@derickso ... appreciate the complliments.  The blog is just me trying to be helpful.  This is very long thread, and trying to find solid information for building ESXi nodes with consumer grade hardware that's (a) cost effective in RAM/Cores to money ratios, and (b) verified compatibility is just hard.  So, I just thought I would share vetted builds that I had done.  For a 8 core, 32GB RAM box for $400 (that's not including the cost of your case), you just can't beat that.

Anyway, I'm almost done with my post on the video card work, and have had quite a few tips from traffic on stuff they are doing, so I'll incorporate that.  I've been sick this week, so I didn't have time to post it.  Expect it this coming weekend, plus some additional hardware I've found that works, including two new AMD motherboards.