Frankenstein motherboards direct from Shenzhen with recycled parts and features that didn't exist at the time that allow me to strip out high core count Xeons and max-capacity ECC DIMMs from servers being tossed at work and shove them in standard mATX/ATX motherboards in tiny quiet cases at home for my homelab.
Plus, the recyclers add in NVMe boot support (and M.2 slots) at the factory!
Do a search for x79 and x99. Or the socket type of your preferred xeon chip.
People recommend the machinist brand motherboards. I've had good experience with the Killrser (typo) brand.
At the prices you see it seems too good to be true but those xeon CPU/motherboard/ram kits are the real deal. It's mind blowing buying a Xeon processor for the price of a cup of coffee.
If you live in an area with low electricity costs, or a cold climate where the computer ends up heating your house it's a hell of a deal.
Check out YouTube for reviews and gaming benchmarks on these systems too.
Frankenstein motherboards direct from Shenzhen with recycled parts and features that didn't exist at the time that allow me to strip out high core count Xeons and max-capacity ECC DIMMs from servers being tossed at work and shove them in standard mATX/ATX motherboards in tiny quiet cases at home for my homelab.
Plus, the recyclers add in NVMe boot support (and M.2 slots) at the factory!