Any brand better than ASUS for 2 x CPU + 8 SATA 3 (6gb/s)

Don't throw poo at me or anything but my favorite are Biostar boards.
 
Happy Hopping said:
http://www.asus.com/Server_Workstation/Server_Motherboards/Z9PED162L/#specifications

but even for high end motherboard like this, it only c/w 4 x SATA 3 port. Is there any better brand name (like good quality 3 yr. warranty type) that c/w at least 8 SATA 3 port?
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I went with the Asus Z9PE-D8 WS after comparing the specs between it and the eVGA SR-X and SuperMicro new boards. There are issues and many features lacking in the eVGA board to not make it a worthy consideration. Also, while the SuperMicro is good, after comparing the specs on their web site to the Asus, I thought the Asus was still the best overall. The SuperMicro does not have as many SATA 3 ports or the extra Marvell controller, Asus Caching of course if interested in that, memory speed of 2133 NOT listed as supported (such as Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133) and more.

Happy shopping and good luck in your build.
 
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TechJeff said:
I went with the Asus Z9PE-D8 WS after comparing the specs between it and the eVGA SR-X and SuperMicro new boards. There are issues and many features lacking in the eVGA board to not make it a worthy consideration. Also, while the SuperMicro is good, after comparing the specs on their web site to the Asus, I thought the Asus was still the best overall. The SuperMicro does not have as many SATA 3 ports or the extra Marvell controller, Asus Caching of course if interested in that, memory speed of 2133 NOT listed as supported (such as Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133) and more.

Happy shopping and good luck in your build.
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The Supermicro's have LSI controllers instead of the Marvell, they're on a whole different level then then the Asus offerings. Two 8087 ports that can be used with expanders giving you the option of 8 Sata III ports using fan out cables or expanding those ports out with 36 port expanders.
 
TechJeff said:
The SuperMicro does not have as many SATA 3 ports or the extra Marvell controller, A.
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That's my reason for this board as well. What's your brand name of choice on heat sink / fan as well as memory?

For that matter, do you have a photo at the gallery? I wonder what casing you're using

and it c/w 2 x 8 pin for the video card, so what if your video card uses 2 x 6 pin?

please let me know
 
The supermicro linked has 10 Sata III ports and another 6 Sata II, how many ports are you looking for?
 
ND40oz said:
The SAS2 ports are Sata 3 ports, they're backwards compatible with Sata 3. The LSI 2308 is the same controller that's on the Asrock X79 Extreme11.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6228/...-pcie-30-x16x16x16x16-and-lsi-8way-sassata/10
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I have just finished off reading that 103 page manual from the above motherboard. The review said you can use those port as SATA, but for warranty and a piece of comfort, I want the manual to guarantee that.

So, in section 2-36, it says "SAS Connections can function as SATA ports if the connectors are used with the mini-ipass cables. See
the table on the right for pin definitions." How can that be? As a SSD end is SATA cable, and the other end goes to the motherboard. Both ends are SATA, not mini-ipass. This is mini i pass

http://www.cdwg.com/shop/products/Tripp-Lite-3ft-Internal-SAS-Cable-Mini-SAS-SFF-8087/1464242.aspx

Further, it does NOT say on the manual what speed these SAS connections is giving those SSD drive.

EDIT: Forget it, their warranty is:

Motherboard, Chassis, Power supplies and Super Barebone products: Supermicro provides a three-year warranty for labor and one-year warranty for parts.
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http://www.supermicro.com/support/Warranty/

that's a joke. BY comparison, Asus warranty is 3 years parts & labor

http://www.service.asus.com/#!motherboard-warranty/c1c20
 
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You use a 8087 forward breakout cable for sata connections, the LSI 2308 is the best Sata3/SAS2 HBA on the market right now. I'm not sure what sort of guarentee you're looking for, the 8087 connector supports both SAS and Sata. SAS ports are backward compatible with Sata, but it doesn't work the other way around.

As for the warranty, I'd certainly take a Supermicro board over an Asus, but if you're that worried about the warranty only being 1 year for parts, go with Tyan.
 
usually, a warranty is the confidence from the manufacturer of how long the product would long. What's the horror w/ Asus anyway?
 
Happy Hopping said:
usually, a warranty is the confidence from the manufacturer of how long the product would long. What's the horror w/ Asus anyway?
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Just look at the issues people have had RMAing Asus products, it's not like we're talking about the easiest manufacturer to deal with. EVGA is probably the best if you're looking at strickly warranty support for the end user, but their only option in this area is the SR-X and it's not without its quirks.

Supermicro has their warranty setup for end users to deal with the distributors for individual components, since most of the time they're OEMing parts for complete systems that vendors ship out.

A Note From Tech Support
In order to maximize support resources, Supermicro works through reseller channels to resolve technical support issues and provide RMA services. All end users requiring technical support or RMA services are encouraged to contact their vendor directly. Supermicro resellers have complete access to our technical support and RMA teams; thus they are able to obtain fast and efficient responses to end user technical support issues and RMA services.
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If you buy a complete barebones from though, you get different warranty support along with cross shipping, just like you would from Dell, HP, IBM, etc. You can still go through your reseller/distributor, but either way, you'll get taken care of quickly.

http://www.supermicro.com/24Hour/24hour.cfm
 
Another thought in this segment... supermicro X9DR7-LN4F assuming you are building a server

SAS 2308 is far better than that Marvell controller. 700k+ IOPS and compatible with just about every OS.

Quad Intel gigabit LAN and a dedicated IPMI port

Good news is that ASUS just released a new BIOS for the OP's ASUS board so it can be used for Windows Server 2012.
 
whitek said:
are the bios suitable for overclocking on supermicros?
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You can't overclock the Xeons anyway, they're locked. Only the Asus D8 WS and EVGA SR-X have options for overclocking though, not that they'll do you any good.
 
Happy Hopping said:
That's my reason for this board as well. What's your brand name of choice on heat sink / fan as well as memory?

For that matter, do you have a photo at the gallery? I wonder what casing you're using

and it c/w 2 x 8 pin for the video card, so what if your video card uses 2 x 6 pin?

please let me know
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If you are still reading this thread, be happy to help. Personally, I prefer the Asus boards over the SuperMicro and for the reasons already stated above. As I'm sure you have, compare the specs on each company site and you will see the main differences.

I am doing an $8,000 workstation so I am not using those cheap fans and heat sinks. My system will be used for high-end 3D rendering such as Cinema 4D, ZBrush, Vue, etc. and some video rendering. Therefore, I will be maxing out the CPU cores and they will be under heavy load. This requires custom water cooling, which I am doing.

In regard to casing, I went with a custom Mountain Mods Ascension case with custom powder coat paint. It's VERY large and built for custom water cooling.

The 2X8 pins are typically in a form where the 6+2 pins are the same. It's hard to explain, but basically, the 6+2 pins are right next to each other on the graphics card and the power supply cables are 6+2 most of the time. Not sure really what you mean here, more details are needed, but the 8 pin single and 6+2 are usually the same in how they work/fit together.

I will be doing a photo log later on, drop me a PM if interested.
 
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