Bandwith / ECC

T

Therealmaster967

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 15, 2010
Messages
107
Looking for an upgrade to my current crop of motherboards.
-Needs to take ECC Memory.
-Needs at least 2 8x PCIe, 2 16x PCIe, with the 16x double wide for the graphics cards.
-Would like as many expansion slots as possible, at the highest bandwidth possible, because I always run into a limit on peripheral use, due to lack of bandwidth / usable slots
-2nd desire - the most RAM slots possible, but at LEAST 8.

No desire for overclocking, prettyness, or other things like that, just a rock solid stable system with as much I/O bandwidth, and memory bandwidth as possible.

Currently running:
H8DCE
16GB RAM
HD 6870
HD 6850
PERC6/e
10GbE (2x)
dual 290's
 
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As long as I can run AMD video cards, and ECC memory, Processor brand / speed is up in the air, as long as its faster than what I'm currently running.
 
well u need a minimum of 5x PCIE x8-x16, sooo...

this mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182177
OR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813182174

this CPU (one to start with):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117234

this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226169

its a lil over $1K tho :(
it'd be well worth it imo..

later down the road, u can add another CPU & RAM / upgrade to 6-core

what makes (your) build a lil tricky is the 5 PCIE slots needed - 5 PCIE slots is not that common on server mobos, so when there is a mobo with the slots needed, its pricey
 
ah, budget is under 1k for the motherboard only.
Any other options for the motherboard with the I/O bandwidth?
Thanks!
 
Therealmaster967 said:
ah, budget is under 1k for the motherboard only.
Any other options for the motherboard with the I/O bandwidth?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

oh ok cool! :D

the linked SM mobos are really good for mem & virtually any other I/O bandwidth..

the only other mobo/platform with more MEM bandwidth would be the socket G34 AMD (8/12 core CPUs).. while it sounds attractive (the IMC are QUAD channel vs Intels TRI-channel, plus the ability to have 8/12 core CPUs) - ur problem will be finding a mobo with all the needed PCIE slots :(
 
Yeah,

Thanks!

Wish there were more options out there with <4 PCIe slots.
I do wonder, what people do for professional workstations that need large GPU & RAID systems attached.

Looks like I'll have to go with the first supermicro board, lets me fit it in my current case, and still use a workstation OS.
 
*shrug... maybe seperate fileserver with 10GbE connection between fileserver & workstation :)
 
Just to throw out there, if you can wait until ~Q3 2011, those Intel LGA 2011 motherboards should become available with 40 PCI-E 3.0 lanes (equivalent to 80 PCI-E 2.0 lanes in raw bandwidth). Combined with quad-channel memory, those will become the new I/O monsters, especially if they go dual-chipset (80 PCI-E 3.0 lanes = 160 PCI-E 2.0 lanes) like they've currently been doing on some higher-end Xeon motherboards.

Something to none-the-less keep in mind as an upgrade, no matter what you decide to do now.
 
Now that is some exciting news. Will PCIe 3.0 still be backwards compatible with PCIe 1.0 cards, and or 3.0 cards with 1.0 slots?

I wonder why AMD is lagging so far behind on the PCIe lane game compared to Intel?
 
Actually AMD has been providing more PCIe lanes than Intel. If I was you I would belooking into G34 boards as they will also be compatible with bulldozer cpus. Well worth the investment with upgrade path for next coule of years.
 
flexcore - That sounds awesome, I'd love to stay with AMD, especially with the upgrade path. Please show me what I'm missing though...

I'm looking at all the G34 boards offered by Newegg, (AMD)
Single CPU:
Supermicro 1, has three x8 link slots
Supermicro 2, has three x8 link slots
Dual CPU:
The Asus board has one x4 link slot, and two x8 slots, and only one x16 slot if attempting to populate it fully.
The TYAN (with multiple slots) has one x4 link slot, and 3 x8 slots.
Quad CPU:
Tyan has four x8 slots.
-Overall, a max of ~ 36 Gen 2 lanes, with a maximum of four slots.

The previously linked Supermicro (Intel) boards
1- has two x16 slots and four x8 slots.
2- has seven x8 slots.
-Overall a max of ~64 Gen 2 lanes, with a maximum of seven slots.

I cannot find an AMD board with a high PCI-e bandwidth setup, compared to the Intel side of things, especially allowing for five+ PCI-e slots per board.
 
I found the H8DGi has three x16 lane slots, one x8 slot, and two x4 slots
-Overall a total of 64 Gen 2 lanes, with a maximum of six slots
Still not besting the Intel.
 
IVe though about building a dual 12 core AMD server type hardware setup for rapid fire video encoding but then again IVY and BDZR will be way less expensive and probably faster in the end so I wait.

Anyways most ASUS mobos even for basic desktop usage can do ECC with the exception of the P67 chipset which is half engineered if you ask me.
 
btw Therealmaster967 what is it you use your computer for ? we talking dedicated isp cluster server setup ? data farm ? CGI graphic workstation etc ? o_O
 
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Dual 771 is a total waste at this point. Pretty much all 1366 CPUs (dual cores aside) will outperform nearly anything you put in that board and FBDIMMs are not worth investing into when DDR3 is as low as $10/gb. Tyan also pretty much sucks in terms of support. As for the earlier motherboard recommendation, unless you have a Supermicro case that can accommodate the X8DAH+, I would stay away from it as it is proprietary in size. Even if you have a preference for AMD, Intel still has them beat even when you double the number of cores. Dual 8-core Opterons aren't really going to best a couple 56xx CPUs.
 
And agreed Blue fox .
Sorry about that {off topic} the edit was done 1\4sec at the same time you posted and 50% of the forums out their don't consider a edit a edit if no one posts after you and i do that junk a lot ;) its a old habit.
Wasn't intentional to try and put your post out of context .
God a hate researching server cpus .Intel calls everything a Xeon and the cpu cores different names for the same desktop cpus just so they can sell you the same thing for 200% more profit. :mad:

And i have a tyan server Bord Blue fox and i never had problems my self with support.
btw Therealmaster967 what cpu do you want to use for your server board ? I cant stand looking at server cpus .Gives me a head ake ill turn over some rocks for ya on the mobo topic if i knew what cpu support im looking for.
 
What about? This ASUS KGPE-D16. Close, but not quite I guess. I guess I'm wrong here. I thought I saw a couple of boards that would fit your needs, but can't find them. Maybe a dream.
 
War Zone - Main Workstation for Data Modeling and Personal use.
CPU's I have no real preference, it's the I/O bandwidth and the upgradability in the future that I'm concerned about, as well as stability.

Blue Fox - Understood.

TYAN S8225 (S8225WAGM4NRF) Seems to fit the bill, Came out in January this year I guess... Will support the new AMD chips, but also supports 72 total PCIe lanes, that are spread out between so I can put graphics cards, or other double wide's in without worry. I Think I'll wait till the next fiscal year, and drop some coin down for this if nothing better shows up, It looks like what I've been waiting for.
 
I'll take a guess, let me know what's wrong with it. Feel like I'm missing something.

MBD-H8DG6
H8DG6 (Standard Retail Pack)

Physical Stats
Form Factor E-ATX Form
Dimensions 12" x 13 " (30.5cm x 33.2cm)
Processor/Chipset CPU Dual 1944-pin Socket G34
Supports up to two Twelve/Eight-Core ready AMD Opteron&#8482; 6100 Series processors
HT3.0 Link support
Chipset Dual AMD chipset SR5690/SP5100



System Memory

Memory Capacity Sixteen DIMM sockets
Support up to 256GB DDR3 1333/1066/800 MHz memory
Quad channel memory bus
For Dual CPUs: Recommended that memory be populated equally in adjacent memory banks
See Detailed Memory Support Matrix

Memory Type DDR3 1333/1066/800 MHz Registered ECC or unbuffered ECC / non-ECC SDRAM 72-bit, 240-pin gold-plated DIMMs
DIMM Sizes 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
Memory Voltage 1.35V or 1.5V
Error Detection Corrects single-bit errors
Detects double-bit errors (using ECC memory)

On-Board Devices

SATA AMD SP5100 (RAID 0, 1, 10)
Network Controllers Intel® 82576 controller, Dual-Port
Gigabit Ethernet
10/100/1000BASE-T support
VGA Matrox G200 16MB DDR2
Super I/O Winbond® W83527 chip

Input / Output

SATA 6x SATA2.0 (3Gb/s) Ports
SAS Integrated LSI 2008 SAS2 controller
8 x 6Gbps SAS/SATA ports
Optional: AOC-SAS2-RAID5-KEY RAID5 Support
LAN 2 RJ45 LAN ports
USB 8x USB 2.0 ports
2x Rear and 4x header, 2x TypeA
VGA 1x VGA port
Keyboard / Mouse PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports
Serial Ports 1x Fast UART 16550 serial port
1x serial port header

Expansion Slots

PCI-Express 3/1/2 PCI-E 2.0 x16/x8/x4 (in x8) (yeah, that's clear as mud)

Chassis ( Optimized for H8DG6 )

2U Chassis CSE-825TQ-R720LPB
Tower / 4U Rackmount CSE-745S2-800
CSE-745S2-R800
CSE-745TQ-800B
CSE-745TQ-920B
CSE-745TQ-R1200B
CSE-745TQ-R800B



600ish?

This board

May not best 5600's, they don't cost what 5600's do either ;p
 
Exdriver - See the post above you, It looks like the TYAN S8225 fits the bill better, at least giving me the space to spread out with these dual slot graphics cards (Sure do wish they were single slot), with a few extra lanes, and a pci-e slot in slot one as well.

Thanks!
 
Thanks, yeah
I never understood why motherboard makers often don't put a card slot in slot 1.

I'd really like to have one of those PCIe Magma Chassis, that splits a 16x gen2 slot into 8 or 16 slots, and be able to throw all my graphics cards out there, and separate things out, but MAN are those chassis expensive!
 
Yeah, and if you need that much expandability its about the only good answer. For $2500... or 4k for the 2.0 I hope you really need it connected to the same system. You can build a few boxes for that price.
 
Sure, all depends on what your goals are.

I like what Blue Fox is suggesting. Nothing in this range is going to be really cheap when it comes down to it. I just didn't want to see you spend that much and be somewhere in the middle of the range.

Bulldozer supposedly will drop into the AMD solution, though. I very much doubt this is the case with Intel. Generally speaking I think your initial cost is lower too. Depending on what you're doing you may not need to upgrade that side of the hardware for years to come. Do keep in mind that more software is optimized for Intel. You'll have to do your own digging on that one ;)

It does sound like you're far more interested in having the ability to expand your slots and maybe the bulk of your budget is better spent toward that end if that's the case.
 
Yup. Between the three current boxes I've got running here, I don't have an open slot anywhere. Hence the expansion of the slots (with actual lanes to back them up).

It might be soon time to exchange the idea of the main computer having the main spindles locally connected, and move some of that over to one closely connected.
 
At the risk of appearing bored ;)

For limited volume or non-recurring requirements, 1-2 unit quantities of our PCI Express Expansion products can be purchased online through our secure Yahoo e-commerce site. Select the "Buy" button on the left margin of the PCIe Expansion System page to purchase on-line. For larger volume or OEM Quantities, please contact Cyclone Microsystems Inc. directly at the contact links above.
Click to expand...

You can buy a few things directly

Most of the stuff they want to actually talk to you, it seems. I can't imagine that they'd sell enough of this stuff to everyday people to warrant stocking it at wal-mart.
 
Therealmaster967 said:
Yup. Between the three current boxes I've got running here, I don't have an open slot anywhere. Hence the expansion of the slots (with actual lanes to back them up).

It might be soon time to exchange the idea of the main computer having the main spindles locally connected, and move some of that over to one closely connected.
Click to expand...
You really don't need 16 lanes for video cards. You'll notice no difference with 8 lanes and little with 4.
 
Blue Fox said:
You really don't need 16 lanes for video cards. You'll notice no difference with 8 lanes and little with 4.
Click to expand...

That is, as long as the motherboard supports a graphics card in that pci-e slot both electrically and physically.

I was hoping to be able to put the graphics cards in my current H8DCE in the two x4 lane slots, but SuperMicro says no, Not Possible. Otherwise it would have been great, allowing me to put my RAID cards, as well as the 10GbE card in their desired x8 slots.

Exdriver - Yeah, I've sent them off an email, just to see what they suggest.

Gmutale - I like those, I just do not have the physical case that would allow such a thing without getting in the way of the CPU/Memory. It would need to be some specially specced out case that would fit additional cards offset from the standard 7 slot ATX standard.
 
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