Desktop Motherboards that Support VT-D

Zarathustra[H]

Zarathustra[H]

Extremely [H]
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Hey all,

So I was poking around, researching which motherboard to get for my upcoming ESXi Sandy Bridge build. I had previously been under the impression that all you needed for VT-D to work is a VT-D supporting CPU, since Intel now integrates the northbridge onto the CPU.

Then I came across this blog rant.

It states that not only does the CPU need to support VT-D, but the motherboard does as well (presumably a BIOS thing), and that at least at the time of its posting, there were scarily few LGA1155 motherboards that supported it.

In the comment section for that blog post someone posted this link to Intel's support pages in which we learn that at least some Intel branded boards fully support VT-D. (under "Intel VT with Directed I/O:" section)

In a follow up blog post on the same blog they try to come up with a list of motherboards in which support has been confirmed, but in the end they conclude that despite documentation no P67/H67 boards support it.

So what is the consensus here? I know a lot of you probably use server grade hardware, but for those of you that don't, what good motherboards have you found with full VT-D/IOMMU support? How do you determine which boards have full support and which don't?

(In other words, help me find a good LGA1155 one, preferably with lots of PCIe 1x and 4x slots, and relatively cheap? :p )
 
The following Intel® Desktop Boards support Intel VT with Directed I/O:

Chipset Desktop Board
Q67 DQ67EP; DQ67OW; DQ67SW
Q57 DQ57TM; DQ57TML
Q45 DQ45CB; DQ45EK
Q35 DQ35JO; DQ35MP


The info above was taken from the *.intel.com link you provided.
So... for Intel boards you have a choice of 9 base model boards that support VT-d.
And yes .... Motherboard/CPU must support this + BIOS must have features enabled.
Some board's BIOS don't show options for the VT-d features but have them and they are enabled (PowerEdge T110 in my case).

Any possible confusion between VT-x and VT-d ???

How did I fnd Motherboard and CPU that support VT-d? Went to Intel's site and cross referenced them.
What non-server board do I know supports VT-d? DQ67SWB3 <~ Click and then click "Compatible Products"

In your case, you may need a server board because of your desire for so many PCIe slots ... though you did not quantify "lots".
 
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This is the best resource for motherboards and CPUs that support VT-d/IOMMU:
http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/VTdHowTo

For Intel, your best bets are Intel or Asus motherboards, but check the list carefully before buying. For AMD, any 970 or 990 board will work, regardless of CPU. Some 890FX boards also support it with a BIOS update.
 
Netwerkz101 said:
The following Intel® Desktop Boards support Intel VT with Directed I/O:

Chipset Desktop Board
Q67 DQ67EP; DQ67OW; DQ67SW
Q57 DQ57TM; DQ57TML
Q45 DQ45CB; DQ45EK
Q35 DQ35JO; DQ35MP
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw that. I'm trying to find if any other manufacturers have any VT-D supported LGA1155 boards. Ideally I want something in which I can install more than just three PCIe cards.

I guess I could always try to use something like this to turn a PCIe x4, x8 or x16 slot into four PCIe 1x slots, but it doesn't seem cheap and possibly not very reliable.

x4pcie-splitter_l01.jpg
 
Netwerkz101 said:
In your case, you may need a server board because of your desire for so many PCIe slots ... though you did not quantify "lots".
Click to expand...

Well, right now, I need three NIC's and one storage controller, all PCIe 1x.

I would also like to have a few open for future expansion.

Ideally, I'd find a board with one 16x slot (it seems like they all have at least one) and 7 1x slots, though I doubt something like this exists, and I don't have the money for a Xeon system.

I keep seeing these intel boards with THREE PCI slots and keep wishing they were all PCIe 1x slots instead...
 
The Asus Rampage III Series for sure support it. I have it on my III gene
 
Desktop Motherboard, Sandy Bridge, LGA 1155, VT-d, non Xeon ???

I think you are stuck with Q67 from the Intel Boards List.
That bridge device probably won't work with passthrough ... test it out and let us know. :)

Questions:
Why not a quad port NIC ?? (one PCIe slot used)
Why not skip local storage and use your NAS? (no PCIe slot used)
 
ASRock Z68 Extreme 4 Gen 3 board supports vt-d, but the onboard nic wouldn't pull an IP address in ESXi 5 (I added a intel nic).
 
dashpuppy said:
why not buy one quad port nic, then the rest of what you need..
Click to expand...

Decent 4 port Intel NIC costs between $250 and $650

4 decent single port Intel NIC's cost ~$120

So in order for the 4 port NIC to make sense, the motherboard would have to be ~$130 cheaper... And that's about my entire budget for the motherboard, so it would have to be free :p

Also, this way I can grow as I need to, picking up an expansion card when I need it, I don't have to go nuts up front.

Scalability FTW. One of the reasons I love my Drobo despite its many flaws.

If there's one thing I've learned from experience it is to NEVER box yourself in, always leave room for future expansion. If you don't it inexorably winds up biting you in the ass, as it has me many times. (guess I'm a slow learner)
 
I have both an Intel DQ67EP and DQ67SW running as ESXi 5 hosts, would well recommend both. With a vPro chip the ip kvm features are worth it alone for remote management.
 
bmh.01 said:
I have both an Intel DQ67EP and DQ67SW running as ESXi 5 hosts, would well recommend both. With a vPro chip the ip kvm features are worth it alone for remote management.
Click to expand...

Do you need a special CPU for the vpro functionality, or is it just an additional chip on the board?
 
CPU. Everything from an i5-2400 up has the vPro feature set barring the special models.
 
That PCIe multiplier you linked, I would be surprised if you can passthrough that thing at all; I would be REALLY surprised if you can passthrough each individual device off of it to specific guests. For multiport NICs, you can only forward the whole NIC, not individual ports; so don't go hoping you'll forward this port here and that port there.

Mobos with dual NICs will typically have dedicated controllers to each port and you will be able to forward those individually. I have a Supermicro C7Q67 with dual Intel NICs onboard - it's a mATX though so you'll be tight on slots to begin with. You can also look at C20X boards - these are server boards with IPMI instead of things like sound and such (The third ethernet jack on these is IPMI only, you won't be able to use it as a NIC). Honestly, I wanted the mATX, but if you want full ATX I would personally suggest you look at AMD anyway. It's cheaper and it's functional, look at this guy: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1668281 I have to say that after the wisdom of my experience I wouldn't assume that it'll passthrough whatever I want no question asked, but instead be pleasantly surprised when it does work.
 
levk said:
That PCIe multiplier you linked, I would be surprised if you can passthrough that thing at all; I would be REALLY surprised if you can passthrough each individual device off of it to specific guests. For multiport NICs, you can only forward the whole NIC, not individual ports; so don't go hoping you'll forward this port here and that port there.
Mobos with dual NICs will typically have dedicated controllers to each port and you will be able to forward those individually.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, thank you for the heads up.

levk said:
You can also look at C20X boards - these are server boards with IPMI instead of things like sound and such (The third ethernet jack on these is IPMI only, you won't be able to use it as a NIC).
Click to expand...

This sounds expensive. My Motherboard + CPU budget is probably in the $300 to $400 range. Lower the better.

levk said:
if you want full ATX I would personally suggest you look at AMD anyway. It's cheaper and it's functional, look at this guy: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1668281 I have to say that after the wisdom of my experience I wouldn't assume that it'll passthrough whatever I want no question asked, but instead be pleasantly surprised when it does work.
Click to expand...

I have looked at AMD, but I can't get over their poor power efficiency. If a system is going to be on 24/7 I want to make damned sure it sips as little power as possible.

The problem with is that AMD doesn't really have anything in the low power consumer segment outside of the E-350. They do, in the server segment, but there low power means 85W for 16 cores. Way more than I need. any system I have is likely going to spend a good amount of its life idling, so its key that any system can power gate well, and the AMD offerings just don't right now. That and, their low power versions are clocked VERY low compared to Intel, before you even figure in IPC disadvantages.

What I am looking for is <45W under load with 2-4 cores, and the ability to power gate well so that its only in the single digits when idle. It has to support IOMMU/VT-d as well.

This means Sandy Bridge or the upcoming Ivy Bridge is it. Nothing else meets these criteria. The E-350 I have would have been perfect if it only supported IOMMU, which it doesn't :(

I don't feel like going for a Intel Atom or Via Nano design, as they tend to be a little under-powered CPU wise.

So I think I have settled for either the i5-2390T 35W dual core w ht. or the i5-2500T 45W quad core. Just need to find a good board for it. Right now it looks like I am going to be forced to get something like the Intel DQ67SW (always makes me think of Dairy Queen). just wished it had more PCIe 1x slots.
 
Worked perfectly fine for me on an Intel DP67BG board. They even released a BIOS specifically for Vt-d support. From what I'd read, when the board was initially launched, they advertised it as having Vt-d until they made the decision to only officially support it in the Q67 chipset.

I happen to have it for sale currently as I replaced it with an ASUS P8B WS (C206-based).
 
DuronClocker said:
Worked perfectly fine for me on an Intel DP67BG board. They even released a BIOS specifically for Vt-d support. From what I'd read, when the board was initially launched, they advertised it as having Vt-d until they made the decision to only officially support it in the Q67 chipset.

I happen to have it for sale currently as I replaced it with an ASUS P8B WS (C206-based).
Click to expand...

PM'ed you about that motherboard :)
 
I had no idea that the motherboard had to support VT-D as well. Always thought it was just a CPU thing. I'm in the market for upgrading my home computer to something big and copy my Workstation lab from my laptop to something larger at home. Glad to know now that I need to worry about the motherboard as well.

As for NIC's, be sure to check ebay and craigslist as you can usually get them fairly cheap. Here's a Dell Intel Pro/1000 dual port less then $40
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Zarathustra[H];1038396503 said:
That's interesting, thank you for the heads up.



This sounds expensive. My Motherboard + CPU budget is probably in the $300 to $400 range. Lower the better.



I have looked at AMD, but I can't get over their poor power efficiency. If a system is going to be on 24/7 I want to make damned sure it sips as little power as possible.

The problem with is that AMD doesn't really have anything in the low power consumer segment outside of the E-350. They do, in the server segment, but there low power means 85W for 16 cores. Way more than I need. any system I have is likely going to spend a good amount of its life idling, so its key that any system can power gate well, and the AMD offerings just don't right now. That and, their low power versions are clocked VERY low compared to Intel, before you even figure in IPC disadvantages.

What I am looking for is <45W under load with 2-4 cores, and the ability to power gate well so that its only in the single digits when idle. It has to support IOMMU/VT-d as well.

This means Sandy Bridge or the upcoming Ivy Bridge is it. Nothing else meets these criteria. The E-350 I have would have been perfect if it only supported IOMMU, which it doesn't :(

I don't feel like going for a Intel Atom or Via Nano design, as they tend to be a little under-powered CPU wise.

So I think I have settled for either the i5-2390T 35W dual core w ht. or the i5-2500T 45W quad core. Just need to find a good board for it. Right now it looks like I am going to be forced to get something like the Intel DQ67SW (always makes me think of Dairy Queen). just wished it had more PCIe 1x slots.
Click to expand...

First of all 2390T doesn't support VT-d, you need to look at 2400+ non K chips. EDIT: Sorry, I just checked the ark, indeed it's listed as supported. Didn't used to be listed there though. My lower paragraph doesn't apply as strongly, but still, the Sempron will be $150 cheaper.

I feel like people are misguidedly looking at the rarer more expensive T and S chips looking for more efficiency, those designations are aimed squarely at weird applications where you won't see a full size cooler. Afterall it is Thermal Dissipation Power, it has little to do with idle consumption. On idle all of these chips are largely the same.

As far as AMD goes, if you even considered E350 on performance - though it does not support IOMMU to my knowledge - AMD's sippiest chip supporting IOMMU would be the Sempron 145 at 45W as opposed to 2400S at 65W (unless you go mobile). Ofcourse there's a huge performance difference with the former being a single core and the latter a quad. AMD will always be slower, but like you said your system will mostly be under idle. I'd personally look at Phenoms and not worry about TDP numbers. They won't be as frugal on the juice as the Intels, but it will be a small difference.
 
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