaking, even the government.bwj - Wednesday, June 8, 2022 - link
For a box like this is seems like it would have been useful the evaluate the ability of the i225 NICs to move packets. I've had some problems with the i225-v but I don't know if they are universal with the i225 of all kinds.