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Today we are looking at the ASUS P9X79 WS which is a workstation motherboard built around Intel’s X79 chipset and the LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors. Unlike the previously reviewed ASUS P9X79, this is a higher-end part, with a lot more functionality built-in. Unlike the base model, the P9X79 WS contains workstation-centric features such as additional PCIe slots and dual Intel network controllers that provide a lot of extra versatility. All of this versatility does mandate that the P9X79 WS is a big board measuring up to SSI CEB size specs. In this review, we will look at some of the features that make the board unique. Continue Reading

Today we are looking at the ASUS P9X79 motherboard for Intel’s LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors. It is quite likely that this board gets paired with one of two types of chips, first the Intel Core i7-3930K or a lower-clocked Xeon E5 CPU. As we have covered previously ASUS does a great job of segmenting markets by building a basic board design, then adding features for a slight price bump. The P9X79 is the entry model for ASUS, but it still has a ton of functionality as it should being a Sandy Bridge-E board. Continue Reading

I just wanted to update everyone on the Supermicro X7SPA-HF-D525 and X7SPE-HF-D525 review that was posted earlier as I have had a bit more time running the unit, especially as a pfsense appliance. Areas that will be looked at here are a higher-than-spec memory limit (4GB is not the max!), power consumption, and a word about IPMI 2.0 connectivity. Thus far, the network cabinet at home has been rock solid with the pfsense box managing routing duties in a fan-less configuration this week, even after I have been running a lot of network tests on the box. This is one I was able to justify purchasing for the new house which was great. Continue Reading

The Supermicro X7SPA-HF-D525 and Supermicro X7SPE-HF-D525 boards reviewed today are somewhat unique, and let’s face it; fairly expensive Intel Atom based boards. Both boards are centered around an Intel Atom D525 dual core 1.8GHz chip that can handle up to four threads through Hyper-Threading. While an Atom D525 is a fairly standard part, especially when it comes to low power PC’s, Supermicro has done a lot to turn these boards into something suitable for server use.

For those wondering, the reason I am doing a split review here is because the X7SPA-HF-D525 and X7SPE-HF-D525 are both very similar boards. The “A” version is a standard mITX size board while the “E” version is slightly elongated to work with Supermicro’s CSE-502L-200B chassis and a 1U PCIe riser (review coming shortly as I purchased one of these also.) For practical purposes, the technical aspects are nearly identical aside from the size. Continue Reading

This is a super quick note of a conversation I heard at a local Silicon Valley food spot this weekend. From what I overheard it appears that, at least for the 4P AMD Interlagos motherboards, some vendors will re-spin their PCBs to allow for better memory and HT 3 traces to the CPUs. Rumor has it that the higher memory frequencies on 32DIMMs in addition to 16 cores per socket (64 per board) was proving to be too stressful for some of the former 12-core/ 1333MHz DRAM designs in 24×7 operation. Continue Reading

One of the most popular motherboard reviews on STH of the Xeon 3400 series generation was the Supermicro X8SIL-F. It was a micro ATX (mATX) motherboard with some of the mainstay server board features such as dual Intel 82574L Gigabit NICs and IPMI 2.0. Looking forward to this generation, Supermicro has a spiritual successor in the X9SCM-F which has been a popular board. Tyan has responded to the X9SCM-F with a similar board, the S5510 series S5510GM3NR, that has one key advantage, three Intel 82574L NICs. Continue Reading

One of the most popular mATX server motherboards reviewed on this site was the Supermicro X8SIL-F. It provided a small form-factor, relatively inexpensive platform with features one would want from a low-cost server motherboard. With the new Sandy Bridge Xeon’s Supermicro has an updated platform, the Supermicro X9SCM-F, that takes advantage of the new PCIe lanes from the Intel C204 chipset to provide an interesting alternative to the previous generation X8SIL-F. Continue Reading

Today we are looking at the ASUS P8B WS motherboard for Intel’s E3-1200 series Xeon CPUs. Based on the C206 chipset, the P8B WS is able to utilize the Xeon CPUs with a five as the last number (e.g. Xeon E3-1235) and take advantage of Intel’s onboard GPU. By enabling the Sandy Bridge graphics engine, the ASUS P8B WS makes a strong play for single processor workstation applications. As with the C206′s sister chipset on the consumer side, the H67, the C206 does not have overclocking potential like a P67 or Z68 motherboard. On the other hand, most workstation users prioritize stability over overclocking so the inability to overclock the CPU a great deal is more than compensated for by the ability to utilize ECC DRAM for greater stability. Continue Reading

The Bromolow platform with Sandy Bridge E3 Xeons and C200 series chipsets provides a very low-power platform for small business and home servers. Starting with the new Intel Xeon E3-1230, users get both low power consumption as well as four cores and eight threads when combined with a motherboard, such as the ASUS P8B-X, yields a total cost of less than $450. The ASUS P8B-X has several features that make it well suited to the uni-processor (UP) server market. Continue Reading

Intel’s Q67 chipset is mainly targeted at the corporate desktop and the ASUS P8Q67-M DO/CSM is no exception. With a Q67 based board and appropriate Sandy Bridge Core CPU, one is able to bring remote management to the desktop. Intel’s vPro/ AMT technology allows a remote administrator to log into a machine and perform troubleshooting tasks, including the ability to change BIOS settings. This is very similar to the IPMI 2.0 implementations with KVM-over-IP that remains very popular on the server side but using a much different implementation. Intel’s technology utilizes the onboard GMA 2000/3000 graphics and onboard NIC to provide management features. This review is going to focus on the P8Q67-M DO/CSM and a future review will look at the Intel management piece.

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